Week 19 Inquiry topics and Communities of Practice.

This blog is a reflection on communities of practice (CoP) and how they can help with a teacher inquiry.

Descriptive:

I have selected two topics for further reflection from this Mindlab journey as potential inquiry topics. I have an interest in 3D printing and growth mindset. Setting children up for the future to be critical thinkers and problem solvers will enable them to not only forge their own path, but also be valuable contributors to society. I'm interested how current technology and a growth mindset can be used to enhance the learning of young children though developing their curiosity and abilities to 'figure things out'.

Wenger (2000) outlines a community 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. In order for the group to be a CoP the need to meet the following criteria:

Joint Enterprise: We are all educators or have an interest who regularly interact through Google Plus on the topics pertaining to the groups interest.

Mutual Engagement: We regularly share links to resources that are beneficial to our interests and that we feel would benefit other members as well as ask and answer questions to to further our own and others understandings within the groups interest.

Shared Repertoire: As we regularly contribute links and resources to this shared space, this builds a bank of knowledge that can be tapped into as needed.


My CoP is in an online space through Google Plus, however I am looking to expand this to a face to face interactions as I meet like minded people in the future around South Canterbury, particularly with regard to 3D printing in the classroom as this technology becomes more widely available in schools. Through my potential inquiry topics, I'll be able to bring insight though research on growth mindset and classroom experience in 3D printing to these communities to build the shared repertoire and improve the bank of knowledge for other members to benefit from.




 

Comparative:

As the other members in the online community contribute to the CoP, they are sharing their experiences, tips and insights and links to information that they feel is relevant to the group. Common threads and themes pop up from time time, which highlight the strengths and weaknesses as the CoP continues on it's path. Based on existing posts and questions within these communities, these potential inquiry topics will be well supported. Other members have shared their learning journeys and projects. They see strengths in how 3D printing can lead to student problem solving in both 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional spaces and its application to real world problem solving using the ITL Research 21st century rubrics. The main weakness not so much in the inquiry topic, but around technical problem solving or application of ideas as everyone has different expertise and different technologies.

In 2012, an article in The Economist declared 3D printing “the third industrial revolution” (The Economist, 2012). If we are too set our students up for what is occurring now and in the future we need to ensure they are exposed to current and emerging technologies to design and solve problems. Combining this with a growth mindset where students believe their talents can be developed through hard work, good strategies, and input from others (Dweck, 2016) will set them up for the future.

Critical Reflection:

Having seen other members share their ideas in the CoP and the flow of ideas and support, these inquiry topics, have potential. Being able to see and sharing practical ideas with other educators about how growth mindset and 3d printing can be used in the classroom to solve problems and create reflective critical thinking students has a mutual benefit for all in our shared domain of interest (Wenger, 2015). Technology is continuing to change at a rapid pace and setting our students up with the mindset to be adaptive is not only good for their future, but good for our economy in general. Having these discussions in a shared domain will be of mutual benefit to all members of our CoP.



Dweck, C. (2016, January 13). What Having a “Growth Mindset” Actually Means. Retrieved from, https://hbr.org/2016/01/what-having-a-growth-mindset-actually-means

ITL Research. (2012). 21CLD Learning Activity Rubrics. Retrieved from https://education.microsoft.com/GetTrained/ITL-Research

The Economist (2012), “The third industrial revolution”, retrieved from https://www.economist.com/leaders/2012/04/21/the-third-industrial-revolution

Wenger-Trayner, E., & Wenger-Trayner, B. (2015). Introduction to communities of practice: A brief overview of the concept and its uses. Retrieved from http://wenger-trayner.com/introduction-to-communities-of-practice/