The Classroom as the Learning Protagonist

Who are classrooms for?

After listening to Laura Lewin (2020), on the Laureate Languages Webinar “Arquitectura Escolar: El Aula como Protagonista,”her stream of thought made me wonder a lot about how the classroom space needs to be rethought. Though Lewin (2020) focused her presentation on brick-and-motar classrooms, this type of education has not changed much in the last 100 to 150 years. At that time, as explained by Lewin (2020), the only one source of knowledge and information in this distant past was the teacher. The fact is that today input to build one’s knowledge comes from a great gamut of sources. But when I continue to think of Lewin’s teachings, it makes me continue to wonder about the virtual classroom more and more and how similar both teaching/learning environments are.

Regardless of the type of classroom one is teaching in, think for a moment what the objective of the classroom is. Who benefits from the virtual classroom, the student or the teacher? “Among the many advantages of an online education, you’ll find virtual classroom are great for people who are advancing their education while working” (Drexel University School of Education, n.d.). Based on this statement, and following what Lewin (2020) explains, it is the learners who need to stake their claims in this virtual environment; the teacher becomes a mediator of knowledge and information that can come from a great amount of sources, from books to Webpages. For Lewin (2020), the classroom must awake student curiosity and collaboration. And there is no reason why a virtual classroom cannot huddle close to a curious mind and a collaborative individual willing to further his/her education.

When it comes to think about the place where a virtual classroom is held by the students and their teacher, what kind of message is being conveyed by the physical spaces these people use for a lesson? “A virtual classroom is a digital teaching and learning environment in which participants can interact with learning resources and with one another like they can in a traditional classroom” (Chin, 2017), but think for a moment: “Places do convey a silent but powerful message” (Lewin, 2020) for both teachers and students. A crappy, junky place where a teacher or student has a class is saying a lot about any of these two individuals. A camara off, e.g., on the side of the student is, says Lewin (2020), like if the learner is taking the class below his/her desk or working table. All class participants must be in places that look neat; Lewin (2020) also suggests that it has to be a noise-free, comfortable environment that will not generate stress on students and teachers. Isn’t all this applicable to vitual or F2F teaching and learning?

Bates (2015) stresses the idea of experiential learning in education because it “focuses on learners reflecting on their experience of doing something, so as to gain conceptual insight as well as practical expertise.” For Lewin (2020), we all learn more by doing than by watching and listening. Learning is an active process, and one’s ability to retain and then retrieve information that can be later on used in a different context is what needs to be developed in the classroom. When students are challenged, as part of the novelties in a classroom, as Lewin (2020) says, it invites to foster learning. The classroom environment, whether it is virutal or F2F, becomes more and more dynamic and enticing to generate the building of new knowledge.

To sum up, the seeds of good teaching and learning are not just found in a traditional street-side school where learners and teachers interacted F2F. Educating people in virtual environments also bring good learning and the building of new knowledge. Any of the two learning environments are an assemblage of well-calculated practices, people’s behavior, and the good use of a F2F activities leading to collaboration and higher order thinking skills. Let’s hope to guide our students to an active learning process; in an active classroom we must find learners working on different tasks at the same time plus an engaged and creative teacher supervising what is going on in the classroom (Lewin, 2020).

References

Bates, A. (2015). Experiential Learning: Learning by Doing. Retrieved August 31, 2020, from OpenTextBC.Ca: https://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/chapter/4-4-models-for-teaching-by-doing/

Chin, Y. (2017, May 27). Delivering Training with Virtual Classrooms. Retrieved August 31, 2020, from UncannyOwl.Com: https://www.uncannyowl.com/delivering-training-virtual-classrooms/

Drexel University School of Education. (n.d.). The Benefits of Online Education in a Virtual Classroom. Retrieved August 31, 2020, from Drexel University School of Education: https://drexel.edu/soe/resources/student-teaching/advice/benefits-of-online-and-virtual-learning/#:~:text=But%20online%20students%20have%20better,for%20both%20learning%20and%20networking.

Lewin, L. (2020, August 25). Arquitectura Escolar: El Aula como Protogonista. Escuela para Directivos. Buenos Aires, Argentina: ABS International. Retrieved August 25, 2020

The Classroom as a Learning Protagonist by Jonathan Acuña on Scribd

 

The Impact of Social Media on Cultural Production

The death of Cultural Keepers? 

