Learning and Teaching in Practice/Communities of Practice

What are communities of practice?
Etienne Wenger, one of the most influential figures in the field, defines communities of practice as:


 * ...groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. (Wenger, no date)

Let's look at some examples to illustrate Wenger's definition:

Wenger identifies three crucial components of a community of practice (CoP):


 * The domain: the shared area of interest. The domain of allnurses.com (see above) is the field of nursing.
 * The community: the members of the community and their connections and interactions with each other. The allnurses.com website is just a tool - the community comprises all its members and their ongoing interaction and discussion.
 * The practice: the shared 'know-how' of the domain. Members of allnurses.com are not just 'like minds' with a common interest to chat about - they actively collaborate to develop and share their resources and expertise.