Critical thinking and Reflective Practices (8611)

Student Name: Tanzeela Younas Malik Roll No. BY628186

Tutor Name: Rubina Afzal

Assignment No. 2

Q1. Explain in detail Gibb’s reflective cycle.

GIBB'S REFLECTIVE CYCLE

Gibbs’ reflective cycle is arguably one of the most famous models of reflection leading you
through different stages to make sense of an experience. Gibbs G (1988)

Gibbs' reflective cycle is found very useful in making people think through all the phases of an
experience or activity. Professor Graham Gibbs published his Reflective Cycle in his book titled
"Learning by Doing"(1988). It is a guide book for the teachers for teaching methods and
techniques. The reflective learning cycle presented in the book models how learners can link
theory and practice through engaging in a cyclical sequence of activities named as: describing,
feeling, evaluating, analysing, concluding and action planning. This model known as the Gibbs’
Cycle has been particularly influential in teacher education programs. Generally speaking the
Gibb's Cycle has its basic utility and benefit is for the people who learn from different situations
from which they go through, most probably when they are unable to go about with their plans.
Hence the reflective practitioners tend to follow similar patterns of reflection and reflective
writing (Reflective Cycle, 2015).

Gibbs’ (1988) reflective cycle includes six phases of reflection and is presented below.
 Gibb's Cycle of Reflective Cycle (Reflective Cycle, 2015)

To understand the cycle it is important to ensure that you learn about each section; for example
each section should limit you to write and think only about one aspect at a time and nothing
more.

Description: briefly describe the event; this should be one of the smallest sections of your
reflection. Include important details to indicate what happened; such as the reason for your
involvement, what you did and who was there and what they did (if appropriate). Whilst it is
important that you include information that is necessary to make sense of the event, the key point
here is on keeping it brief.

Feelings: give you the opportunity to explore any thoughts or feelings that you were having at
the time of the event in isolation from the other components. In order to achieve this, it is
important that you do not include any further description and do not try to evaluate them. An
important component in this section is that you expand to tell how the thoughts and feelings that
you were having have impacted on the event.

Evaluation: The evaluation section gives you the opportunity to explore what was good about
the event and what did not go well. It is important that you try to consider both the good and the
bad, even if the incident seemed totally negative or positive.
Description Stage II: is where you make sense of the event and should be the largest section of
your reflection. It is useful to take all the issues that you have highlighted previously in the
reflection and consider them separately. It is important in this section that you consult relevant
academic literature to help you make sense of the incident

Conclusion: includes being honest about your contribution and feelings; you bring them all
together so that you can sensibly conclude from examining the incident and consulting the
relevant literature, how what you did led up to the incident. From this, you should be able to
make a logical alternative about how you can overcome such situations.

Action plan: is where taking into account the previous elements of the cycle, you suggest a plan
for if this event (or similar) were to happen again. What would you do differently or keep the
same? This is the final section of the cycle and the end of this particular reflection.

Gibbs' (1998) reflective cycle guides us What, where and when? Who did/said what,
through six stages of reflection which can be what did you do/read/see hear? In what order
better understood with this chart given did things happen? What were the
below: 1. Description: what happened circumstances? What were you responsible
for?
2. Feelings: what were you thinking about? What was your initial gut reaction, and what
does this tell you? Did your feelings change?
What were you thinking?
3. Evaluation: what was good or bad about What pleased, interested or was important to
the experience? you? What made you unhappy? What
difficulties were there? Who/what was
unhelpful? Why? What needs improvement?
4. Stage II Description: what sense can you Compare theory and practice. What similarities
make of the situation? or differences are there between this
experience and other experiences? Think about
what actually happened. What choices did you
make and what effect did they have?
5. Conclusion: what else could you have What have you learnt for the future? What else
done? could you have done?
6. Action Plan: what will you do next time? If a similar situation arose again, what would
you do?
Source: (Learning for Skills, 2015)
Description (Stage I): This is the first step of reflection. Remember that everyone reflects in
different ways, styles and means. According to Gibbs first of all you need to explain what you
are reflecting on to. You may include background information, such as what it is you’re
reflecting on and tell explicitly who, what, where, questions. It’s important to remember to keep
the information provided relevant and to-the-point. Do not drivel on about details that aren’t
required in the description such as guessing the causes, and consequences. Keep the description
as simple as possible. Now let’s practice this. Think of what made you happy, excited, or
disturbed during a school day. This can be an event that happened in the school last week, or
even today. If you think you don’t have anything to write about then wait for a couple of days
until you find something really interesting to write about during the day. Make use of the
following questions while writing your first stage description:

