This article ‘Stewarding and power in networked learning’ by Whitworth and Webster (2018) resonated with me deeply, not because of the debate experience alone, but mostly because of my role as an educator. Throughout the debate I thought of so many topics to be explored by my students in the same way. I was curious how I would motivate my students to engage. Up until reading the article I never considered my classroom environment as a CoP (community of practice), rather I looked at it as a CoI (community of inquiry). Garrison, Anderson and Archer (2000) talk about the three elements that make up an CoI as social presence, cognitive presence and teaching presence (as cited in Anderson, 2008, p. 344). Teaching presence within a CoI is not only describing the educator role but also encompasses the student role when knowledge is being constructed and shared (Anderson, 2008, p. 345). What I found most interesting in the article by Whitworth and Webster (2018) was their description of what teaching presence looks like within a CoP model. Whitworth and Webster (2018) describe how the power relationship between student and educator is not looked at as location, but rather as a way to construct (p. 367). According to Whitworth and Webster (2018) my role would be to “provide ‘hooks’ … that help link the ideas of one group member with another..”(p. 370). Contrary to my former understanding of a teaching presence in a CoI, where I would remain involved in discussions for the duration of a forum, here I would eventually completely withdraw from the conversations and “ [a]ny perception of [my] ability to intervene and direct the discussion [would] be entirely based on a kind of residual presence, indirectly expressed through texts such as the parameters of the set activity, the marking rubric and the formative feedback given…” (p. 370). As my students become “stewards” (Whitworth & Webster, 2018) over their learning environment “[e]ach digital habitat emerges from these operations in distinctive ways: no two configurations are exactly alike” (Whitworth & Webster, 2018, p. 365). The article by Whitworth and Webster (2018) gave me food for thought about my role as educator and reaffirmed my stance that not all DLEs are equal.
References
Anderson, T. (2008). Theory and practice of online learning (2nd ed.). Issues in distance education series. Edmonton: AU Press.
Whitworth, A., & Webster, L. (2018). Stewarding and power in networked learning. Retrieved from https://www.networkedlearningconference.org.uk/abstracts/papers/whitworth_48.pdf
Great post Anita!
I enjoyed Whitworth and Webster’s article as well, and found it very interesting that they see a role for higher education in initiating Communities of Practice (Whitwork & Webster, 2018). That being said, I found myself brainstorming environments where this model would and would not work. I think it would in our MALAT community, and at the college level, I could see it working in upper levels as students prepare to enter the workforce. However, I question how well it would work in introductory level courses. Have you given any thought as to which courses you may apply this in and how well it would function in different courses and levels?
Whitworth, A., & Webster, L. (2018). Stewarding and power in networked learning. Retrieved from https://www.networkedlearningconference.org.uk/abstracts/papers/whitworth_48.pdf
Hi Jessica, I share your thoughts on where a CoP would be most effective and realistic to use. I would definitely see myself struggling to use it with my entry level students. However I see exciting possibilities for my second year students, many of who have been in the workforce already and are returning to upgrade. I think a CoP requires a certain level of experience ‘on the ground’ in order to be effective and members of a CoP would need to have the skill to critically reflect. During first year I spent a lot of time developing this skill in my students. In answer to your question, I can see applying a CoP approach in most of my second year courses, specifically in the courses with direct practical applications.