Communities of practice

All of us belong to communities of practice - often to more than one - acting as core members of some, and peripheral members of others (Lave & Wenger, 1991). Indeed, in one's lifetime one travels through an array of communities. Communities of practices exist in lunchrooms at work, in field settings, and on factory floors, but they can also operate in virtual environments, including chatrooms, discussion boards and newsgroups. Communities come in a variety of forms: they can be small or large; local or global; actual or virtual; personal or work-related; formally recognized or informal; supported with a budget or unfunded; visible or invisible (Wenger, 2006). A community of practice can either evolve naturally because of the members' shared interest in a particular domain, or it can be created with the goal of gaining knowledge on a specific topic or field. Through the process of sharing information and experiences with the group, members learn from each other, and develop themslves personally and professionally.