1. When did this happen?

2. Where did it happen?

3. Why were you there?

4. Who else was there?

5. What happened?

6. What did you do?

7. What did others do?

8. What was the result?

Feelings: You are bound to have feelings about what happened. You may have felt anxious,
especially if what happened was new to you. The important thing is to show how you managed
to do what was expected of you despite your anxiety. Try to describe/explain your feelings.
Whenever we are involved in particular situation, after narrating it the next step is to ask
ourselves about the feeling. This particular stage is the analytical stage in the Bloom's
Taxonomy. This will help in the development of cognitive abilities, communication skills and
expression of thoughts. This also brings the inside out.

how to write our feelings

1. What were your initial feelings when the incident happened?

2. Did your feelings change during the event?

3. Did your feelings affect the situation?

4. What are your feelings now as you are thinking back?

Evaluation: The third and the higher level job for the you now is to evaluate. What was good?
and what was bad? –these are two umbrella questions. It all depends what you count as good and
what as bad. Your values, ideological background, context and the environment as well as
situation influences your evaluative judgments. For a conscious effort to evaluate an incident
practice to answer the following questions:

1. What do you think went well in the situation?

2. Did you learn anything useful as a result of what went on?

3. Did anything give you cause for concern – either in what others did or what you did?

4. Was there something which you would not wish to experience again?

Description (Stage II): This stage is more of synthesis of the above three stages and in the light
of knowledge. Here it is suggested that you may re-write the description of the event but this
time you may make use of your knowledge regarding this. You have the knowledge of child
psychology, you have the knowledge of teachers professional development, you have the
knowledge of school management and supervision; etc. Using the specific knowledge you now
need to re-write the whole description.

Conclusion: Human beings are the best of all creations on the basis of their thinking abilities and
choosing the best options out of the available options. The quality of the option that they choose,
tell us the quality of thinking of that particular person.

 What did I learn from this situation?

 How could this have been a more positive situation for everyone involved?
 What skills do I need to develop for me to handle a situation like this better?
 What else could I have done?
Action Plan: After going through the above reflective exercise; it is expected that you will use
the best option along with the reason of choosing it and also its pros and cons. Gibb's cycle is not
only limited to the curriculum, it is not confined in teaching only; It is actually the preparation
for life. You should go through extensive thinking process. Think and re-think. Then take
decision, discuss the matter, rehash the decision, feel the situation and then come up to some
conclusion. Be open to talk to someone and doubt your own judgments. During this process you
should learn to argue peacefully; justify your own selected option at the first place and then
through a process of reflective thinking come up with alternatives. So this all hectic mental
process prepares you for life, which brings an individual to different situations, jobs and
environment. Feeling, thinking and rethinking practice will surely help you in making decisions
later in personal and professional life.

References:

Gibbs G (1988). Learning by Doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods. Further
Education Unit. Oxford Polytechnic: Oxford.

Reflective Cycle. (2015, October 21). Retrieved from Mind Tools: http://www.mindtools.com

Learning for Skills. (2015, Feb 5). Retrieved from Leeds Beckett University Web Site:
http://skillsforlearning.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/preview/content/models/03.shtml

Q.2. Why is it necessary for a teacher to be a researcher?

TEACHER AS RESEARCHER
"It is teachers who, in the end, will change the world of the school by understanding it"
(Lawrence Stenhouse 1988) As teachers engage in action research they are increasing their
understanding of the schooling process. What they are learning will have great impact on what
happens in classrooms, schools, and in the country in broader perspective in the future. The
future directions of staff development programs, teacher preparation curricula, as well as school
improvement initiatives, will be impacted by the things teachers learn through the critical inquiry
and rigorous examination of their own practice and their school programs that action research
requires.

In schools, action research refers to a wide variety of evaluative, investigative, and analytical
research methods designed to diagnose problems or weaknesses—whether organizational,
academic, or instructional—and help educators develop practical solutions to address them
quickly and efficiently. Action research may also be applied to programs or educational
techniques that are not necessarily experiencing any problems, but that educators simply want to
learn more about and improve. The general goal is to create a simple, practical, repeatable
process of iterative learning, evaluation, and improvement that leads to increasingly better results
for schools, teachers, or programs. (Ed, 2014) Teacher-researchers can be characterized as those
practitioners who attempt to better understand their practice, and its impact on their students, by
researching the relationship between teaching and learning in their world of work.

