Browsing by Subject "communities of practice"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Academic identities and communities of practice in a professional discipline
    (Taylor & Francis, 2009) Jawitz, Jeff
    This paper explores the dynamics surrounding the formation of academic identities in a context where the nature of academic work is contested both as a result of tensions within the discipline and in response to pressure from both the institution and the field of higher education. It is based on a case study which investigated the process of academic identity formation at the micro level of a department at a South African university. The study revealed a complex relationship between identity construction and participation within the particular configuration of teaching, professional and research communities of practice that defined the academic field in the department. Multiple identity trajectories were evident, indicating the role of individual agency, despite the dominance of a professional community of practice within the department. The arrival of new academics in the department without professional practice experience was found to have created the possibility of a changed notion of the academic within the discipline.
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    Education for All Week 6 - Supporting each other
    (2018-06-01) McConkey, Roy
    In this video, Roy McConkey discusses the pathway to transforming a school into a more inclusive learning environment. He discusses the roles of parents, health professionals (who can provide guidance for students with special needs), and the value of school-school and teacher-teacher mutual aid and communities of practice to enhance their understanding and practice of inclusive education. He also stresses the importance of the emotional support these peer networks can provide to maintain teacher enthusiasm and commitment to inclusivity. He mentions other interventions such as service training courses from schools with successful inclusivity practices. He closes by stressing that there are many means to promote inclusivity, but the will to change is often lacking, and this aspect needs to be addressed before assigning blame to inadequate resourcing.
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    Education for All Week 6 - The value of sharing
    (2018-06-01) McKenzie, Judith
    In this video, Judith McKenzie discusses how to begin to implement some of the ideas developed through the Education for All MOOC. She suggests that participants begin by creating a community of practice. She defines communities of practice as groups of people who come together in a process of collective learning within a shared domain of activity. She suggests that creating communities of practice around inclusive education would be a good place to start in supporting inclusive education, such as groups of parents who support each other and advocate for their children to be included in mainstream education, or groups of teachers who co-learn from each other about inclusivity. Communities of practice can be used for communal action or shared problem-solving, as well as sharing information and ideas, resources, transport, and emotional support. She mentions that communities of practice can be primarily face-to-face or employ online media such as Facebook to communicate.