Tracy Abrams’s Updates

Update 7 - Community of Practice at Park Districts

Park districts have played a major role in communities and the way that people develop and learn. Park districts have been an outlet for the community that allows a person to ultimately share knowledge, information, and go through experiences together. The community of practice can be identified as “groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.” (Lave and Wenger, 2014). In a park district setting community of practice learning consistently takes place in how the workers and campers learn. I would consider a Park District a community practice because it allows them to develop the skill of learning in groups and interact with people regularly. The community of practice are everywhere; they tend to all around without people even realizing that they are a part of a community practice. The impact of the community of practice has played a major role and has continued been used as a way that we learn.

In a park district kids interact and do activities that create an environment where participants feel comfortable expressing and interacting with each other. The learning that takes place in the park district takes time and values the interaction that takes place. The stories, experience, and tools that take place in a park district allows the park to learn through the community of practice. I can relate because growing up I used to go to camps and parks districts, and I must say that I have carried some of the same learning habits that I used growing up. When learning and process new information, I tend to use some of the learning habits that I picked up at the park district. I personally feel that everybody pick up habits from their community, no matter if they realize it or not.