Communities of Practice Learning, Meaning, and Identity

I have argued in Coda I that learning involves an interaction between experience and competence. In communities of practice, the definition of competence and the production of experience are in very close interaction. Mutual engagement in a shared practice can thus be an intricate process of constant fine tuning between experience and competence. Because this process goes both ways, communities of practice are not only a context for the learning of newcomers but also, and for the same reasons, a context for new insights to be transformed into knowledge.

1. • On the one hand, a community of practice is a living context that can give newcomers access to competence and also invite a personal experience of engagement by which to incorporate that competence into an identity of participation. When these conditions are in place, communities of practice are a privileged locus for the acquisition of knowledge.

2. • On the other hand, a well-functioning community of practice is a good context to explore radically new insights without becoming fools or stuck in some dead end. A history of mutual engagement around a joint enterprise is an ideal context for this kind of leading-edge learning, which requires a strong bond of communal competence along with a deep respect for the particularity of experience. When these conditions are in place, communities of practice are a privileged locus for the creation of knowledge.