A community of practice (COP) refers to a group of people who share similar endeavors such as collective learning or shared activities. In COP people come together with a common intention and a shared domain of interest (Hoadley, 2012). Membership to a COP requires the commitment to the group’s common interests and joint activities through which members learn from each other. This paper will assess the conventional barriers in communities of practice learning and the ideal COP attributes.

Common Barriers to Learning in COP

Poor Cooperation and Isolation of Members

Communities of practice require greater member participation and cooperation to be able to share knowledge. Lack of cooperation and the isolation of members poses a significant barrier to the participation of members(Kerno Jr, 2008). Where members are isolated the ability of the group to move together and acquire the set knowledge interests cannot be achieved. In a community of practice, the interests of all the members should be equal, and this cannot be achieved where there is poor cooperation and isolation of members.

Psychological and Physical Barriers

In situations where the members of a COP are physically separated knowledge sharing is difficult and the distance poses as a barrier towards common interests (Kerno Jr, 2008). Besides, the psychological issues such as the inability of an individual to be willing to share knowledge with others due to psychological insecurity limits learning in communities of practice.

Characteristics of an Ideal COP

Common/Shared Interests

A good community of practice should have shared interests to ensure that members move together towards achieving their set goals (Kerno Jr, 2008). For instance, a group of surgeons can be a community of practice if they are both focusing on a particular procedure without any diversions.

Sharing of Knowledge

Members of a community of practice share knowledge without barriers and bias to achieve a common interest (Hoadley, 2012). This means that for a community of practice to exist there has to be sharing of knowledge or resources to achieve an ideal goal.

Conclusion

A community of practice is a shared interests group of people who come together to share knowledge and achieve a common ideal. A community of practice require members to cooperate and collaborate to share resources. Barriers of the community of practice can be physical through the distance between members or psychological which refer to the lack of psychological security to share with others.

References

Hoadley, C. (2012). 12 What is a Community of Practice and How Can We Support It?. Theoretical foundations of learning environments, 286. Retrieved from https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/scmsAdmin/uploads/006/677/CHAP12HOADLEY.pdf

Kerno Jr, S. J. (2008). Limitations of communities of practice: a consideration of unresolved issues and difficulties in the approach. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 15(1), 69-78. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/4f1a/9fd82332a939835f8c78ff20d6d5b2529a2b.pdf

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