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Lauren Anstey Post 1

• 2 June 2018, 1:26 PM

Open Ed CoP

Joining with my morning coffee in-hand and happy to be an early contributor to the conversation! (the early bird gets the tweet?) 


Community around open education is going to be a key theme for me over the MOOC. I've been co-chairing an Open Education (OE) Working Group at my institution and community (surprise, surprise) is coming out as one of the main themes - mainly that we need more of it. So I really appreciated the reading and the way it explored sustainability of community within the "Institution" 


I am curious to hear from others how they have engaged or fostered a community of practice within that institutional context. What has worked? What hasn't? What do you consider to be the key elements to a thriving community of practice?

Here's my own initial attempt:

  • What works? facilitated opportunities to come together so that faculty can see tangible ways to engage while being encouraged to be valued contributing members, not simply observers 
  • What hasn't? the community ownership over it's own leadership - meaning, that I've seen CoPs fail because they were overly facilitated or the facilitation didn't take up within the community such that there was greater ownership. If it comes down to one person to set the meetings, send the emails, share the resources, and wait for engagement the community isn't much of a community and is bound to collapse
  • Key elements? food, time & space, sustained small opportunities for engagement both face-to-face and online, no obligation but high expectations 


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Marvin Patton Post 2 in reply to 1

• 2 June 2018, 4:24 PM • Edited by the author on 2 June 2018, 4:26 PM

Hi, Lauren:

I am just recently getting connected with what I believe could fairly be called a Community of Practice.  I think a driving force for us ("what's working", in a sense) is a strong common perception of necessity.  I am working with a group of other Child Development and Early Childhood Education instructors to locate and develop OER specific for our disciplines.  As I'm sure you know, OER is not equally available nor distributed across all fields. So, if you teach math or chemistry--CHA-CHING! You'll likely find lots of stuff you can use.  But CD/ECE?  Not so much.

So, desperate marauding bands are popping up hither and yon, to glean what we can and develop it further.

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Jennifer Nohai-Seaman Post 5 in reply to 2

• 8 June 2018, 3:27 PM

@Marvin -- Please connect with Shelley Tomey in this course. She just created a Child Development OER course as part of our Achieving the Dream OER degree initiative grant and I'm sure she'd be happy to share. Hostos Community College is also creating an entire ECE degree, so please seek them out, as well.


@Lauren-- do you have a Center for Teaching-like place at your institution in which you work with? 

I think to make the community of practice work, small task forces might need to be created from time to time to plan and complete a specific project. However, you're right, there needs to be a coming together of sorts, food is always helpful, to share and contribute.

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Laura Killam Post 3 in reply to 1

• 3 June 2018, 1:00 AM

Hello, 

In addition to your points, small coffee chats are recommended. That is what I am trying this Fall. Purposely expose yourself to diverse opinions to foster innovation and generate ideas. 

Laura 

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Lauren Anstey Post 4 in reply to 3

• 4 June 2018, 2:46 PM

Thanks Laura and Marvin, 


Yes, coffee chats - that is what I am trying out with my local community in and around this MOOC to get something of a community together!