Communities of Practice (Wenger)

Die Inhalte dieses Artikels stammen aus den Quellen von Etienne Wenger, die unter Literatur angegeben sind. Die Inhalte sind in englisch übernommen worden.

Definition

"Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern, a set of problem, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an ongoing basis. [...] they meet because they find value in their interactions [...] they share information, insight, and advice. They help each other to solve problems. They discuss their situations, their aspirations, and their needs. They ponder common issues, explore ideas, and act as sounding boards. They may create tools, standards, generic designs, manuals, and other documents - or they may simply develop a tacit understanding that they share. However they accumulate knowledge, they become informally bound by the value that they find in learning together. [...] They may even develop a common sense of identity. [...] Communities of practice are everywhere. We all belong to a number of them - at work, at school, in our hobbies. Some have a name, some don't. Some we recognize, some remain largely invisible. We are core members in some and occassional participants in others. Whatever form our participation takes, most of us are familiar with the experience of belonging to a community of practice."

Sicht auf Wissen

• Knowledge lives in the human act of knowing
• Knowledge is tacit as well as explicit
• Knowledge is social as well as individual
• Knowledge is dynamic
• Social structures as a management tool

CoP-Modell

• Domain (of knowledge): creates common ground and a sense of common identity, legitimizes the community by affirming its purpose and value to members and other stakeholders.
• Community (of people): is the social fabric of learning, fosters interactions and relationships based on mutual respect and trust, encourages a willingness to share ideas, expose one's ignorance, ask difficult questions, and listen carefully.
• Practice: set of frameworks, ideas, tools, information, styles, language, stories, and documents that the community members share. Whereas the domain denotes the topic the community focusses on, the practice is the specific knowledge the community develops, shares and maintains.

Rollen

• CoP-Coordinator (CoP-Global-Coordinator, CoP-Local-Coordinator)
• CoP-Core Member (Core Members form the Core Group)
• CoP-Active Member
• CoP-Peripheral Member
• CoP-Librarian
• CoP-Outsider
• CoP-Support-Team

Relationship of CoPs to official Organization

• Unrecognized: invisible
• Bootlegged: informally visible
• Legitimized: officially sanctioned
• Supported: provided with resources
• Institutionalized: given an official status

Prinzipien

• Design for evolution
• Open a dialoge between inside and outside perspectives
• Invite different levels of participation
• Develop both public and private community spaces
• Focus on value
• Combine familiarity and excitement
• Create a rhythm for the community

Entwicklgungsstufen einer CoP

• Potencial
• Coalescing
• Maturing
• Stewardship
• Transformation

Ressourcen und Hilfsmittel für eine CoP

• Community Website
• Directory of Membership
• Face-to-Face-Meetings
• Teleconferences
• Threaded Discussions (Conversation space for online discussions)
• E-Mail-Distribution-List
• Newsfeed
• Subscribtion
• Newsletter
• Document Repository
• Search Engine

Vorgehensweise

Siehe auch Cultivating communities of practice - a quick start-up-guide.

• set strategic context
• educate
• support
• get going
• encourage
• integrate

Rollen

• Community Koordinator (Wenger)

Beispiele

• DaimlerChrysler Tech Clubs, Engineering Book of Knowledge (S. 3)
• World Bank
• Shell Oil
• McKinsey & Company

Literatur

• Wenger, McDermott, Snyder: Cultivating Communities of Practice.