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Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity (Learning in Doing: Social, Cognitive and Computational Perspectives) [Paperback]

Etienne Wenger
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)

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Book Description

September 28, 1999 0521663636 978-0521663632 1
Learning is becoming an urgent topic. Nations worry about the learning of their citizens, companies about the learning of their workers, schools about the learning of their students. But it is not always easy to think about how to foster learning in innovative ways. This book presents a framework for doing that, with a social theory of learning that is ground-breaking yet accessible, with profound implications not only for research, but also for all those who have to foster learning as part of their responsibilites at work, at home, at school.

Frequently Bought Together

Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity (Learning in Doing: Social, Cognitive and Computational Perspectives) + Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation (Learning in Doing: Social, Cognitive and Computational Perspectives) + Cultivating Communities of Practice
Price for all three: $91.13

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"The terms of debate about 'knowledge management' and 'learning organizations' are slowly, and finally turning from issues of information and technology to those of human capabilities and the sources of motivation, creativity, and problem-solving skills that create real value in the new economy. Wenger is light years ahead in understanding those sources, and the critical importance of informal communities and 'social learning' in fostering them." Phillip Brook Manville, Partner, McKinsey & Co.

Book Description

Learning is becoming an urgent topic. Nations worry about the learning of their citizens, companies about the learning of their workers, schools about the learning of their students. But it is not always easy to think about how to foster learning in innovative ways. This book presents a framework for doing that, with a social theory of learning that is ground-breaking yet accessible, with profound implications not only for research, but also for all those who have to foster learning as part of their responsibilites at work, at home, at school.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1 edition (September 28, 1999)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0521663636
  • ISBN-13: 978-0521663632
  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #73,102 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Etienne Wenger is a globally recognized thought leader in the field of social learning theory, communities of practice, and their application to organizations. He has authored and co-authored seminal articles and books on the topic, including Situated Learning, where the term "community of practice" was coined; Communities of Practice: learning, meaning, and identity, where he lays out a theory of learning based on the concept; Cultivating Communities of Practice, addressed to practitioners in organizations who want to base their knowledge strategy on communities of practice; and Digital Habitats, which tackles issues of technology. Etienne's work is influencing both theory and practice in a range of disciplines, as well as a growing number of organizations in the private and public sectors. He helps organizations apply his ideas through consulting, public speaking, and workshops. He is also active in the academic sphere. He regularly speaks at conferences, conducts seminars, and is a visiting professor at the universities of Manchester and Aalborg. He recently received an honorary doctorate from the university of Brighton.

Customer Reviews

This book is written primarily for academics. Michael A. Beitler  |  3 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 32 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars excellent conceptual thinking March 25, 2001
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
For those grappling with the need to understand and talk about how people come together and interact beyond the org. chart, this book has a lot to offer. Theoretically-based, it focuses on a social theory of learning that is broad enough to cover a wide range of human activities, well beyond what we would normally consider to be 'learning'. 'Communities of practice' offers a comprehensive framework for understanding and analysing what people do in the context of their social milieu. The author includes many examples and uses a work-place vignette to illustrate the relevance and power of his ideas. If you are not afraid of theory and abstraction and are open to new concepts, this book may indeed be revolutionary.
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46 of 57 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
A wonderful book that uses communities of practice as the entry-point to think about learning along several rich dimensions (e.g., meaning in relation to participation and artifacts, the relationship between identity and learning).

Definitely worth a slow, reflective reading.

Provides a lot of context for thinking about organizational learning.

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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Thought Provoking May 30, 2005
Format:Paperback
This book is written primarily for academics. Wenger challenges educational institutions to re-think their basic assumptions about learning (e.g., its social aspects, its relationship to practice, and the role of teaching).

I found the book to be very thought provoking, but I would recommend his 2002 book, "Cultivating Communities of Practice," for practitioners.

Michael Beitler

Author of "Strategic Organizational Learning"
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars Good read, albeit dry
I bought this book for use in a class at the University of Michigan (SI 422). While many of the topics presented and discussed are great, and very interesting, the book fails to be... Read more
Published 13 months ago by chadwick
5.0 out of 5 stars The Learning Phantom
This book was a slow, arduous read, but well worth the effort.

I teach at a school that is part of the Professional Learning Communities (PLC) movement. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Dr. John Merks
5.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking
Read this book for my master's research 5 years ago. I still feel the research outlined in this book is relevant today, in my current work. Besides that, it's a great read. Read more
Published on December 1, 2010 by Heather
4.0 out of 5 stars communities of practice
This is a good resource for understanding organization and professional environments and the interactions that take place within these environments.
Published on March 19, 2009 by aristar
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and Unusual approach to Learning
Learning is much more than acquiring and repeating new information. This book combines learning, meaning and identity by studying a group of people who are claims adjusters in an... Read more
Published on September 1, 2008 by Jane Fried
4.0 out of 5 stars A foundation book that helps to put KM in perspective
You'll struggle to work through "Communities of Practice." Yet, if you persevere, you'll have gained a sound basis for evaluating and keeping in perspective the relative... Read more
Published on October 19, 2001 by Douglas Collins
5.0 out of 5 stars brilliant
One cannot be practically effective without being grounded in a philosophy. Philosophy leads to strategy, and strategy leads to a coordinated set of tactics and the opportunity to... Read more
Published on July 12, 2001 by Ben Kleinman
4.0 out of 5 stars cOMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE
This is a very important resource as the Institute of Medicine calls for using a socioecological perspective to solve the nation's health care challenges. Read more
Published on January 17, 2001
1.0 out of 5 stars Learning Organization Pablum
If you are looking for practical, hard hitting insight and knowledge you can use as a practising manager, totally BYPASS this wordy, ivory tower compendium of theoretical jargon.
Published on April 13, 2000 by Ellen R. Underwood
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