The Impact of Social Media on Cultural Production by Jonathan Acuña on Scribd

Hope Labor or Collaborative Production

What are the ethical implications?

         Nowadays collaborative production between corporations and fans, who usually follow them through social media, is becoming a common ground for companies to get ideas directly from their consumers. For Fournier (2019), “this collaboration can be an excellent way to discover new market opportunities, push product branding in new directions, or establish a presence in a completely new area.” However, who is actually carrying on all the field work here? What is the real purpose behind this type of collaboration? “Now one’s initial reaction to this process could be that it’s a corporatization of the content, exploitation of workers, or a corporation attempting to acquire content for very little cost” (Universtiy of Sydney, 2020).

         If one’s initial reaction to co-creation is framed within the University of Sydney’s primary approach, what does it really entail? “Customer co-creation refers to inviting stakeholders (usually customers) to participate in a design or problem-solving process to produce a mutually valued outcome” (Fournier, 2019). Let us take a look at three different cases where companies make use of customer co-creation and what possible ethical implications lie behind this collaborative practice.

 

Corporatization of Content

         According to the IKEA business idea (IKEA, 2019-2020), they “want ‘to offer a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them’.” In order to satisfy their customers’ demand for new and innovate products, IKEA launched “Co-Create IKEA,” which is “a digital platform encouraging customers to develop new products” (Fournier, 2019). If any idea for innovative pieces of furniture is favorable, “IKEA may license the technology or agree to invest in furniture products” (Fournier, 2019) based on the ideas provided by their followers in social media.

         One’s initial reaction to Co-Create IKEA’s platform is that the enterprise is intending to corporatizate content generated by their platform users. This process implemented by IKEA can be labeled as hope labor because it is an “un- or under-compensated work carried out in the present, often for experience or exposure” (Kuehn & Corrigan, 2013). Based on Fournier (2019), “designers and technically talented fans” can “gain exposure through the world’s largest furniture retailer.” From a mere ethical viewpoint, are participants in the Co-Create IKEA’s platform being financially compensated for their creative, innovative ideas? In the end, the company is the one with the revenue because of a collaborative production after the content has been corporatizated. Ideas will be materialized in furnishings and patented by IKEA.

 

Worker Exploitation

         “DEWALT is out there on the jobsite learning what works and what doesn’t so [they] can make it all work for the professional” (DeWalt, 2019). With their high quality and performance tools, DeWalt is by far ahead of many tool companies on the market. In order to know what really works on the jobsite, they “established an Insight Community for its customers to contribute product development ideas” (Fournier, 2019). Based on Fournier (2019), there are about 12,000 users encompassing “8,000 professional tradespeople, and 4,000 home users.” All these individuals are open to suggest new products and to test them.

         One’s initial reaction to DeWalt’s Insight Community is that the company is doing some sort of “workers exploitation”. This community implemented by DeWalt can also be labeled as hope labor because it “functions as a viable coping strategy for navigating the uncertainties of the contemporary labor economy, yet it does so without the risks of associated with related processes, such as ‘venture labor’” (Kuehn & Corrigan, 2013). From a mere ethical viewpoint, are participants in the Insight Community platform being financially compensated for their testing of tools in various work environments? In the end, the company is saving thousands of dollars “in research costs due to its Insight Community” (Fournier, 2019) and the feedback that is being provided by their community followers.

 

Acquisition of Content for very low cost

         “Unilever is one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies, owning over 400 well-recognized brands, including Dove, Lipton, Best Foods, and many more” (Fournier, 2019). Part of the driving forces behind the corporation, “Unilever actively looks to its customer base for product solutions” (Fournier, 2019), asking a while range of individuals for their insights, recommendations, or quick fixes. And “through its Open Innovation platform, launched in 2010, Unilever presents specific challenges to the public, encouraging individuals to submit responses for potential adoption by the company” (Fournier, 2019). Their crowdsourcing approach to acquiring content will benefit a submitter of suggestions, and this person “can be offered a commercial contract for their solution, as well as professional recognition” (Fournier, 2019).

