DS4OERS/COP/Desribe COPS



In this section, we take a brief look at communities of practice (CoP) -- a concept proposed by Etienne Wenger and Jean Lave in 1991, to describe the process of collective learning in an area of shared interest.

There are three characteristics which distinguish a community of practice:


 * 1) Domain: The group's identity is defined by a shared interest - for example, facilitating the co-operative development and adoption of OER in teaching.
 * 2) Community action: Members participate in joint activities and discussions to share information and help each other. Note that a website with a list of members is not of itself a community of practice - the members must take part in activities or discussions to help each other in their domain of interest.
 * 3) The practice: Communities of practice are more than just communities of interest. Members actively share practice - for instance, by sharing resources, tools, and ways of addressing recurring problems.