The Nature of Teacher Research

Teacher research is intentional and systematic inquiry done by teachers with the goals of gaining
insights into teaching and learning, becoming more reflective practitioners, effecting changes in
the classroom or school, and improving the lives of children (Cochran-Smith & Lytle 1993;
1999). Teacher research stems from teachers’ own questions about and reflections on their
everyday classroom practice. They seek practical solutions to issues and problems in their
professional lives (Corey 1953; Stringer 2007). The major components of teacher research are:
conceptualization, in which teachers identify a significant problem or interest and determine
relevant research questions; implementation, in which teachers collect and analyze data; and
interpretation, in which teachers examine findings for meaning and take appropriate actions
(McLean 1995). Teacher research is systematic in that teachers follow specific procedures and
carefully document each step of the process— from formation of a question, through data
collection and analysis, to conclusions and outcomes.
Teacher research takes many forms and serves a range of purposes, but it is conducted by
teachers, individually or collaboratively, with the primary aim of understanding teaching and
learning in context and from the perspectives of those who live and interact daily in the
classroom (Meier & Henderson 2007; Zeichner 1999). These studies thus provide unique insider
perspectives on meaningful issues in early care and education settings. A preschool or primary
grade teacher, an infant/toddler caregiver, a family child care provider, or a home visitor begins
an inquiry by asking a genuine question about the work in which she or he is engaged with
children and families. Research questions can begin simply enough: “Should we allow pretend
gunplay in any circumstances?” “How can I use storytelling to build literacy among bilingual
preschoolers?” “What is it about me or my caregiving that helps me build securely attached
relationships with toddlers?” Teacher researchers learn about themselves as teachers as they try
to understand children’s learning.( Henderson, Meier, Perry, and Stremmel, 2012)

Importance of Teachers’ Research

Schools are the nurseries for the production of the trained manpower. So it is not enough for
teachers merely to make decisions; they will be called upon to make informed decisions,
decisions which are data driven. Therefore, it is necessary for teachers to be much more
deliberate in documenting and evaluating their efforts. Action research is one means to that end.
Action research assists practitioners and other stakeholders in identifying the needs, assessing the
development processes, and evaluating the outcomes of the changes they define, design, and
implement. The self-evaluation aspect of action research (by educators and/or students) is
congruent with the philosophies contained in the Total Quality Education and Outcomes Based
Education in the world is moving towards. (Johnson, 1993) It is important for the teachers as
they assists practitioners and other stakeholders in identifying the needs, assessing the
development processes, and evaluating the outcomes of the changes they define, design, and
implement. When the teacher starts working on action research, s/he is actually considered to be
reflective practitioner assessing and evaluating her own work with different methods and
modifying and changing the teaching related decisions accordingly.

Teacher researchers give an in-depth thought to the question that what they will be going to learn
from their students. To get the answer to this question, they listen to and watch their students
engage in authentic work; collect work samples, photographs, and transcripts to document what
their students say and do; and use that information to evolve their practice as they celebrate and
support the voices and experiences of the children they teach. In this sense, teacher researchers
are innovators, curriculum drivers, agents of school change, and directors of their own
professional development. (Suskind, 2016)

Always (Re)Searching as Educators

Research has often been thought of as an activity carried out by experts—people who are able to
control a study, provide results and then make a claim of originality over the findings. However,
good teachers have always been good researchers. In fact, any teacher who has asked a question
deemed essential to practice and used a systematic method to find an answer has engaged in a
form of research. Attentive teachers observe their students and, through systematic and
embedded study, come to understand the culture of their learning environment.

A strong educator will analyze the individual needs of students or learning environments and,
after reflection and consideration, adjust her actions to best meet student and system needs. The
cycle then continues again within the same, or a new group, of students, as the teacher/researcher
begins an iterative cycle of question(s), observation(s), reflection(s) and action(s). Teachers
continuously empower students to create knowledge (just as teachers do for themselves). Any
educator who has explored new curriculum, evaluated teaching practices, chosen one new idea
over another, or re-evaluated a daily teaching choice based on evidence and a guiding question,
has engaged in research. Such research is essential to both teaching and learning. Our desire is to
consciously embrace these actions and call them what they are—research. Research is not just
the domain of an expert outside the classroom; it is also the domain of the teaching professional.
Good teachers are good researchers; if they were not, they would not be good teachers.

Our encouragement to teachers extends to a call for legitimization of such research activity,
which includes naming it, doing it and sharing it. Research should be a necessary extension of
the teaching profession and should make our classroom research and professional knowledge
more viable to the public. (Phil McRae and Jim Parsons, 2006)

References:

Stenhouse, L. (1988). Artistry and Teaching: The Teacher as Focus of Research and
Development. Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, 4(1), 43-51.
Ed, S. A. (2014, August 26). Hidden Curriculum. Retrieved from The Glossary of Education
Reform: http://edglossary.org

Johnson, B. (1993, March 12). Action Research. Teacher Education Journal, pp. 34-37.

Suskind, D. (2016, Jan 26). Edutopia. Retrieved from Edutopia Website:

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/researcher-ultimate-professional-development

Cochran-Smith, M., & S. Lytle. 1993. Inside/outside: Teacher research and knowledge. New
York: Teachers College Press.