         One’s initial reaction to Unilever’s Open Innovation platform is that the company is acquiring new content at a very low cost. This platform implemented by Unilever can also be labeled as hope labor because it “is yet another means of valorizing leisure spaces that captures digital ‘workers’ in relations not unlike those defined by traditional labor arrangements” (Kuehn & Corrigan, 2013). From a mere ethical viewpoint, are participants in the Open Innovation platform being financially compensated for their submission of solutions to the company’s predicaments? In the end, the company is saving lots of money because “now, over 60% of Unilever’s research projects involve external collaboration” (Fournier, 2019), and the company can focus on what the customers are telling them about their needs and products rather than beginning from scratch with a research team.

         What is important to understand here is that collaborative production is not wrong! These are common practices carried out by companies such as the ones used here for the sake of this ethical exercise. They are here stated as initial reactions to what these enterprises do with their stakeholders, and they do not necessarily mean that the statements made here actually represent the current state of affairs in each of the companies mentioned. From a mere ethical perspective what one can see not necessarily reflect what the collaborators feel about “working” with these companies, and they may feel more than rewarded in what each company does. Through the eyes of hope labor, something seems to be happening here because experts “critique the harnessing of users’ uncompensated productivity -their ‘free labor, for the ends of capital accumulation’” (Kuehn & Corrigan, 2013). And as stated above, many just do it for the pleasure it provides them to suggest solutions, create new products, or to test new goods.

References

DeWalt. (2019). Innovation that Matters. Recuperado el 28 de August de 2020, de My.DeWalt.Global/: https://my.dewalt.global/dewalt-dna/innovation-technology

Fournier, A. (2019, March 20). Customer Co-Creation Examples: 10 Companies Doing it Right. Retrieved August 27, 2020, from Braineet: https://www.braineet.com/blog/co-creation-examples/

IKEA. (2019-2020). The IKEA vision and business idea. Retrieved August 28, 2020, from About.IKEA.Com: https://about.ikea.com/en/who-we-are/our-roots/the-ikea-vision-and-business-idea

Kuehn, K., & Corrigan, F. (2013). Hope Labor: The Role of Employment Prospects in Online Social. The Political Economy of Communication, 9-25. Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://polecom.org/index.php/polecom/article/view/9/116

Universtiy of Sydney. (2020). ETHICAL SOCIAL MEDIA. Retrieved August 25, 2020, from FutureLearn.Com: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/ethical-social-media/1/steps/824148

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The Ethos of Cultural Production

Moral exploration of Media Users’ behavior

         Habermas (2001) explains that “sets of cultural artifacts may be conceptualized as material codes, as systems of basic cultural categories, or as media of tradition and of the evolution of technology.” Based on this assertion, any human production can be labeled as a cultural artifact, and extendin this affirmation, they can also be considered cultural products. From a mere ethical conception of artifacts and products, do laws recognize this anthropological “proclamation?” And what about memes? Are they digital artifacts then? Finally are media users we now labeled trolls ethically sensitive to people whose points of view divert from theirs? Let’s explore some possible answers to these question intending to be aligned with one’s ethos.

         A goblet found in a remote cave in Anatolia, Turkey is not only a anthropological artifact but a cultural production of a people who inhabited this area of Asia Minor. What about a video game, such as Assassin’s Creed developed by Ubisoft Montreal? Is it also a cultural artifact as well and a cultural production? Based on Habermas (2001), it is because it falls within “the evolution of technology.” Cultural products, based on Aiello and Cacia (2014), are “good and services that include the arts (performing arts, visual arts, architecture), heritage conservation (museums, galleries, libraries), the cultural industries (written media, broadcasting, film, recording), and festivals. UNESCO has declared that these products are not like other forms of merchandise.” Video games are cultural products and cultural artifacts linked to visual arts and film; this type of product is not like other types of merchandise we by at the supermarket at the corner.

