How do you build a community of Practice (with Examples)

Whatever you love it's likely that there's someone else in the world that shares your passion. Once you find that common passion, it's the first step to creating an entire community that is based on your passion.

If you're looking to learn how to create an online community of practice read this article for top strategies, techniques, as well as 3 incredible examples of communities of practice that you can be inspired by.

What kind of community practices?

The term "community of practice" refers to a community made up of members who have an interest, affinity or desire to gather to talk about the topic.

As the name suggests, group of practice collaborate and exchange information, sharing their knowledge within a group. They have a shared identities, which are rooted in the same interests.

Lave as well as Wenger Communities of Practice

Communities of practice were first used by socioanthropologists Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger. Cognitive anthropologists were experts. Lave and Wenger investigated apprenticeships, and came to the conclusion that the community could function as living learning.

For Lave or Wenger Communities of Practice defined individuals who take part in a collective learning process where each person shares their knowledge to the other participants of the group. The idea of communities of practice is based by the notion of social learning , and quickly expanded beyond apprenticeships, and later to include other types of learning.

Practice communities are all around us. This could be a group of children within a school clique or yoga instructors in a yoga studio, or the art historians of Reddit. It doesn't matter where the. What matters is the community or the passions they share - a community of practice is formed at any point, anytime, and at any time.

Three components make up a community of practice

Based on Lave and Wenger In order to be classified as a community practice it must possess three fundamental factors. They differentiate a community-based practice from simply a group of acquaintances or friends.

Let's take a closer take a look at 3 of them:

     1. Domain

For an organization to be an effective community of practice to be successful, members of the group have an topic of interest or area of interest.

This is essential as it's what brings people in the group closer. It usually has a shared goal and may motivate people to cooperate and communicate with one another. Furthermore, it can also be the focus on shared learning, which occurs within the group.

     2. Community

It's certainly not enough just to share a common interest. to allow a community of practice to be successful it's essential that participants create a sense of community around their chosen domain.

Community can take many different types and shapes, and differs based on the topic. The most common examples of community-building are:

• Face-to-face meetings
• Organizations of social media
• Discussions
• Webinars
• Group activities

It's not the style of communication that is the main factor, but the sense of community the communication creates. This creates the conditions the sharing of knowledge and cooperation in the practices community.

3. Practice

The third element that turns a regular group of colleagues to a practice community is the fact that they have to become practitioners in their field.

What exactly is it the point? One way to think about it is that members of the group of practitioners share an objective in common: to discover ways to do their work more effectively and increase their understanding. They come up with ideas and sources that help them improve their expertise within the domain.

If you follow the concept in the community of practices which was developed in the work of Wenger and Lave apprentices, they aren't simply designed to share an interest and a community - they are also geared towards making the members better educated and skilled within their field.

Let's take a look at an example...

Imagine a group of bird-watching lovers. They are spread out across all over the world, but they use Twitter to exchange photos and tips on their birds and regularly meet to hold webinars online on birds and related topics. They communicate with each other on where to spot particular species, as well as information and recommendations for gear. They comprise all the components of a practice group, which includes domain, community and practice.

Do you have an idea for your own community of practice? Here's how to create a practice community with just seven easy steps.

How do you start the first community of practice?

In the process of forming your own practice group requires a number of actions, such as deciding on the targets you'd like to reach as well as selecting moderators. You must also find an effective means to allow your members to communicate.

Below are the top suggestions for starting a group of practice, whatever you are interested in.

     1. Outline your domain

If you're trying to figure out how you can create a community of practice is a good idea to begin with your domain. If you want to locate members that share the same interests as you Try to explain precisely the purpose of your domain in addition to what it's not.

A practice-based community must have a distinct focus which allows other members to decide the community that they'd prefer to become a part of.

Take a look at an example when you're trying to build the community of practice that you can create to help fellow photographers . It's possible that you'll require to narrow your you're focusing on. Perhaps you're interested in landscapes or you are looking to form a community of wedding photographers. There's a possibility that you are drawn with a specific type vintage camera. It's important to be aware of the thing before you begin.

If you're a creator of courses, and you're also an instructor the community of practice is likely to focus on whatever course's focus is! If you're a part to create an academy, it is possible to set distinct communities of practice for your numerous courses or for modules.

     2. Define your goals

To ensure that you have a community of practices a clearly defined goal and clear direction, it is useful to define your vision and mission from the very beginning. Why do you want to build your own community of practice? What's your purpose?

If you're able to develop goals for your group of practice and you are able to ensure that everyone in your group agrees with the objectives. In doing so, you can select a direction for the practice of your group to make it better focused.