Cochran-Smith, M., & S.L. Lytle. 1999. The teacher research movement: A decade later.
Educational Researcher 28 (7): 15–25.

Corey, S.M. 1953. Action research to improve school practices. New York: Teachers College
Bureau of Publications, Columbia University.

Stringer, E.T. 2007. Action research. 3d ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

McLean, J. 1995. Improving education through action research: A guide for administrators and
teachers. The Practicing Administrator’s Leadership Series: Roadmaps to Success. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Meier, D.R., & B. Henderson. 2007. Learning from young children in the classroom: The art and
science of teacher research. New York: Teachers College Press.

Zeichner, K. 1999. The new scholarship in teacher education. Educational Researcher 28 (9): 4–
15.

Barbara Henderson, Daniel R. Meier, and Gail Perry, Voices of Practitioners (2012), The Nature
of Teacher Research

Phil McRae and Jim Parsons, 2006, “Teachers as Researchers” https://www.teachers.ab.ca/News

%20Room/ata%20magazine/Volume%2087/Number%203/Articles/Pages/Teachers%20as
%20Researchers.aspx

Q.3. Explain steps to write an effective critical review.

CRITICAL REVIEW AND ANALYSIS

A great deal of one’s time is spent in thinking; thinking about what people have said, thinking
about what one has read, one has thought and how one’s thinking has been changed. It is
generally believed that the thinking process involves two aspects: reflective thinking and critical
thinking. They are not separate processes; rather, they are closely connected (Brookfield 1987).

A critical review is much more than a simple summary; it is an analysis and evaluation of a
book, article, or other medium. It is a formal discussion of the contents, implications, and quality
of an academic or professional text: a nonfiction book, essay, or article. It may be defined as, “A
critical review evaluates the clarity, quality and originality of research, as well as its relevance
and presentation”. Sometimes non-text materials, such as educational videos, also are discussed
using this formal model of reviewing. A critical review is not a book report, nor is it a literary
analysis, literary review, movie review, or other arts review that works with the elements of
literature or art. Rather, a critical review is a thorough, usually formal discussion that uses a
variety of critical-thinking tools, especially

(a) Logical, accurate summary;

(b) Discussion or analysis of arguments, implications, and responses; and

(c) Evaluative weighing of the quality of the writing, organization, and contents.

Goals of Critical Review & Analysis:

The goal of writing a critical review and analysis is to help readers decide whether to read or
view a text. Summarizing gives readers a thoughtful, unbiased account of what the work says.
Opinions from the public or experts help readers understand how the work might be perceived
from several differing viewpoints. And evaluation of quality helps readers decide whether the
work is presented well. Most reviews follow this pattern of three functions by starting with
summary and ending with evaluation, but there are not always clear-cut sections: the types of
thinking may even be thoroughly intermixed. However, if you wish to write a simple critical
review with all of its major structural elements in it, you can simply develop your review in three
body sections: summary of the work; arguments, responses, and/or implications; and evaluative
judgments.

Steps to writing an effective critical review:

Writing a good critical review requires that you understand the material, and that you know how
to analyze and evaluate that material using appropriate criteria. Following steps are involved in a
critical review process:

a) Reading:
Skim the whole text to determine the overall thesis, structure and methodology. This will
help you better understand how the different elements fit together once you begin reading
carefully. Read critically: It is not enough to simply understand what the author is saying; it
is essential to challenge it. Examine how the article is structured, the types of reasons or
evidence used to support the conclusions, and whether the author is reliant on underlying
assumptions or theoretical frameworks. Take copious notes that reflect what the text means
AND what you think about it.
b) Analyzing:
Analyzing requires separating the content and concepts of a text into their main components
and then understanding how these interrelate, connect and possibly influence each other. It is
to Examine all elements: All aspects of the text—the structure, the methods, the reasons and
evidence, the conclusions, and, especially, the logical connections between all of these—
should be considered. The types of questions asked will vary depending on the discipline in
which you are writing, but the following samples will provide a good starting point:
 Structure What type of text is it? (For example: Is it a primary source or
secondary source? Is it original research or a comment on original
research?) What are the different sections and how do they fit
together? Are any of the sections particularly effective (or
ineffective)?
Methodology Is the research quantitative or qualitative? Does the methodology
have any weaknesses? How does the design of the study address
the hypothesis?
Reason/Evidence What sources does the author use (interviews, peer-reviewed
journals, government reports, journal entries, newspaper accounts,
etc.)? What types of reasoning are employed (inductive,
deductive, and abdicative)? What type of evidence is provided
(empirical, statistical, logical, etc.)? Are there any gaps in the
evidence (or reasoning)?
Conclusion Does the data adequately support the conclusion drawn by the
researcher(s)? Are other interpretations plausible? Are the
conclusions dependent on a particular theoretical formulation?
What does the work contribute to the field?
Logic What assumptions does the author make? Does the author account
for all of the data, or are portions left out? What alternative
perspectives remain unconsidered? Are there any logical flaws in
the construction of the argument?