But are governments and companies agreeing on these terms regarding cultural production and artifacts? Prof. Kerr (2012) pointed out the disparity in the degree of agreement between lawmakers and video games developers and publishers. For some of them “games constituted a cultural product” (Kerr, 2012), but for others, especially government representatives, they are not. Though, as explaing by Prof. Kerr (2012), “in the end the argument for games as cultural products won out in Europe, with strict limits, and without setting a precedent.” Video games are part of our culture today, and the ethos behind all this is clearly marked by making-money reasons than the popularization of an artifact that has tremendous impact in the lives of younger generations who find entertainment and consider it not like other forms of merchandise. The video game industry has to be set in clear terms for developers, publishers, and governments so they can act according to a common ethos.

Moving away from vido games, memes as cultural artifacts, which represent who we are at this point in history, present no problems with governments; they just abound on the Web or Internet-mediated communication. While many extol the presence of and fun behind memes, they forget the ethics behind the production of these visuals. While one walks around our cities, the presence of graffiti is everywhere. Some of them, like the memes today, are rather neutral and inoffensive; some other times they can be cruel and very unethical. As cultural artifacts (not as cultural production) memes and graffiti reveal lots about the current state of affairs in our countries and regions. “Nothing defines our use of the Internet as clearly as the concept of meme …” (Rintel, 2014); memes are the digital graffiti of the 21^st Century, which is not necessarily governed by some sort of ethical mindset.

How often do we get memes among our WhatsApp messages? The fact is, as Rintel (2014) puts out, “a meme may be created by an individual or an institution deliberately (many marketing companies now strive to create viral conent) or, as often as not, an accidental image, turn-of-phrase or concept will be exploited by a savvy netizen.” But how often do we find these “savvy netizens” exploiting them to harm others rather than simply make people laugh? For sure all of us have something to say about the presence or absence of ethos in the creation of these images that include intertextuality (reference to other memes or concepts known by a given audience), templatability (use of a recognizable structure with spaces for newer content) , and indexicality (usage in commenting on many a situation) (Rintel, 2014). Memes are fun, and this fact is undeniable. However, memes are not “barren;” produsers can use them in various unethical ways just for the sake of harming others.

Finally, are media users labeled as trolls ethically sensitive to people whose points of view divert from theirs? “Trouble at the Koolaid Point” (2014) is by far a cruel account as how trolls can make the life of a woman misarable just because she had her own ideas that may conflict with other people’s point of views. Extending the meaning of cultural artifacts, a troll is a by-product of our social media culture and behaviors. “Trolling is defined as creating discord on the Internet by starting quarrels or upsetting people by posting inflammatory or off-topic messages in an online community” (Hanson, 2018). Trolling has no ethos; it is an unethical practice done just for the sake of causing disharmony among members of a group. Just because there are culture products, like a video game, and people comment on them, no individual is meant to disrespect another person because of his/her viewpoints. As stated in Trouble at the Koolaid Point (2014), “the most vocal trolling and ‘hate’ for a brand kicks in HARD once a critical mass of brand fans/users are thought to have ‘drunk the Koolaid’,” which probably means here a potion of stupidity. Coming back to the video game example, everyone has the right to think adversely when confronting other people’s opinions. But as stated above, there is no right to disrespect any social media user because of his/her way of thinking. Unfortunately, trolls do not comprehend this nor do they care but their own way of seeing things in social media.

Since the birth of social media and communities, many ethical questions continue to linger. In the exultation of the advent of the social media era that began in the 21^st Century, people danced and sang out of happiness for the interconnectedness it brought -in their eyes- to their lives. However, people forgot how others would see the consumption of social media content in various forms in the participatory world culture brought by the Internet. On one hand, how certain individuals “manipulate” the meaning of terms to profit from them is one ethical issue that needs to be dispelled (in the video game industry). On the other hand, memes need to contextualized as digital cultural artifacts that are close knit with the social media users’ produsage that also has to be governed by a true ethos that can help meme creators to act morally right respecting others. Memes can also come as a good example of slandering others in a trolling fashion. Finally, trolls are a byproduct of our social media society, and these inviduals will plunge you the deepest woe that people can imagine just because. These indomitable beings do not seem to be shied at the sight of their own cruelty and disrespect for others. They are like serpents who are coiled around communities waiting to seduce others and convert them into their henchmen.

References

Aiello, L., & Cacia, C. (2014). The Cultural Product: Integration and Relational Approach. Pennsylvania: Idea Group.

