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CitationConcept of interestMain thesis or argumentEvidence used to support main thesis or argumentKey pointsCritique
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Blanton, M. L., & Stylianou, D. A. (2009). Interpreting a Community of Practice Perspective in Discipline-Specific Professional Development in Higher Education. Innovative Higher Education, 34(2), 79-92. doi:10.1007/s10755-008-9094-8The authors examine the use of a Community of Practice for faculty professional development that is specific to one discipline. The author argued that there is an insignificant amount of research on approaches to professional development through a community of practice lens that pertain to discipline-specific programs.The authors conducted primary research that included informal data analysis involving the authors, formal data collection including videotaping and transcribing seminar sessions and one-hour interviews. In addition to the qualitative data, research was reviewed and included from scholarly articles that discussed the use of a Community of Practice in higher education and within specific disciplines.The three key points that the authors highlight in this article are that: 1. Building a culture of community and learning 2. Having individuals with a variety of experience in the Community of Practice 3. The need for all appropriate members to assist in the coordination of professional development. Although the article discusses discipline-specific professional development, it does not go into detail to explain how individuals within each discipline may have different wants and needs. The primary research is based out of a mid-sized higher education institution in the United States of America and does not provide details on if the authors believe it can also relate to areas outside of the United States of America. Every participant was a tenured mathematics professor, which resulted in mathematic discipline-specific professional development needs. Informal and Formal data was collected, and the findings have resulted in the possibility of future research in regards to encouraging long-serving members to take a leadership role and bringing new members on-board to the Community of Practice.
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CitationConcept of interestMain thesis or argumentEvidence used to support main thesis or argumentKey pointsCritique
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Bond, M. A., & Lockee, B. B. (2018). Evaluating the Effectiveness of Faculty Inquiry Groups as Communities of Practice for Faculty Professional Development. Journal of Formative Design in Learning, 2(1), 1-7. doi:10.1007/s41686-018-0015-7The authors examine how Communities of Practice can be used to enhance faculty professional development opportunities. The authors argue that A Community of Practice (in the form of a Faculty Inquiry Group) could allow for faculty who have little to no experience with instructional technology to become aware of and implement instructional strategies that leverage technology.The authors provided evidence from secondary research and primary research they conducted in the forms of open-ended response questions and the use of the Likert Scale. The open-ended responses contained impactful information that supports the main thesis, such as "My class includes more ways to assess students. I no
longer rely just on tests to see student progress" (p .5).		The three key points that the authors highlight in this article are that: 1. The professional development oppourtunity should align with instittuional and departmental goals. 2. The importance of a welcoming community. 3. The importance of practicing and sharing knowledge. While the faculty members provided valuable insights, the response rate was low and only represents one post-secondary institution in the United States of America. The authors believe Communities of Practice are a way to positively impact faculty professional development opportunities; however, they go on to mention significant research must still occur in understanding what motivates a faculty member to complete professional development. The study focused on local Communities of Practice, not leveraging technologies that can allow a Community of Practice to be done digitally, allowing for greater accessibility between employees who may be working remotely or unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts.
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CitationConcept of interestMain thesis or argumentEvidence used to support main thesis or argumentKey pointsCritique
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Drouin, M., Vartanian, L. R., & Birk, S. (2013). A Community of Practice Model for Introducing Mobile Tablets to University Faculty. Innovative Higher Education, 39(3), 231-245. doi:10.1007/s10755-013-9270-3The authors analyze the use of a Community of Practice to implement the use of a new educational technology on campus.The authors argue that a Community of Practice model can successfully be used to introduce the use of tablets at a mid-sized Higher Education institution.The authors provided primary research that was conducted at a mid-sized United States of America based post-secondary institution. In addition to the qualitative data from the primary research, additional research from scholarly articles was cited throughout the article on the benefits of a Community of Practice and the use of Communities of Practice to introduce technology to higher education employees.The four key points that the authors highlight in this article are that: 1. The benefits and challenges of Communities of Practice. 2.Perceived views of using mobile technology for teaching and learning purposes. 3. Faculty members perceived view of a Community of Practice for implementing the launch of a new technology. 4. Faculty members perceived use of the technology before and after the Community of Practice.The argument presented by the authors is US-centric and the primary research conducted is limited to one mid-sized US Higher Education institution. The primary research conducted had participants from a variety of ranks and faculties, which has the possibility of providing generalized results. While the author believes that the Community of Practice model was a success, they did not compare a Community of Practice with any other implementation model. Other research is cited throughout the article, highlighting the effective use of Communities of Practice for effectively integrating technology into a higher education setting.
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CitationConcept of interestMain thesis or argumentEvidence used to support main thesis or argumentKey pointsCritique
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Nixon, S., & Brown, S. (2013). A community of practice in action: SEDA as a learning community for educational developers in higher education. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 50(4), 357-365. doi:10.1080/14703297.2013.839392The authors examine the impact a Community of Practice has had on the Staff and Educational Development Association (SEDA).The authors argue that the Staff and Educational Development Association (SEDA) was an effective Community of Practice (CoP) for higher education institution employees.The authors provided quotations from the Staff and Educational Development Association (SEDA) post-holders and engaged members and references past research on the topic of Communities of Practice.The three key points that the authors highlight in this article are that: 1. The benefits of building a community of learners. 2. The key characteristics of a successful Community of Practice. 3. What SEDA will have to do moving forward to successfully maintain their Communities of Practice.Although the article highlights research from other scholarly articles, it also contains several "quotations from informal communications between the authors and SEDA post-holders and other engaged members to illustrate the ways in which the organisation matches definitions of learning communities" (Nixon & Brown, 2013). The article specifically highlights the impact of Communities of Practice to the Staff and Educational Development Association (SEDA) members, who were mainly UK-based institutions, resulting in UK-centric results. It is unclear if the author believes that the success of a Community of Practice that SEDA experienced, could also occur at Higher Educational institutions in other areas of the world.
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CitationConcept of interestMain thesis or argumentEvidence used to support main thesis or argumentKey pointsCritique
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Sherer, P., Shea, T., & Kristensen, E. (2003). Online communities of practice: A catalyst for faculty development. Innovative Higher Education, 27(3), 183-194. doi:10.1023/A:1022355226924
In this article, the authors discuss the use of online technologies to allow increased access to participating in a Community of Practice.The Authors argue that the development of a Faculty Learning Community (FLC) that utilizes online technologies provides enriched faculty professional development opportunities.The authors referenced examples found in literature, as well as approaches a Teaching and Learning Centre could take to contribute to a successful FLC.The three key points that the authors highlight in this article are that: 1. Technology can enhance the opportunities for faculty to learn as a community. 2. FLCs are a great example of a Community of Practice. 3. Multiple individuals have key roles to ensure an FLC is successful, including people in senior-level management and operational positions.The arguments use backed research on the topics of Communities of Practice, Faculty Learning Communities, and digital technologies, that is mostly US-centric. The authors provide very little evidence of primary research on using online technologies for FLCs due to the time period the article was published in. The author highlights best-practices for FLCs and digital tools to highlight how they could be used together, and the significant amount of resources requires in the early 2000's to manage and maintain an online platform to host an FLC.
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