     3. Have proper introductions given by the members of the group.

For creating an environment that allows your practice community to grow, it's best practice to investigate the experience and knowledge of all members.

Invite participants to share the details of their lives and share details about their backgrounds, areas of interest, and other experiences pertinent to the community. This can be accomplished by conducting a survey or an interview. Encourage them to post in your online community area.

It can also be helpful to arrange a meeting for an introduction with your fellow members in order to give participants the chance to introduce themselves as well as connect with each other. This is especially useful when you're beginning your group of practice at the beginning - you must be conscious of the importance of network connections in building an efficient community.

     4. Choose the moderator(s)

To create a practice community that is beneficial to its members, it might be helpful to elect or nominate a moderator . This will ensure the smooth running of things.

A moderator for the community is a person who is part within the local community. They oversee it is responsible for organizing events, facilitates discussion and assists those who are new to the community in finding their way. There is the option of choosing a moderator you (it might even be you!) or even vote among the current members of your community.

The first thing you need to keep in mind is the fact that the person who modifies should be ideally well-versed in their knowledge base and expertise in your area of expertise to accomplish their task efficiently.

     5. Find your platform

It's now commonplace for communities in practice to remain connected to the web. If you're not in the same area, you'll probably have limited opportunities to interact face-to-face within your neighborhood. This is why it's important to find a platform or channel that is utilized by all members of your group in order to let everyone easily connect.

Social media can be an extremely effective tool for developing and maintaining a group of practices. Create a Facebook group or selecting a hashtag on Instagram or Twitter as a start.

     6. Offer support and help to those who are new to the field.

A community of practice is built around an curiosity and desire to learn and grow. It also offers the possibility of helping people who are only beginning to learn about the field or subject they are interested in.

In order to create a powerful community of experts, you should think about creating or compiling resources to help start-up communities or new members. Make use of your expertise to teach and inform members via webinars, videos or workbooks, and so on. In the end, learning is the main focus in every practice community!

     7. Monitor your community and make adjustments

To keep your community of practice running in the top position of the practice, it is beneficial to create feedback loops. Feedback loops let you continue building your community following your initial set-up.

Be aware of the practice communities you are a part of by regularly soliciting input from its members using online surveys. Once you have gathered information about the strengths and weaknesses of your community, it is possible to adapt and improve the method in order to establish the most effective space. This last step can aid your practice in staying relevant, and ensure that your organization is beneficial for the communities you serve.

Now that you have an understanding of the steps it takes to begin the process of creating a community of practice it's likely that you'd like to look at the examples of community of practice working! Look over the following cases.

Three examples of community of practice

Making a practice-based community is about encouraging involvement by the members of your community as well as empowering other members to assist in making the size that your group. Make use of these practice-based community examples to inspire you and develop your individual.

 Examples from the Community of Practice 1:

We're here to create the community of practice around our course creators. There are so many inspirational entrepreneurs and educators who utilize our course every day. the community of practice allows them share, collaborate and build their business together.

Our practice community comprises an array of course creators across the globe However, they all have the common goal of exchange of their knowledge via the web.

Community of Practice. Example 2 9to5Dropouts

Course instructor Mike Nelson is one of the best examples of successful communities of practice for a look. The community he created online was to support 9to5Dropouts the online course he created in the hopes of creating an entrepreneur-owned t-shirt company and leave their jobs.

The core of Mike's band of practitioners is his team consisting of coaches who were former students who've completed the course and set up their own businesses. They serve as moderators for the group , and assist with the questions of other students and host live Q&A sessions to share their own experiences.

Mike's community of practice centers around Facebook and his personal Facebook group has now grown to more than 25,000. This practice community has been instrumental in helping Mike boost his income to seven figures and the plan is to grow his online courses business much.

Community of practice example 3. Do More With Your Dog

Before establishing an online training company with Kyra Sundance worked as the dog that performed in stunts. Utilizing her knowledge her experience, she established Do More With Your Dog, now the largest training and dog tricks organisation in the world.

The key to Kyra's accomplishment is the practice community that she developed around her own brand. Using Facebook as her primary social network, Kyra created a huge network of students from the courses she taught.

But, Kyra has taken it one step further, creating a worldwide community of instructors with certifications who have now built their own practice community focused on her program. The group is called "Spark Teams' the coaches are rewarded with points when they have a new student sign up to their page on Facebook. They urge members to stay actively involved and active in their respective communities.

An alternative method to build community Kyra and her coworkers employ is monthly challenges for all the individual communities of practice to participate in. This can increase the number of participants, as well as create communities of Do More With Your Dog communities that practice all over the world.

Are you looking to establish an entirely new practice community?

A practice community is the perfect opportunity for any person to start the process. All you need is a desire to join and a platform.

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