Chapter 4: The Identification And Cultivationof Appropriate Communities Of Practice Inhigher Education

This chapter is specifically concerned with communities of practice (CoPs) of teachers, rather then students, in higher education, and with the teaching role rather than other roles such as research (although many of the arguments presented within the chapter can be generalized to other con-texts). Following a short introduction to CoPs, the chapter presents a classification of CoPs utilizing the dimensions of community structure and of knowledge activity. Drawing on the work of Wenger, McDermott and Snyder (2002), the cultivation of CoPs is discussed, and the question of how different types of community may be cultivated is considered. The chapter then addresses how these considerations may apply within higher-education teaching. It is concluded that a flexible approach, which allows the nature of a CoP to be modified in accordance with needs, is desirable.