RAPPORT
WWW.RECORDINGACHIEVEMENT.ORG
Issue 1 (2015)
limitations of the models of reflective practice
within higher education, particularly the focus on
critical incidents, that constrain deep reflection
upon their experiences. Moon (2006) identifies
many reflective practice models in use within
higher education which present reflection within a
practical rather than a theoretical framing. In some
contexts, a practical approach is actively
promoted (Somerville and Keeling, 2004). Moon
(2006) suggests that some of the more theoretical
approaches designed to promote deep reflection
are “not in general use in the class room, possibly
because [they have] been too theoretical for direct
use by learners” (Moon, 2006, p.40). However
Kurt Lewin’s maxim that ‘there is nothing more
practical than a good theory’ (Lewin cited by
Wenger 2000, p.226) supports the pursuit of a
theoretical approach that can be applied to workbased practice by students. Boud and Walker
(1998) also identify the shortcomings of reflective
practice that has no underpinning conceptual
framework. The lack of a conceptual or theoretical
framework through which students can reflect
upon their experiential learning might explain why
students’ reflective writing is often superficial.
There is a paradox, therefore, in the choice
between
practical models
that
students
understand but that often result in superficial
reflections, and theoretical models that promote
deeper reflection but which are perceived to be
beyond the ability of the majority of undergraduate
students to apply. The challenge is to identify a
theoretical perspective that is accessible to
students which simultaneously provides a
theoretical lens for students to critically
understand informal learning.
Lea (2005) and Fuller et al (2005) identify the
utility of Lave and Wenger’s (1991) concepts of
Communities of Practice (CoP) and Legitimate
Peripheral Participation (LPP) to understand
learning in higher education. This paper suggests
that the CoP model offers an alternative approach
to reflection that might be fruitful in considering
learning through practice. It utilises the concepts
of CoP, LLP and Wenger’s (2000) conception of
modes of belonging, engagement, imagination
and alignment heuristically to reconsider
reflection on work-based experiences (Brown
2012a, 2012b).
The utility of Lave and Wenger (1991) and
Wenger’s (1998 and 2000) theorisation is highly
congruent with informal learning as the concepts
were developed through empirical research into
informal practice-based learning. The application
of LPP and CoP has been underdeveloped to date
as a mode for students to reflect upon work-based
experiences, PDP and their employability (Brown
2012a, 2012b). Using LLP and CoP to support
student reflections may widen the repertoire of
conceptual tools or theoretical lens that students
can apply to develop their understanding of
practice-based learning. This paper aims to
trigger discussion around the heuristic utility of
LLP and CoP theorisation to support student
reflections on work-based learning. It is not to
suggest that this approach is a panacea for the
practical – theoretical dichotomy: rather, that it
provides a mechanism for students to reconceive
work based-learning and to develop deeper
reflection
on
their
work-based
learning
experiences.
Communities of Practice
There is a growing shift towards conceptualising
learning as a socially constructed, negotiated form
of socially situated practice as proposed by Lave
and Wenger (1991) and Wenger (1998; 2000).
The major thrust of their theory of ‘situated
learning’ is that knowledge is socially constituted
and meaning is contested and negotiated within a
community of practice (CoP) (Lave and Wenger,
1991). A CoP is a “system of relationships
between people, activities and the world;
developing with time, and in relation to other
tangential and overlapping communities of
practice” (Lave and Wenger 1991, p. 98). Practice
is negotiated between individuals and the
community and learning “is distributed among coparticipants and not a one person act” (Lave and
Wenger, 1991, p.15). Community of practice
theorisation aligns with wider educational
research in highlighting socio-cultural factors in
learning and the false divide between formal and
informal learning (Erstad 2012). The related
concept of ‘legitimate peripheral participation’
(LPP) ‘provides a way to speak about the relations
between newcomers and old-timers, and about
activities, identities, artefacts and communities of
knowledge and practice. It concerns the process
by which newcomers become part of a community
of practice’ (Lave and Wenger 1991, p.29).
The notions of CoP and LPP provide a useful lens
to critically reflect upon informal learning through
work placements (Brown 2012a; 2012b). Students
on placement can be conceived of as ‘newcomers’
interacting with ‘old-timers’ in a community of
practice through their work-based learning
experiences.
Wenger (1998) proposed meaning, practice,
community and identity as key concepts within a
social theory of learning and he was emphatic that
they are all clearly interrelated and act upon one
another in their totality within CoPs. Language is
central to the social concept