c) Writing
Once you have carefully read your reading, start writing. You can start by free writing, by
organizing/outlining, by collecting and/or expanding upon your critical-reading notes you've
already made, or simply by writing, point-by-point. As you start,
• You might want to begin with the facts--the main points of the reading itself.
• You also may start with arguments for and/or against the author's main position(s), or with
implications--hidden meanings of the reading or what the reading may cause to happen.
• A third way to start is to begin by evaluating how well or poorly the text is written,
organized, styled, or researched.
The tone with which you begin should be whatever tone works for you in the beginning in
order to get your thoughts on the page. In other words, if you must have or develop a strong
feeling--such as pleasure, dislike, indignation, surprise, etc.--to begin discussion in your first
draft, then do so. However, sooner or later--in the first or a later draft--the tone you need to
achieve is one of calm, reasoned, fair, balanced reason. Mild indignation or disagreement is
to some extent acceptable in some courses or publications, especially if you use an ironic
tone or one of regret; however, in some disciplines and publications-- especially, for
example, in the sciences--your tone should be of rigorous, absolutely balanced and logical
analysis. You must, in other words, in tone and word choice, imply that you are being very
logical. When you start focusing on organizing--at whatever stage of writing you choose--
you'll need to be sure in the very first sentence of each major type of thinking you are
performing--summary, response/implications, or evaluation--that your readers understand
exactly what you are doing. This means having clear section topic sentences if you are
dividing these three functions into three topic sections; if you are dividing these three main
functions into multiple paragraphs, be sure that each major paragraph's topic sentence clearly
indicates what kind of function you are about to perform.
Also be sure--as you build your paper--that you have plenty of quotations from the author so
that the reader can see exactly how the author develops his/her thinking. If you are assigned
to do so, you may need quotations from other sources, as well, primarily to help support the
points you are making. Because you, yourself, are not a professional expert, you are
depending--in a research paper--on quotations and paraphrases from the professional experts.

References:
Brookfield, S. D. (1987). Developing critical thinkers: Challenging adults to explore
alternative ways of thinking and acting. Jossey-Bass.
Uzma Akhtar (2020), Reflective and Critical Writing. Critical Thinking and Reflective
Practices

Q.4. What is mind mapping? Describe its principles and techniques.

MIND MAPPING
A mind map is a graphical way to represent ideas and concepts. It is a visual thinking tool
that helps structuring information, helping you to better analyze, comprehend, synthesize,
recall and generate new ideas.
Mind Map is a powerful graphic technique which provides a universal key to unlock the
potential of the brain. It harnesses the full range of cortical skills – word, image, number,
logic, rhythm, colour and spatial awareness – in a single, uniquely powerful manner. Mind
mapping is one of the very best methods to optimize ones learning capacities and
understanding of how the elements of complex structures are connected. In so doing, it gives
you the freedom to roam the infinite expanses of your brain. Originated in the late 1960s by
Tony Buzan, “Mind Mapping is a graphical technique for visualizing connections between
several ideas or pieces of information.” Each idea or fact is written down and then linked by
lines or curves to its major or minor (or following or previous) idea or fact, thus creating a
web of relationships.

Mind Maps are now used by millions of people around the world – from the very young to
the very old and are applied to every aspect of life where improved learning and clearer
thinking will enhance human performance. You are born with special “brainprograms” to be
able to learn and memorize everything you experience during your lifetime. You have one
“brain-program” to remember special occasions, one program that remembers pictures, one
that remembers structures, etc, etc. The fantastic thing about mind mapping is that it uses
these existing “brain-programs” and refines them! So Mind mapping simply optimizes the
power that you already have in your mind.
Mind Mapping is the easiest way to put information into your brain and to take information
out of your brain - it's a creative and effective means of note-taking that literally 'maps out'
your thoughts. And it is so simple.
According to Michael Michalko, in “Cracking Creativity”, a Mind Map:
• activates your whole brain
• clears your mind of mental clutter
• allows you to focus on the subject
• helps demonstrate connections between isolated pieces of information
• gives a clear picture of both the details and the big picture
• allows you to group and regroup concepts, encouraging comparisons between them
• requires you to concentrate on your subject, which helps get the information about it
transferred from your short-term memory to your long-term memory

Importance of Mind Mapping:

