Communities of Practice to support applied, caring and transformative teaching, learning and research

Jennifer Walinga and Rebecca Wilson Mah received an RRU Buttedahl Skene Fund award to identify outcomes from Communities of Practice at RRU in terms of learning, teaching and research.

Communities of practice (CoP) have been employed at Royal Roads University in a variety of ways over the past several years. Faculty, learners, administrators and researchers have employed the CoP framework to foster collaboration and development relating to organization design, women in leadership, program administration, university administration, organizational communication, and professional practice development. Each of these CoPs has spawned professional and organizational development, and research initiatives and projects. This study reviews the many applications of CoP’s across the RRU community and identifies the outcomes of such practices in terms of learning (classroom and organizational), teaching, and research. The purpose of the study is to collate and promote the applications and outcomes of CoPs at RRU in order to inform CoP practice in other sectors and contexts. As well, it is our hope that RRU establishes itself as a leader and resource in the practice of CoPs.