Popis: |
This chapter is situated in the context of the growing desire by educators to support learning through the facilitation of communities of practice. The original conceptualisation of communities of practice is revisited, with a focus on its ethereal rather than located features. In so doing, the chapter takes a journey away from the notion of space as being located and considers instead a more ethereal, chaotic entity. We suggest that the spatial realm is one in which communities of practice thrive, through the development of processes, practices and inter-relationships. The chapter follows a multinational group of doctoral students as they develop a community of practice outside the bounds of their formal learning community and considers the differing impacts of their landscapes of practice, of bounded place and open space. The chapter closes by considering the value of spatial communities of practice, the nature and potential impact of facilitation, and the implications of the cultivation of such communities within higher education. |