Designing and Implementing a Two-Level Community of Practice Project to Develop a Teaching Portfolio Framework

Abstract

This study examines the design and implementation of a Community of Practice (CoP) project established by academics at the Hong Kong Baptist University to develop a teaching portfolio framework (TPF). Inquiry into this project drew upon principles of reflective practice that revealed unique features of community structure and process. These facilitated the achievement of the CoP goal and resulted in its participants' gains: distributed leadership, scaffolding, and ownership. The inquiry also highlighted the facilitative role of the community's context and membership in the development of the TPF. These characteristics are discussed in light of existing learning community models, and implications are drawn for best utilization and sustainability of CoPs in higher education