Habermas, T. (2001). International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences. Amsterdam: Elsevier Ltd. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/B0-08-043076-7/00394-6

Hanson, J. (2018, April 10). Trolls and Their Impact on Social Media. Retrieved August 26, 2020, from UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA–LINCOLN: https://unlcms.unl.edu/engineering/james-hanson/trolls-and-their-impact-social-media#:~:text=Trolling%20is%20defined%20as%20creating,rise%20out%20of%20other%20users.

Kerr, A. (2012, February 10). The politics of cultural production. Retrieved August 16, 2020, from Culture Digitally: http://culturedigitally.org/2012/02/the-politics-of-cultural-production/

Rintel, S. (2014, January 13). Explainer: what are memes? Retrieved August 26, 2020, from The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-are-memes-20789

Trouble at the Koolaid Point. (2014, October 7). Retrieved August 23, 2020, from Serious Pony: http://seriouspony.com/trouble-at-the-koolaid-point/

 

The Ethos of Cultural Production by Jonathan Acuña on Scribd

         How important is employee feedback? Well, it is especially important! All of us in a leadership position need to understand that “Employee feedback is any information exchanged by employees (formally or informally) regarding their performance, skills, or ability to work within a team” (Robinson, 2019). On the other hand, as stated by Lewin (2020), all our decisions are based on our emotions. But if one is not even-tempered when a feedback session is held with a team member, what can be bound to happen at any moment?

         Not being even-tempered during a employee feedback session can lead to undesired repercussions. A feedback session “represents a make-or-break situation. When done right, feedback can greatly improve engagement and productivity and boost team spirit” (Tšernov, 2020). If done while being emotionally-kidnapped by one’s anger, one will end up harming a team member rather than helping this person improve his/her work performance. If we understand employee feedback as “information given about a person’s actions at work, to be used as a guide for future improvement” (Croswell, n.d.), one’s social intelligence is the one thing that must prevail at all times, and one’s emotions must be subdued by our equanimity. If now subdued, it is better to reschedule the feedback meeting later on.

         Equanimity is just one component to bear in mind when one gets together with a team member for feedback. Cherry & Morin (2020), as well as Lewin (2020), mention the importance of the 5 componets of one’s emotional intelligence before an employee feedback meeting takes place. Lewin (2020) emphasizes the importance of comprehending the fact that one has to control one’s emotions to use them in one’s favor. For this reason during a work session with a team member one has to be self-aware of one’s emotional surroundings. This will allow to know one’s own mood and measure one’s emotional strengths and weaknesses (Gallaudet University, n.d.). Also, in this type of meetings, one has to be self-regulated to know how to handle upset feelings. Handling one’s emotions can help us calm oneself, control one’s impulses, stay positive, and be flexible when necessary. With all these, a leader is demonstrating his/her inter and intrapersonal skills to deal with personnel.

Continuing with Lewin’s (2020) ideas, one has to use social skills when meeting with people for employee feedback, too, to get along with peers and foster teamwork. One has to make and keep friends with one’s partners because this will help to solve problems and conflicts with others interacting professionally with them despite one’s anger (Gallaudet University, n.d.). One has to make use of empathy to be able to read and comprehend one’s peers’ feelings during feedback meetings. Being empathic can help in reading body language, taking another’s perspective, and helping others who find themselves hurt or sad (Gallaudet University, n.d.). And finally, one has to make use of motivation to set one’s own goals and work to achieve them along with the rest of the team. All this will help to continue to work despite frustration and to follow through and finish one’s tasks. And it also has to be utilized with peers to help them improve in areas where the team needs to catch up with the organization’s current challenges.

There is more to pay attention to when providing feedback to peers to avoid any sort of emotional kidnapping. As Lewin (2020) asserts, everything in an individual conveys messages, and this bears consequences. And for this reason, we need to find out what lies behind peers’ emotions. As explained by Lewin (2020), -see picture above-, there is more to be aware of when having an employee feedback session. Based on the illustration used by Lewin in her Escuela para Directores (which has been translated here into English), people can be compared to an iceberg; the only thing one gets to see are observable conducts. The hefty question then is, what underlies below the surface? Based on Lewin’s illustration, a whole unknown set of pieces of a person’s individuality and personality lies there, rather dormant and ready to wake up in any moment when getting feedback in a hostile environment where the leader can be emotionally-kidnapped by his/her own emotions.

