Communities of Practice at PEJE

What is a Community of Practice (CoP)?
A CoP is a group of people with a shared goal--to improve their practice. Guided by a facilitator, they "meet" during regularly scheduled conference calls, via an online discussion area, and in person, when opportunities arise (e.g., the PEJE Assembly). Through this peer-to-peer collaboration, members of the CoPs are able to: generate knowledge directly related to the work they do; utilize that knowledge back in their schools; and reflect on results in order to make further modifications, as needed. This iterative cycle yields more knowledge that can be widely disseminated to the field.

What do members of a CoP actually do when they meet?
Members address topics determined by their shared needs, interests, and concerns. Their phone-based and online discussions may be stimulated by one or more catalysts; e.g., an invited expert, PowerPoint slides, articles, a role play, an interview, artifacts or tools, or case studies. These catalysts serve as a springboard for sharing information, solving problems, and exchanging information and resources.

How is the knowledge used?
There is an expectation that the members will not only translate new ideas into practice back at their schools, but also share the results of what they are learning with each other--to continue the learning cycle. In addition, the knowledge generated within the CoP is further disseminated to others at the members' schools, and by PEJE to the wider community of Jewish day schools (through its website, publications, e-newsletter, and other sources).

What is the value of CoPs?
Participants have found that by forming relationships with others within a CoP, they feel less isolated. They feel validated, understood and supported by others who daily are doing the same kind of work. They are delighted with the speed in which they receive answers to questions posted online. As one member said, "We can discuss problems and explore solutions with people who are dealing with the same kinds of issues."

How can I join a CoP?
PEJE currently supports four CoPs: Admission, Development, Financial Management, and Leadership. These CoPs always welcome new members. If you are interested in reaching out, connecting, learning, sharing, and reflecting, please follow the link to the page for each CoP for contact information.

In the past, PEJE also supported three other CoPs: Diverse Learners, Israel Engagement, and Professional Development.These three CoPs will now be under the sponsorship of other organizations. Please follow the link to the page for each of these CoPs for further contact information and to access the archived PowerPoint slides from their monthly conference calls on a variety of relevant topics.

How Can I Find out More about CoPs?
We invite you to learn more about the concept of CoPs by linking to online articles and websites, as well as checking out recommended books.

Field-Wide Conference Calls

February 2010, Do Communities of Practice Yield a Good Return on the Investment
Have you ever wondered what the impact of a Community of Practice is? This webinar is appropriate for anyone interested in understanding the value of Communities of Practice. If your organization sponsors or is considering sponsoring a Community of Practice—or if you are a member of a PEJE CoP—be sure to listen to the audio and read the PowerPoint. An innovative approach to the 2008-2009 Evaluation of PEJE CoPs used a Tracer Study to document the way knowledge introduced through a CoP was promulgated to multiple school leaders.

Articles

Communities of Practice: A Brief Introduction
by William M. Snyder, May 6, 2005

A PowerPoint presentation.

Communities of Practice: What are they? Why are they valuable?
How do we develop one?
by Etienne Wenger

An overview of the key elements.

Communities of Practice: Learning as a Social System
by Etienne Wenger, 1998

An overview of Communities of Practice. 

Towards a Typology of Virtual Communities of Practice
by Line Dube, Ann Bourhis, Real Jacob, 2006

 Books

Cultivating Communities of Practice: A guide to Managing Knowledge
by Etienne Wenger, Richard McDermott, & William Snyder

Harvard Business School Press, 2002

 Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity
by Etienne Wenger

Cambridge University Press, 1998 

Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation
by Jean Lave & Etienne Wenger

Cambridge University Press, 1991 

The Handbook of Community Practice
by Marie Weil

Sage Publications, 2004

Websites

Grantmakers for Effective Organizations

http://www.geofunders.org/

CPsquare: The Community of Practice for Communities of Practice

http://www.cpsquare.org/ 

Community of Practice (From Wikipedia)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_of_practice 

Communities of Practice

http://www.co-i-l.com/coil/knowledge-garden/cop/