A community of practice is defined as a group of people who
share a craft or profession. You can find these groups throughout the world
from motor companies in Detroit to soccer moms around the world. When I think
of an example of a community f practice I like to think of the basketball
summer leagues that thousands of basketball players play in. These leagues can
be found throughout the country from The Drew League in California to Rucker
Park in New York.
In these leagues you can see professional NBA players mix
with amateur player as they play a games together. This mixture of players come
together to hone their basketball skills and share techniques with each other.
What differs these leagues from just another pickup game at a gym is the level
of skill that these players have. These are some of the best players at
different levels gathering in one place to sharpen their individual skills. This
is a successful COP because not only are the players who are involved learning,
but those who watch the games are also able to pick something up by witnessing
the games.
Image by Bryan Horowitz (Own Work) [CC BY-SA 2.0 via Flickr
Many of us grew up playing sports, and just as you said, we got better by playing with other people and learning from those around us. There is competition that arises between you and your teammates that forces everyone on the team to get better, just like you mentioned about people sharing different techniques with each other. It was also an interesting point you made about how even the spectators of the games can learn new things. Great post. agree with everything you said.
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