Mind Mapping help you to learn, organize, and store as much information as you want, and
to classify it in natural ways that give you easy and instant access (perfect memory) to
whatever you want. Mind mapping is one of the very best methods to optimize ones learning
capacities and understanding of how the elements of complex structures are connected. Mind
Maps have an additional strength: you would think that the more information you put into
your head, the more stuffed your head would become and the more difficult it would be to
get any information out. Mind Maps turn this thought on its head!
Benefits and Uses
I think I already gave away the benefits of mind mapping and why mind maps work.
Basically, mind mapping avoids dull, linear thinking, jogging your creativity and making
note taking fun again.
But what can we use mind maps for?
 Note taking
 Brainstorming (individually or in groups)
 Problem solving
 Studying and memorization
 Planning
 Researching and consolidating information from multiple sources
 Presenting information
 Gaining insight on complex subjects
 Jogging your creativity
It is hard to make justice to the number of uses mind maps can have – the truth is that they
can help clarify your thinking in pretty much anything, in many different contexts: personal,
family, educational or business. Planning your day or planning your life, summarizing a
book, launching a project, planning and creating presentations, writing blog posts -well, you
get the idea – anything, really.(Litemind)

Principles of Mind Mapping:

The brain works in different ways. Different people think in different ways. However, while
your thinking and reasoning follow a structure that is personal to you, you still use a number
of techniques that apply to most people. There are certain “programs” loaded in your
consciousness. These programs are your “natural thinking software”. You get them included
with your mind when you enter this world. The brain works according to certain basic
principles, and you can use mind maps to take advantage of them to improve your creativity
and memory. There are several fundamental principles for mind-mapping:
Pictures: What you see, you will remember! You have an enormous capacity to remember
pictures and images. The brain constantly takes “photos” of your life and stores these in a
gigantic photo album inside your head, and you can actually retrieve them at any given
moment. This is very critical for mind mapping, since it is much easier to remember a
picture than it is to remember long lines of pure text.
Headlines: It is far easier to remember single words, short phrases and striking headlines,
than to remember pure text. This is quite self explanatory - you could try to quote this entire
chapter through hundreds of hours of studying – and surely fail anyway. Or you could
simply write down a headline for each important point, and still remember 95% of the
important information… it’s up to you.
Connection: Your consciousness always analyzes how things are connected to each other.
And when that is done, the mind creates an image to symbolize the structure. A lot of the
brain’s work is based on association and it automatically links different subjects together to
create a system. It is important to let your brain work the way it wants and help it, instead of
forcing it to take a certain direction. Your brain will be much happier, and when it
appreciates your help it rewards you with knowledge and the power to remember.

Techniques of Mind Mapping:

Brain Storming: The map itself is quite similar to what is going on in your head. It’s all one
big mish-mash of information and nothing seems to be structured. But it really doesn’t
matter, because the only purpose of this technique is to get all those ideas into print - to
create a picture of everything you want to include. And I do mean everything you can think
of! After that, it will be easy to select the best ideas to include in your project. More or less,
the flow of creating this kind of mind map is as follows:
1. begin with the main topic
2. write some of the major, important sub-headlines
3. link these two additional sub-sub-headlines
4. repeat step 2 and 3 until your outline is completed
If you compare use of mind mapping with other forms of idea development, the conclusion
is clear - brainstorming is a superior technique to get your project started.
The Flow: This is a somewhat different type of mind map, extremely useful when you need
to see the continuity in a system, the step-by-step plan. It’s easy to get an overview of the
chain of events that you have to follow, the so called step by-step plan, when you use a mind
map The critical thing to remember is to write the chain of actions vertically, and let every
little sub-topic flow to the desired action horizontally. Just like in the mind map above.
Everything becomes so easy when using mind maps. You can get a full and detailed
overview of the entire structure, and free up your time to focus on performance instead of
planning. Just let your mind generate the ideas, write them down in a chronological order,
and remember to make plenty of space for new ideas and suggestions.
The Big Picture: This is a very interesting and effective mind mapping technique, which
also happens to be my personal favorite. Actually, this technique is very personal. The Big
Picture is all about – to be able to combine all the techniques for best effect.
Steps in Mind Mapping:
1. Start in the CENTRE of a blank page turned sideways. Because starting in the centre gives
your Brain freedom to spread out in all directions and to express itself more freely and
naturally.
2. Use an IMAGE or PICTURE for your central idea. Because an image is worth a thousand
words and helps you use your Imagination. A central image is more interesting, keeps you
focused, helps you concentrate, and gives your Brain more of a buzz!
3. Use COLOURS throughout. Because colors are as exciting to your Brain as are images.
Colour adds extra vibrancy and life to your Mind Map, adds tremendous energy to your
Creative Thinking, and is fun!
4. Connect your MAIN BRANCHES to the central image and connect your second and
third-level branches to the first and second levels, etc. Because your Brain works by
association. It likes to link two (or three, or four) things together. If you connect the
branches, you will understand and remember a lot more easily.
5. Make your branches CURVED rather than straight-lined. Because having nothing but
straight lines is boring to your Brain.
6. Use ONE KEY WORD PER LINE. Because single key words give your Mind Map more
power and flexibility.
7. Use IMAGES throughout because each image, like the central image, is also worth a
thousand words. So if you have only 10 images in your Mind Map, it’s already the equal of
10,000 words of notes!
Creativity is the key to your mental success, both in terms of coming up with startling and
original ideas, and in terms of memorizing whatever you want. Your brain is naturally
creative and you need only to provide it with the right environment to unlock its full creative
potential. Nurture every opportunity you have to be creative, always try to be flexible and to
get away from the norm - believe that your ideas, like our brain, are truly exceptional - and
remember that Mind Maps are your greatest ally when it comes to releasing your genius
within. Mind Maps are an excellent tool for helping you write well-structured and focused
writings. They are particularly helpful as they enable you to see the whole picture of your
argument and objectively assess if your argument and the structure of your writing are
logical. Not only can Mind Maps help you to plan what you intend to write, but they are also
a useful tool when it comes to writing out in detail: you can keep referring back to it to check
you are on track.
Example of Mind Mapping
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_map#/media/File:Tennis-mindmap.png)
References:
Buzan, Tony. STHe Ultimate Books of Mind Map. Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1977
https://litemind.com/what-is-mind-mapping/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_map
https://litemind.com/what-is-mind-mapping/

