Letting Go and Letting the Angels Grow: Using Etienne Wenger's Community of Practice Theory to Facilitate Teacher Education

Breen, P. 2015. Letting Go and Letting the Angels Grow: Using Etienne Wenger's Community of Practice Theory to Facilitate Teacher Education. International Journal of Web-Based Learning and Teaching Technologies . 10 (1), pp. 14-26 2. https://doi.org/10.4018/ijwltt.2015010102

TitleLetting Go and Letting the Angels Grow: Using Etienne Wenger's Community of Practice Theory to Facilitate Teacher Education
AuthorsBreen, P.
Abstract

This paper describes a small-scale qualitative research study conducted within a community of English Language teachers, and explores how teacher development workshops can be used to foster or cultivate Communities of Practice. The study was situated in a Language Centre within the domain of UK Higher Education where there was an institutional drive to better integrate the use of new technologies with traditional approaches to pedagogy. Data was collected through focus group sessions with a team of English Language teachers before, during and after a series of teacher development workshops on the use of technology in the English for Academic Purposes classroom. These focus group sessions were then followed up with individual interviews, drawing on a framework of stimulated recall. The data was then analysed through an established discourse analysis framework in the early stages, followed by a more inductive approach of thematic analysis in the later stages; triangulated by classroom observations of all participants. The purpose of the paper is to understand the functioning of a Community of Practice in terms of its contribution to teacher development The core argument within this paper is that Communities of Practice theory can contribute much to the fields of EAP (English for Academic Purposes), and teacher development in both theoretical and practical terms. It advocates a loosening of the reins on the part of organisations so that teachers are allowed to develop at their own pace and in a manner that is self-directed and tailored to their individual needs. It draws on Vygotskian-based theories of teacher cognition which suggest that in order for development to occur in a teacher education programme, participants need some form of prompting to move from within their "zone of proximal development" (Manning & Payne, 1993, p. 361). This prompting or scaffolding, as described in Vygotsky's own work (1934), generally takes place through a combination of support from more experienced practitioners in the first instance and then "situated engagement and negotiation" with peers and practitioners within a teaching community (Samaras & Gismondi, 1998, pp. 715-733).

KeywordsCommunities of Practice, Learning Theories, Teacher Education, Qualitative Research, Higher Education, Technology Uses in Education, Language Teachers, Workshops, Foreign Countries, Technology Integration, Educational Technology, Focus Groups, Interviews, Discourse Analysis, Research Methodology, Teacher Education Programs, Faculty Development, English for Academic Purposes, Observation
Article number2
JournalInternational Journal of Web-Based Learning and Teaching Technologies
Journal citation10 (1), pp. 14-26
ISSN1548-1093
Year2015
PublisherIGI Global
Accepted author manuscript
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.4018/ijwltt.2015010102
Web address (URL)https://www.igi-global.com/gateway/article/123159
Publication dates
Published01 Jan 2015

Related outputs

On the Borders of Contention: Brexit's physical and psychological impact on Britain's border with Ireland
Breen, P. 2022. On the Borders of Contention: Brexit's physical and psychological impact on Britain's border with Ireland . in: Loussouarn , S. (ed.) Brexit and Its Aftermath UK Bloomsbury Academic.

Advancing Conversations About EDI in Football
Breen, P. 2021. Advancing Conversations About EDI in Football. Advancing conversations about EDI in football. University of Westminster 25 - 25 Jun 2021

EAP Student Perspectives on Using Real Work Activities Within Their Courses
Breen, P. 2021. EAP Student Perspectives on Using Real Work Activities Within Their Courses . BALEAP Conference 2019. University of Leeds 12 - 14 Apr 2019

Implementing the TRAAC model in an Academic English Context
Breen, P. 2021. Implementing the TRAAC model in an Academic English Context. in: Tran, D. (ed.) Decolonizing University Teaching and Learning: An Entry Model for Grappling with Complexities UK Bloomsbury.

Two sides still at play 20 years after the Good Friday Agreement
Breen, P. and Huddleston, S. 2021. Two sides still at play 20 years after the Good Friday Agreement. in: Carr, J., Parnell, D., Widdop, P., Power, M.J. and Millar, S.R. (ed.) Football, Politics and Identity UK Routledge.

Situating observations as part of a teaching portfolio.
Breen, P. 2020. Situating observations as part of a teaching portfolio. Compass: The Journal of Learning and Teaching at the University of Greenwich. 13 (1). https://doi.org/10.21100/compass.v13i1.968

Reproduced, reinterpreted, lost: Trajectories of scientific knowledge across contexts
Gimenez, J., Baldwin, M., Breen, P., Green, J., Roque Gutierrez, E., Paterson, R., Pearson, J., Percy, M., Specht, D. and Waddell, G. 2020. Reproduced, reinterpreted, lost: Trajectories of scientific knowledge across contexts. Text & Talk. 40 (3), pp. 293-324. https://doi.org/10.1515/text-2020-2059

Towards a periodic table of EAP teacher knowledge
Breen, P. 2019. Towards a periodic table of EAP teacher knowledge. BALEAP.

Bursting the bubble and bringing the real world into our classrooms to increase student engagement
Breen, P. 2019. Bursting the bubble and bringing the real world into our classrooms to increase student engagement. InForm International Foundation Journal. 19, pp. 20-22.

