My own community of practice
Wenger (2010) defines a community of practice as “groups of people who share a concern of a passion about a topic and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interaction on an ongoing basis” (p.4). These communities of practice are a construct of social learning systems and are developed from research into how apprentices learn within the context of the workplace. Eckert (2006) agrees that these communities are “a collection of people who engage on an ongoing basis in some common endeavour”. Knox (2009) however, more simply describes these as a group of people who share a passion for something they know how to do, and who interact regularly so they can create, expand and exchange knowledge; and develop individual capabilities. My community of practice (CoP) lies within the science faculty of the secondary school in which I work. It comprises 11 teachers who each hold a passion for “all things science” as well as for teaching how to think and act as scientist...