Reflection on the Social Theory of Learning by Wenger (2009)

Components of a Social Theory of Learning (Source: Wenger 2009: 212)  
Components of a Social Theory of Learning: an Initial Inventory. Wenger (2009:211)

This blog post is reflection on the Social Theory of Learning by Wenger (2009) and the possible effects that this has and will have on my pedagogy and my learners. I will consider the social concept that Wenger (2009) proposes whereby learning is not just an individual pursuit, but a social one, as displayed in the components of the conceptual framework here.

Humans are inherently social beings learning through social interaction suggests Wenger (2009:210), and agreed by Cox (2005:2) who states “learning should be informal through social interaction rather than mechanistic process of cognitive transmission”. This suggests that learning as individuals, via the rote method to produce knowing, with didactic teaching, does not transmit knowledge from knowers well (Wenger 2009). This can leave a learner unable to absorb the transmitted knowledge in a formal classroom setting and possibly giving up. However, an individuals social phenomenology and participation in social actives outside of the classroom will provide evidence that they can learn and have learnt significantly.

The learning from participation in social groups has been termed “Communities of Practice” by Wenger (2009:212) this is shown in the figure above. Using the components of the social learning concept above, I can see that I have belonged to many communities in my life time, as Wenger (2009) suggests, this has lead to different identities, in different communities, at work, at home or studying. In each community I have made meaning, by my experience and through practice, by doing what was required in the community, has lead to me learning and acquiring knowledge, have knowing and becoming a knower,as suggested by Wenger (2009:210). Reflecting on my experiences the vast majority was with physical face to face communities at work, at home and until recently in my studies, that is now blended and online. This has lead me to where I am now as a mature teacher with feelings of being disconnected and isolated, although I have online, distance and professional communities that I am a member of. How does this translate to my learners?

As mature teacher I am aware that over the last thirty years the fast pace technological change, with he advent of the World Wide Web (WWW) and social networking, has had a huge impact on society, teaching, employment and businesses globally. The complexity that now faces learners that I have taught maths and English to, on an apprenticeship, are that they are connected, but somehow disconnected due to distance/blended learning on a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), via the WWW, with the lack of face to face teaching (much like myself). This does not afford them the “Community of Practice or Learning” to embed and deepen learning through practical experience, as there is no shared sense of becoming and belonging, because they learn as individuals with one to one tuition.

This limitation in dissemination of knowledge in the apprenticeships, especially for the maths and English teaching and learning, has evolved due to the individualistic and organisational practices of the training companies, due to the capitalist neoliberal business practices of the 21st Century (Kerno 2008). The training companies have large decentralised hierarchies with lone workers, such as myself, who have Key Performance Indicators (KPI) (targets) to meet from the operational side of the organisation and observed quality of teaching and learning via the quality team, restricting my performance, all part of the market place for education (Furedi 2011). This inhibits “Communities of Practice” for me and “Communities of Learning”(Cox 2005) for the learner forming naturally (Wenger 2009) to enhance and support teaching, learning and progress.

The advent of marketisation in education and the learner as a consumer (Furedi 2011) brings capitalism and neoliberal ideologies to education being treated as businesses and not educational institutions. This brought about the notion that knowledge needs to be managed and that it is the place for organisations, businesses and institutions to try and achieve this through “Communities of Practice” (Cox [2005], Kerno [2008]). From my experience in teaching institutions; in business organisations and that of my learners, wherever they maybe, this is not an area that can be explicitly managed. It is implicit in is nature and evolves naturally to support those that participate in the “Communities of Practice or Learning” (Wenger 2009).

References

Cox, A. (2005) ‘What are communities of practice? A comparative review of four seminal works’, Journal of Information Science, 31:6, 527–540.

Furedi, F., (2011). Introduction to the Marketisation of Higher Education and the Student as Consumer, Chp:1, Molesworth, M. (Ed.), Scullion, R. (Ed.), Nixon, E. (Ed.). (2011). The Marketisation of Higher Education and the Student as Consumer. London: Routledge

Kerno, S. J. (2008) ‘Limitations of Communities of Practice: A Consideration of Unresolved Issues and Difficulties in the Approach’, Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 15:1, 69–78.

Wenger, E., (2009). Social Theory of Learning. Chp 15, Contemporary Theories of Learning, Learning Theorists …. in Their own words. Ed., Illeris, K., Routledge, London. Google Books

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