Intersecting communities of practice in distance education: the program team and the online course community

Abstract

This article is a case study that aimed at understanding the dynamics of two complementary communities involved in a distance education graduate program: one community of practice formed by the instructors and instructional developers, who designed and developed the program, and another created by the students and instructor in one of the online courses. The relationship between both communities and the evolution that occurred within the online course are analyzed. Emergent themes are discussed and recommendations are made for similar contexts and communities.

Keywords:

• community of practice
• graduate education
• identity
• online learning community

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the Iowa State University Center for Technology in Learning and Teaching, especially the faculty and staff leading the master’s degree of education (via distance mode) in curriculum and instructional technology. Special thanks go to the C I 503 students.