Seminar 2: CoP

Jenny Retzler
This seminar

 The portfolio assignment requires you to apply the 3 underpinning theories to specific issues.
 This seminar will help you develop an understanding of how to apply Lave and Wenger’s CoP
theory.
Your pre-session task was to…
Using an example from your own, or someone
else’s life consider a time when you learned how
to do something using Communities of Practice
theory.
Think about how participation shaped your
identity and the ways in which identities change
(or are re-negotiated) depending on the context.
 The domain
 Legitimate peripheral participation
 Practices (abstract and concrete)
 Tools (abstract and concrete)
 Trajectory (peripheral, inbound, outbound,
insider)
 Full (or non-) participation
 Identity (incoming and developing,
established)
Your pre-session task

 How did you find it?

 Were there any particular concepts you struggled with?

The best way to think about CoP…
My example

I am writing about how CoP can be applied to

I am writing about how CoP can be applied to
being a bridesmaid for my sister-in-law.
being a bridesmaid for my sister-in-law.

The domain I was learning to be a part of was the

The ______ I was learning to be a part of was
bridal party.
the bridal party.

To start with, I was a legitimate peripheral

To start with, I was _____________ because out
participant because out of the group I had known
of the group I had known the bride for the least
the bride for the least time, I didn’t know the other
time, I didn’t know the other girls, and I had never
girls, and I had never been involved in a wedding
been involved in a wedding before.
before.
My example
Being in the bridal party, some of the
______________ included planning the hen do,
helping the bride make decisions, and shopping
for bridesmaid dresses; but there were also
___________, like reassuring the bride about her
choices.
Some of the ______ we used were Whatsapp
and Pinterest (________), and discussions we
had while shopping (_________).
Being in the bridal party, some of the concrete
practices included planning the hen do, helping
the bride make decisions, and shopping for
bridesmaid dresses; but there were also abstract
practices, like reassuring the bride about her
choices.
Some of the tools we used were Whatsapp and
Pinterest (concrete), and discussions we had
while shopping (abstract).
My example

I was on an inbound trajectory. I was

I was on an ___________. I was honoured to be
honoured to be involved and committed to
involved and committed to learning to be a good
learning to be a good bridesmaid. As the
bridesmaid. As the wedding got closer and I
wedding got closer and I understood more
understood more about bring a bridesmaid, I was
about bring a bridesmaid, I was more
more confident in how I could help and excited
confident in how I could help and excited
about the wedding.
about the wedding.
My example
By the wedding, this led to ________in my role,
and I was able to really enjoy all the different
parts of the wedding day and to support my
sister-in-law.
Despite not recognising myself in the heavy
make-up (a ________ of my normal identity), my
_______ as part of the bridal party was
__________ and we chose to socialise together
throughout the wedding.
By the wedding, this led to full participation in my
role, and I was able to really enjoy all the different
parts of the wedding day and to support my
sister-in-law.
Despite not recognising myself in the heavy
make-up (a re-negotiation of my normal identity),
my identity as part of the bridal party was
established and we chose to socialise together
throughout the wedding.
My example

Learning to be part of a bridal party…

 The domain – the bridal party
 Legitimate peripheral participation – at the start, when I’d never been a bridesmaid!
 Practices (abstract and concrete) – planning hen dos, deciding on dresses, supporting the bride
 Tools (abstract and concrete) – social media, pinterest, chats
 Trajectory (peripheral, inbound, outbound, insider) – inbound, I wanted to be a good bridesmaid!
 Full (or non-) participation – full participation
 Identity (incoming and developing, established) – by the wedding day I was an established member
of the bridal party
Over to you…

 The domain
 Legitimate peripheral participation
 Practices (abstract and concrete)
 Tools (abstract and concrete)
 Trajectory (peripheral, inbound, outbound, insider)
 Full (or non-) participation
 Identity (incoming and developing, established)