Q.5. Describe in detail the concept of community practice.

CONCEPT OF COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE

The term “community of practice” is of relatively recent coinage, even though the
phenomenon it refers to is age-old. The concept has turned out to provide a useful
perspective on knowing and learning. A growing number of people and organizations in
various sectors are now focusing on communities of practice as a key to improving their
performance.
Communities of practice are formed by people who engage in a process of collective
learning in a shared domain of human endeavor: a tribe learning to survive, a band of artists
seeking new forms of expression, a group of engineers working on similar problems, a
clique of pupils defining their identity in the school, a network of surgeons exploring novel
techniques, a gathering of first-time managers helping each other cope. (Etienne and Beverly
Wenger-Trayner, 2015)
Communities of Practice (CoP) are groups of volunteer participants that have an ongoing
interaction around a shared concern (Wenger et.al., 2002).  CoPs provide an environment in
which professionals can share their practice experiences, develop and discuss areas of
interests and build a sense of community (CDC). A community of practice was a term first
coined by Etienne Wenger, an education practitioner and academic, who described CoP as
“Groups of people who share a passion for something that they know how to do and who
interact regularly to learn how to do it better”. The successful CoP requires members to be
participatory and is essentially lead by its members. It is the member’s responsibility to
ensure   that the CoP stays relevant, engaging and offers value to the domain of interest
(Wenger E, McDermott R, Snyder WM, 2002). CoPs were initially developed to exchange
information and knowledge but more recently are being used as tools to improve clinical and
public health practice and to facilitate the implementation of evidence based practice. CoPs
are being increasingly used in a range of areas from child welfare to education, business and
public health (CDC, Elliott W, Finsel C).  
The three core components of a community are a community (a set of people) with a defined
domain (what they care about or do) who work on the body of knowledge about their
practice (their work). By creating the conditions for communities, individuals can be
strengthened in knowledge of their interest. These components can be elaborated as:
The domain: A community of practice is not simply a club of friends or an association of
connections between people. It has an identity defined by a shared domain of interest.
Membership therefore implies a commitment to the domain, and therefore a shared
competence that distinguishes members from other people. The domain is not necessarily
something recognized as “expertise” outside the community.

The community: In pursuing their interest in their domain, members engage in joint
activities and discussions, help each other, and share information. They build relationships
that enable them to learn from each other; they care about their standing with each other. A
website in itself is not a community of practice. Having the same job or the same title does
not make for a community of practice unless members interact and learn together.

