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This approach views learning as an act of membership in a "community of practice." The theory seeks to understand both the structure of communities and how learning occurs in them.
Communities of practice theory makes the following assumptions:
Learning is a social phenomenon. People organize their learning around the social communities to which they belong. Therefore, schools are only powerful learning environments for students whose social communities coincide with that school.
Knowledge is integrated in the life of communities that share values, beliefs, languages, and ways of doing things. These are called communities of practice. Real knowledge is integrated in the doing, social relations, and expertise of these communities.
The processes of learning and membership in a community of practice are inseparable. Because learning is inseparable from community membership, it lets us belong to and adjust our status in the group. As we change our learning, our identity--and our relationship to the group--changes. Knowledge is inseparable from practice It is not possible to know without doing. We learn by doing.
Empowerment--or the ability to contribute to a community--creates the potential for learning. When we participate in action that has real consequences for both us and our community creates the most powerful learning of environments.
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