Communities
TA&D Network Communities
Communities of Practice
A community of practice (CoP) is a group of people who work together to solve a persistent problem or to improve practice in an area that is important to them and who deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on an ongoing basis. CoPs exist in many forms, some large in scale that deal with complex problems, others small in scale that focus on a problem at a very specific level. A CoP is a way of working that invites the groups that have a stake in an issue to be a part of the problem-solving process. The CoP develops its own schedule or 'rhythm' for interacting and creates mechanisms to communicate that give access to all the members.
A community of practice (CoP) is a group of people who work together to solve a persistent problem or to improve practice in an area that is important to them and who deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on an ongoing basis. CoPs exist in many forms, some large in scale that deal with complex problems, others small in scale that focus on a problem at a very specific level. A CoP is a way of working that invites the groups that have a stake in an issue to be a part of the problem-solving process. The CoP develops its own schedule or 'rhythm' for interacting and creates mechanisms to communicate that give access to all the members.
Different TA&D centers funded by OSEP have chosen to use the CoP strategy as a way of working together to meet the needs of their stakeholders. TA&D Centers utilize different platforms (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, Ning) as a way to communicate and to stay connected with their community members. Below is the list of OSEP funded projects that employ the CoP approach and the links to their communities:
TAcommunities
http://www.tacommunities.org
TA&D Network on Ning
www.tadnet.ning.com
The IDEA Partnership Communities of Practice
http://www.sharedwork.org/
National Post-School Outcomes Center
Community of Practice
http://psocenter.org/cofp.html
Family Center on Technology and Disability
http://fctdnet.ning.com
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Early Childhood Community
http://community.fpg.unc.edu/
Helpful Sites
Events
- OSEP Leadership Mega Conference
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August 2-5, 2010. Beginning in 2010, three OSEP sponsored conferences will be consolidated into a new OSEP Leadership Mega Conference. This presents a unique opportunity for the entire community (OSEP and partners) to engage in a collaborative dialogue and achieve a common understanding regarding our shared responsibilities for improving results for infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities.