Communities of Practice

A community of practice (CoP) facilitated by EDLAB is a group of people who come together around a topic of interest related to UM’s education, motivated by a desire to learn and grow professionally while also experiencing a sense of belonging and relatedness. 

They may choose to engage in a variety of activities, including but not limited to sharing experiences, challenges, and best practices, or collaborating on projects. 

EDLAB’s approach to communities of practice is based on our ongoing experiences facilitating them, as well as the findings from a qualitative research project on CoPs at UM that we conducted last year. And we continue to learn and grow ourselves through this process. 

In contrast to communities of practice, special interest groups (SIGs), research groups, or similar bodies with other names that are geared toward staff of specific faculties or units, EDLAB focuses on fostering UM-wide, interdisciplinary communication and connections, including both staff and students from all realms of the university. 

Participation is voluntary, and the community is given freedom to self-organise, with any leadership arising from within the group and in agreement with group members, while roles can also shift depending on the activity at hand. 

Such qualities of a community of practice provide a welcome counterpoint to the myriad pressures and obligations of fulfilling day-to-day professional responsibilities and allow community members to make meaningful connections in open and fluid ways. 

We welcome you to attend the next meeting of our current community of practice on AI & Education, or to get in touch with us to start up your own CoP.  

For more information, please contact Alice Pan.