Book review of The 1916 Irish Rebellion by Bríona Nic Dhiarmada with foreword by Mary McAleese
Breen, P. 2019. Book review of The 1916 Irish Rebellion by Bríona Nic Dhiarmada with foreword by Mary McAleese . National Identities. 21 (1), pp. 116-117. https://doi.org/10.1080/14608944.2017.1369680

Healing past wounds with more than an elastic bandage– A small scale evaluation of attitudes and aspirations of contemporary Northern Irish Catholics
Breen, P. 2019. Healing past wounds with more than an elastic bandage– A small scale evaluation of attitudes and aspirations of contemporary Northern Irish Catholics. National Identities. 21 (2), pp. 151-169. https://doi.org/10.1080/14608944.2017.1397618

Developing Educators for The Digital Age: A Framework for Capturing Knowledge in Action
Breen, P. 2018. Developing Educators for The Digital Age: A Framework for Capturing Knowledge in Action. University of Westminster, London University of Westminster Press.

Developing Educators in the Digital Age: A Framework for Capturing Knowledge in Action
Breen, P. 2018. Developing Educators in the Digital Age: A Framework for Capturing Knowledge in Action . London University of Westminster Press.

The Footballing Elephant in the Room? The Irish National Football Teams and Northern Players who declare for the Republic of Ireland
Breen, P. 2017. The Footballing Elephant in the Room? The Irish National Football Teams and Northern Players who declare for the Republic of Ireland. 2017 Annual Conference of The Football Collective. University of Limerick 23 - 24 Nov 2017

Native or Novice?: An Exploratory Study of the Access to and Use of Digital Technologies among Pathway Students
Velliaris, D.M. and Breen, P. 2016. Native or Novice?: An Exploratory Study of the Access to and Use of Digital Technologies among Pathway Students. in: Pinheiro, M.M. and Simões, D. (ed.) Handbook of Research on Engaging Digital Natives in Higher Education Settings Hershey, USA IGI Global. pp. 1-20

Tailoring graduate attributes to meet the needs of international students in a pathway program
Velliaris, D.M. and Breen, P. 2016. Tailoring graduate attributes to meet the needs of international students in a pathway program. Journal of International Students. 6 (2), pp. 565-587 12.

Reflections on the impact of social technologies on lecturers in a pathway institution
Velliaris, D.M., Willis, C.R. and Breen, P. 2015. Reflections on the impact of social technologies on lecturers in a pathway institution. in: Benson, V. and Morgan, S. (ed.) Implications of Social Media Use in Personal and Professional Settings Hershey, PA, United States IGI Global. pp. 131-154

Realizing the power of social media in the 21st century
Breen, P. 2015. Realizing the power of social media in the 21st century. Pennsylvania (USA) IGI Global.

Academic reflections: disciplinary acculturation and the first-year pathway experience in Australia
Breen, P., Velliaris, D. and Willis, C. 2015. Academic reflections: disciplinary acculturation and the first-year pathway experience in Australia. in: Shrestha, P.N. (ed.) Current developments in English for academic and specific purposes: local innovations and global perspectives Reading, Berkshire Garnet Education.

An Intramuscular Approach to Teacher Development in International Collaborative Higher Education
Breen, P. 2014. An Intramuscular Approach to Teacher Development in International Collaborative Higher Education. in: Mukerji, S. and Tripathi, P. (ed.) Handbook of Research on Transnational Higher Education Hershey, PA IGI Global. pp. 368-390

Symbols, Language, and Identity in Northern Ireland
Breen, P. 2014. Symbols, Language, and Identity in Northern Ireland. ESSE - English Studies in Albania. 5 (1), pp. 9-22 1.

Introducing TPACK in a Widening Participation Context
Breen, P. and Khan, S. 2014. Introducing TPACK in a Widening Participation Context. Paulo Freire and Transformative Education: Changing Lives and Transforming Communities Conference. University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) School of Education & Social Science and The Freire Institute, Preston, Lancashire 28 Apr 2014

Philosophies, traditional pedagogy, and new technologies: a report on a case study of EAP teachers' integration of technology into traditional practice
Breen, P. 2014. Philosophies, traditional pedagogy, and new technologies: a report on a case study of EAP teachers' integration of technology into traditional practice. in: Breen, P. (ed.) Cases on teacher identity, diversity, and cognition in higher education Pennsylvania (USA) IGI Global. pp. 317-341

An unending affair: culture, language & identity in Northern Ireland
Breen, P. 2013. An unending affair: culture, language & identity in Northern Ireland. Albanian Society of English International Conference on British and American Studies. Canadian Institute of Technology, Tirana, Albania 03 May 2013

Teachers in a tide of change: technology’s influence on professional practice
Breen, P. 2013. Teachers in a tide of change: technology’s influence on professional practice. Identity explored: Language centre, language professional, language teacher, language learner (26th Communication Skills Workshop). University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland 14 Sep 2013

Navigating a pathway to partnership through turbulent seas of adversity
Breen, P., Stefani, M. and Kostoulas, A. 2011. Navigating a pathway to partnership through turbulent seas of adversity. in: Tripathi, P. and Mukerji, S. (ed.) Cases on innovations in educational marketing: transnational and technological strategies Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA IGI Global.

Permalink - https://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/item/q1q5v/letting-go-and-letting-the-angels-grow-using-etienne-wenger-s-community-of-practice-theory-to-facilitate-teacher-education


Share this

Usage statistics

115 total views
387 total downloads
These values cover views and downloads from WestminsterResearch and are for the period from September 2nd 2018, when this repository was created.