“When we think about giving someone feedback, we often think of it in terms of positive and negative. However, there’s a new way to think about this distinction: reinforcing or redirecting” (Croswell, n.d.). In the absence of feedback, an employee may think that what s/he is doing is OK; the person will not explore alternative ways of doing things (Lewin, 2020). Employees react towards their leader; if they are not motivated, the reason may lie on the fact that there is no positive reaction to the team leader’s management (Lewin, 2020). Straigthening this relationship leader-team member aided by equanimity, social skills, and what lies behind one’s or/and one’s peer’s emotions is a must. Maintaining our emotions under control will avoid any kind of emotional kidnapping when talking to our peers about their performance and areas where one sees them improving to cope with the organization’s current needs.

As a final remark, “employee recognition plays a huge part of boosting performance and maintaining high levels of engagement” (Tšernov, 2020). If people are performing well, one has to tell them. There is no need to sugarcoat one’s compliments if someone in one’s team is doing something right. In a team every member should be able to determine what is the minimum standard one hastto achieve in one’s job, but as a leader one can also tell them what is desireable, too. A connection with the team members need to be established. For this reason it is important to let one’s peers know we are all on the same team. This is not about the leader vs. the team; this is about “you + them vs. [any] issue” (Robinson, 2019) that may arise and that needs to be fixed as a team. Under these work circumstances no such thing as emotional kidnapping will prevail in the office environment and feedback will flow smoothly at all times.

 

References

Cherry, K., & Morin, A. (2020, January 24). 5 Components of Emotional Intelligence. Retrieved August 22, 2020, from VeryWellMind.Com: https://www.verywellmind.com/components-of-emotional-intelligence-2795438

Croswell, A. (n.d.). Employee Feedback Examples for Development and Evaluation. Retrieved August 22, 2020, from CultureAmpCom: https://www.cultureamp.com/blog/employee-feedback-examples/#:~:text=Employee%20feedback%20is%20information%20given,a%20guide%20for%20future%20improvement.&text=Here%2C%20we%20provide%20examples%20of,in%20mind%20when%20giving%20feedback.

Gallaudet University. (n.d.). 5 Dimensions of Emotional Intelligence Self-Awareness. Retrieved August 22, 2020, from Gallaudet.Edu: https://www3.gallaudet.edu/documents/clerc/41-FiveDimensions.doc

Lewin, L. (2020, August 18). Inteligencia Emocional & Personalidades Conflictivas. Escuela para Directivos. Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Robinson, E. (2019, July 10). Why employee feedback is important + how to give and receive it. Retrieved August 22, 2020, from Hotjar.Com: https://www.hotjar.com/blog/employee-feedback/#:~:text=Employee%20feedback%20is%20any%20information,a%20stronger%2C%20more%20harmonious%20workplace.

Tšernov, K. (2020). Employee Feedback: Why It Matters and How to Use It. Retrieved August 22, 2020, from WeekDone.Com: https://hrdailyadvisor.blr.com/2018/10/02/how-the-halo-effect-impacts-your-workplace/#:~:text=The%20halo%20effect%20refers%20to,perceive%20almost%20everything%20they%20do.&text=It%20could%20be%20that%20the,before%20even%20meeting%20the%20individual.

 

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Why do CoPs Fail?

Exploring reasons to CoP failure 

Communities of Practice (CoP) describe “a learning theory with a strong relationship to the social construction of knowledge” (Knowledge Management Tools, 2018). And a community of practice for educators needs to be a virtual ground for them to interact with one another, share ideas regarding best practices or sources of teaching materials, and to strengthen teamwork and social bonds needed in a school environment. However, organizations can find that their community is not advancing, and this sort of stagnation or lack of advancement can be attributed to a full gamut of reasons.

