Community of Practice as a Foundation for Great Teaching

Abstract

At the heart of each scholar is a maverick, one who stands outside the tidy order of things to think critically. Independence and freedom of thought are essential for scholars to do their work. Independence defines the way scholars teach. Learning to teach by means of a solo effort produces a relatively wide variance in student evaluations and satisfaction. The cost as instructors learn, by trial-and-error, can be large. A faculty of solo artists is likely to be virtually invisible to students and possibly to each other: faculty meetings are sparsely attended; instructors work at home; when on the premises, they work behind closed doors. Perhaps, they just show up to teach and then depart. Junior and senior faculty members occupy separate worlds, probably bridged only by research interests. In such a world, other people just get in the way and distract one.

Consider an alternative: the teaching task is a community effort that knits individuals together. It requires some coordination and collaboration, and offers a medium in which instructors can learn their craft from each other. It is less well-known. I write to explore what it is to teach under the alternate view, the community paradigm.

JEL Classification: A20