The practice: A community of practice is not merely a community of interest–people who

like certain kinds of movies, for instance. Members of a community of practice are
practitioners. They develop a shared repertoire of resources: experiences, stories, tools, ways
of addressing recurring problems—in short a shared practice. This takes time and sustained
interaction.
Lave and Wenger (1991) introduced the concept of community of practice which describes a
learning theory with a strong relationship to the social construction of knowledge. The
community of practice consists of members who interact with each other for their pursuit of
 a common practice. It can be defined as "A group of individuals informally bound to one
another through exposure to a common class of problems, common pursuit of solutions, and
thereby themselves embodying a store of knowledge" (Stewart 2001 in Botha et al 2008).
The term community of practice was coined to refer to the community that acts as a living
curriculum for the learner. Once the concept was articulated, these communities can be seen
everywhere, even when no formal learning system existed. And of course, learning in a
community of practice is not limited to learner.
Best Approach to Implement the CoPs
There are two frameworks you can use to implement the communities of practice in your
company. First one is canonical in which a company has formal rules or process that must be
followed by the member of a community of practice.
The other one is a non-canonical approach which is the opposite of the first framework.
CoPs created through Non-canonical framework rely on the informal “routines” that the
members do during their meetup “sessions”.
Below are some of the factors that you must consider:
 The communities of practice members should be independent in constructing an
organizational structure to ensure that they meet their objectives and be truly helpful
towards the company’s objectives.
 The membership of communities of practice is voluntary. Let your employees select
their group based on their interest and interact with other members freely based on
topics that attract them the most. If members are forced to join, the tendency of them
being uncooperative is high.
 Communities of practice are not websites or blogs that you manage; it is a group of
professional members. In line with this, it cannot be complete if it will only have
members of less than five persons. It’s more effective with a larger membership.
 The growth of the company lies within the people working for it. Therefore,
members of the communities of practice should be nurtured in every possible way.
As the employer or as an executive, you must be more than willing to listen and
weigh in their suggestions that might lead to drastic but good changes in the
company.

Companies with Communities of Practice

Hewlett-Packard (HP)

The community of practice at Hewlett-Packard holds monthly teleconferences that aim to

minimize downtime for customers, particularly in computer. Then, they had detected several
problems, they were able to address and resolve the issue. As a result, they have come up with a
consistent pricing scheme for the HP sales team.

World Bank

With over 130 office locations worldwide and 189 member countries, World Bank is indeed one
of the successful businesses of our generation today. One of their secrets is embracing the
advantages along with the risks of putting up communities of practice in their company.

American Management System or AMS

It has been reported that the AMS went through an intense growth decline. The chairman of the
company personally invited some of the employees with strong leadership qualities to manage
the development of communities of practice is problematic and strategic areas of the company.
(Luis Gonçalves, 2020)

The difference in Communities of Practices

A community of practice in an organization is composed of people with commitment, passion,

and shared expertise that keep them together. An organization’s communities of practice will last
for as long as the employees are still interested to interact and learn from each other.

They will be able to maintain the group and keep their eyes on their shared vision. The regular
project teams get dissolved once they deliver a specific set of outputs. This does not apply to a
community of practice.

Furthermore, a community of practice is different from an informal network. Usually, your

informal networks have shallow interest in what you do as a professional.

Having your employees grouped based on their expertise and job roles are two of the best ways
of demonstrating communities of practice.
Though they may not have a specific day within the week to comply in answering questions and
interacting with each other, communities of practice members feature a free-flowing and of
course creative approaches to problems.

In addition to that, a community of practice members will motivate each other in developing
their capabilities on how they would be essential to a company or an organization during a
brainstorming session.

Effective methods to nurture the CoPs

Etienne Wenger has stated that managers cannot manipulate the communities of practice.
However, the following actions should be done to nurture the communities of practice:

1. You should provide the infrastructures needed by the communities to be able to meet
their objectives and be productive. These “infrastructures” may come as information,
supplies, and allotted time for discussion/interaction and so forth.
2. Keeping things simple and informal since all members of the communities of practice
have their professional obligations to the company and providing them just minimal
responsibility is highly recommended. Do not force them to overwork and let their
creativity and ideas flow in their way. Have the decency to give them the privilege of
expressing their thoughts. Requiring the communities of practice members to attend
several meeting in just one day makes them feel exhausted and unproductive.
3. Appreciating and identifying the efforts of the members of the communities of practice
will motivate them. Remember the first reason why you gathered them all and allowed
them to be part of the communities of practice. A simple gift certificate from a related
event on their domain or allow them to have at least one free day to discuss and execute
their ideas makes them more valued in the company. (Luis Gonçalves, 2020)

References:
Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner, 2015, Introduction to communities of practice
https://wenger-trayner.com/introduction-to-communities-of-practice/
Wenger E, McDermott R, Snyder W. Cultivating Communities of Practice: a Guide to
Managing knowledge (Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA). Amy HI Lee received
the MBA degree from the University of British Columbia, Canada, in. 2002.
CDC. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/phcommunities/resourcekit/intro/index.html.
Wenger E, McDermott R, Snyder WM. Seven principles for cultivating communities of
practice. Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge. 2002
Elliott W, Finsel C. Communities of Practice.
Luis Gonçalves, in Cornerstone Content, Learning Organisation, 2020, Communities of
Practice: Everything You Need To Know