On Saturday, March 11, the four facilitators who led the Faculty Retreat reconvened the following day on Harper’s campus in Building J, Room J166 to provide a Community of Practice Workshop for 25 faculty and Academy staff. The workshop provided the participants with Harper College’s very first introduction to communities of practice. Communities of Practice were launched at Harper in November 2016 and the college now has three communities of practice (for more information visit the Communities of Practice webpage).

The four facilitators (Jen, Sally, Bevyn, and Christie) are seasoned participants and facilitators of communities of practice in their home state of Washington where the modality is a regular feature of faculty and professional development. As they did in the Faculty Retreat, the four leaders created learning norms with the participants so that their interest and needs were met in the day-long workshop which began at 9 a.m. and ended at 4 p.m. For participants, the day provided important information about what creates a successful community of practice as well as common pitfalls. The day was useful and thought-provoking as participants began to think about their first foray into communities of practice.

Browse photos from the workshop here.

“We need to learn how to make CoPs work for us at Harper and we now have a foundation upon which to build. Thank you!”