The lack of advancement in a community of practice can be traced back to not acknowledging the growth channels for a CoP. Eisenberg (2018) states that a CoP has a series of stages in its lifecycle: inception, establishment, maturity, and mitosis. In stage 1, inception, the CoP management wants to achieve “critical mass,” which here it is understood as a high volume of members who register in it. In the case of a school, it is basically to have everyone on board. In stage 2, establishment, the underlying idea behind the CoP management mastermind is to continue growing by adding more and more members, but it is at his phase that members’ activity is hosted, triggered, and monitored for the first time. In a school CoP, teachers are now discovering what the community offers them and perhaps what they can do for the community. In stage 3, maturity, “the objective is to reach the point where the community has reached its initial maximum potential” (Eisenberg, 2018). As put out by Knowledge Management Tools (2018), at this point we have a true “construction of knowledge” where members do participate. And finally, in stage 4, mitosis, “the objective is to sustain and increase the level of both activity and sense of community through facilitating multiple, smaller online communities” (Eisenberg, 2018). Simply stated, the institution, in the point in time, has created a series of interest groups where instructors find and share material and engage with their peers in the exchange of good teaching practices. However, if a CoP got stranded in any of these phases, it is failing and smothered by the lack of member engagement.

The lack of advancement in a community of practice can also be linked to the absence of community management. Though Vanessa Paech at an interview with The University of Sydney (2020) explains that there are three basic reasons for community management, two of them really apply to CoPs organic life. For Paech, community management should stick to “the purpose of giving members somewhere to come together and share stories” (The University of Sydney, 2020). In an education context, the CoP is the place we can provide instructors to share their expertise in the form of best practices, teaching anecdotes with a moral (or teaching), teacher-made materials, and the like. This virtual space gives the teacher “a social context of being an integrated part of [the] community” (Knowledge Management Tools, 2018). In the absence of a community manager, this may fail especially if the CoP did not advance to the establishment phase. The other idea shared by Paech (The University of Sydney, 2020) is that the community management helps align members “to get a movement or to get a cause going.” Achieving this movement or cause going may really be happening in the maturity phase. In the case of the school’s CoP, due to the lack of a leader in charge of the community management, new members will just perceive inactivity or lethargy and will not comprehend the real idea of being an active participant in this virtual space. If a CoP lacks someone in charge of its activity, it is failing and no members will pounce down upon the resources in its repositories of material or academic conversations.

The lack of advancement in a community of practice can also be linked to the absence of channels to make the community grow. There are various channels to reach members for a CoP, but “the challenge is to know when to use each channel to drive the growth you desire” (Eisenberg, 2018). The first and most reliable way of gaining new members for a community of learning is by direct growth. This “happens when you are appealing to an audience that you already have access to” (Eisenberg, 2018). In the school setting, the cohort of educators can be directly invited by mail or by other means the institution finds appropriate. A second channel to gain new members for the CoP is through word-of-mouth. When teaching staff members are already part of a CoP, they can start sharing content with peers and tell them where that content (and more) is available for them if they are active participants in the community. A third channel that could be related to an audience that is not exactly yet accessible to the institution is promotion. “There are a variety of different promotional channels that can be used to appeal to an external audience, for example, events and competitions, newsletters,” etc. (Eisenberg, 2018). On the contrary, if a CoP do not have promotion channels, it is then failing and teachers will find themselves sorely dissappointed with the so-called community of practice.

To sum up, if a CoP is failing to achieve the founders’ intention to build it, this can be connected to one of the reasons exposed above. This does not mean that there are no other reason for a CoP’s failure, but they need to be examined to rule them out. In the meantime, it is crucial for the health of a CoP to spot and acknowledge the growth channels a community undergoes from its foundation to its consolidation. Secondly, it is also fundamental for the heartiness of a CoP to ensure the presence of a community manager figure who can help align members to its purpose and reason for existing and get the community going and sharing. Additionally, it is imperative that channels to make the community grow are regularly examined and analyzed to enhance members activity and help the CoP reach the pinnacle of its success.

References

Eisenberg, R. (2018). Building Community - A Primer. Washington DC: World Bank Group.

Knowledge Management Tools. (2018). Organizational Learning and Communities of Practice. Retrieved August 19, 2020, from knowledge-Management-Tools.Net: http://www.knowledge-management-tools.net/communities-of-practice.html

The University of Sydney. (2020). Community Management, Interview. Retrieved August 19, 2020, from FutureLearn.Com: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/ethical-social-media/1/steps/824144

[9] Communities of Practice Failure by Jonathan Acuña on Scribd