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Conceptual Framework. Reich College of Education Appalachian State University. Principle # 1. Learning occurs through participation in a Community of Practice. Defining Characteristics of A Community of Practice. A joint enterprise that is continuously renegotiated by its members
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Conceptual Framework Reich College of EducationAppalachian State University
Principle # 1 Learning occurs through participation in a Community of Practice
Defining Characteristics ofA Community of Practice • A joint enterprise that is continuously renegotiated by its members • Mutual engagement binds members into a social entity • Members share a repertoire of community skills, routines, language, artifacts, tools From Wenger, 1998
Learning in a Community of Practice • Acquisition • No formal instruction • Low learner awareness • Focus on social and work activity • Learning • Explicit instruction • Conscious reflection by both learner and instructor • Higher order skills are BOTH learned and acquired
Dialogue and Conflict in a Community of Practice • Language is the critical tool in balancing acquisition (social participation) and learning (formal instruction) • Being able to engage in relevant dialogue is the hallmark of membership in a CoP • CoPs are resistant to criticism and change • Conflict and open dialogue are characteristics of healthy CoPs
Principle #2 Knowledge is socially constructed and all learning is social in nature
Socio-cultural Perspective on Learning and Knowledge • Teachers and students are co-learners engaged in socially relevant work • All higher order psychological functions must appear twice • First socially (inter-psychologically) • Then internally (intra-psychologically) • Knowledge is “appropriated;” as individuals interact within the CoP, they create new meanings and understandings inside themselves
Instruction from a Socio-cultural perspective • Instruction provides a scaffold for new skills and knowledge • Learners are guided through the Zone of Proximal Development: “The zone of proximal development…is the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers.” L. Vygotsky
Learning from a Socio-cultural perspective • Learning is always a social process • Learning is a product of participation in various communities • Language forms the basis for all learning and thus is the “tool of tools”
Principle #3 Learners proceed through stages of development from Novice to Expert as they become members of the Community of Practice
Experts • “Experts have acquired extensive knowledge that affects what they notice and how they organize, represent and interpret information…” • “Experts notice features and meaningful patterns of information that are not noticed by novices.” • “Experts have acquired a great deal of content knowledge that is organized in ways that reveal a deep understanding of their subject matter.” Bransford, Brown & Cocking, 1999
Moving from Novice to Expert • Novices agree to an apprenticeship relationship, acceding authority to experts; an environment of trust is essential • Experts are responsible for evaluating novices readiness to assume greater responsibility • Novices and experts work together in the Zone of Proximal Development • The knowledge, skills and values of the CoP are learned and acquired through the apprenticeship
Principle #4 All CoPs have an identifiable Knowledge Base A primary goal of the RCOE is to help students learn this knowledge base
Professional Knowledge Base • A scholarly knowledge base is a defining characteristic of a profession • Professional educators must move beyond their personal knowledge base to a wider understanding of the problems involved in helping others learn
Three Crucial Areas of Knowledge for Professional Educators • Knowledge of learners • Knowledge of subject matter and curriculum • Knowledge of teaching
Principle #5 Educators must develop a set of professional Dispositions Reflecting the attitudes, beliefs and common values of the CoP
A Definition of Dispositions The values, commitments and professional ethics that influence behaviors toward students, families, colleagues, and communities and affect student learning, motivation, and development as well as the educator’s own professional growth. Dispositions are guided by beliefs and attitudes related to values such as caring, fairness, honesty, responsibility, and social justice. (NCATE, 2002)
Three Key Dispositions • Candidates exhibit a commitment to meeting the needs of all learners. • Candidates exhibit a commitment to reflective practice. • Candidates exhibit a commitment to professional and ethical practice.
