CoPs: 00-Teachers,

Non-Secret Agents of Change

A session on the power of the passion for what we do!!

Andrés Ramos

Our Hopes And Dreams v. Our “World”

No matter how pragmatic we are:

• We take initiative.• We want to improve our surroundings.• We long for leaving a legacy.

What prevents us from going further is:

• Our personal and professional priorities.• Our understanding of social roles.• Our perceived potential to trigger change.

During this time together, we intend to:

• Trigger interest in, further study of, involvement in, and engagement with CoPs

• Reflect on and discovering issues suitable for action within CoPs

• Devise practical ways to leave our legacy in Academia and Society.

Conference Aims

… which we’ll achieve by:

• Turning our legitimate personal concerns about contributing to change in our surroundings into discussion.

• Identifying topics for contributions from our professional strengths and expertise.

• Proposing tips and making decisions for participation.

Communities of practice (CoPs), a.k.a. professional associations, trade organizations, an online groups, or

other institutional bodies, and are defined 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.”

“Just Me” or a Teacher + a Community

Let’s be honest: “I can barely catch up. I cannot drive change on my own.” Nevertheless, this an appeal to explore where and how our personal and professional activity as well as our desire to make a contribution reaching far and beyond our immediate reality intersect in the shape of:

Wenger-Trayner, 1998

Join #CoPsVT15:• “Nice, I’m at the convention. Do I have to do more?”• Rather than ‘more’, is ‘more… efficiently’.• How and why? Let’s start by ourselves and our views.

Join #CoPsVT15:• “Nice, I’m at the convention. Do I have to do more?”• Rather than ‘more’, is ‘more… efficiently’.• How and why? Let’s start by ourselves and our views.

Letting / Seeing Things Happenv. Making Things Happen

Fact check:

I let them happen.

I see them happen.

I make them happen.

“That’s just the way it is”.

It’s not my job”.

“Why not / What if…?”

Structuralism

Functionalism

Agency

How things happen: What I say: Worldview:

All structures need change

to avoid obsolescence.

Your role may disappear if

you don’t stretch out.

Pick your change.

Wright Mills, 1956; Almond & Powell, 1966; Webber, 1922 [1978]; Parsons, 1935 [1991]

Join #CoPsVT15:• To what extent do I let things happen, see things happen, or

make things happen?• Do I want to make more things happen – or at least to

contribute to make them happen?• How much of a mover, shaker, and game changer do I

choose to be?

“Nice, but what does ELT have to do with being a game changer?”

Letting / Seeing Things Happenv. Making Things Happen

Join #CoPsVT15:• To what extent do I let things happen, see things happen, or

make things happen?• Do I want to make more things happen – or at least to

contribute to make them happen?• How much of a mover, shaker, and game changer do I

choose to be?

“Nice, but what does ELT have to do with being a game changer?”

Different Venezuelan CoPs were polled in an attempt to understand their action. The aspects inquired on were:

• Networking• Grassroots• Advocacy

In a three-dimensional approach to synergistic contributions:

• Cooperation among colleagues• Bottom-top dynamics for volunteerism• Initiatives towards non-government organizations

(NGOs) and governmental agencies.

The results at a glance, next!

CoPs in Venezuela

Ramos, 2014

Ramos, 2014

CoPs in Venezuela

Ramos, 2014

CoPs in Venezuela

Ramos, 2014

CoPs in Venezuela

Ramos, 2014

CoPs in Venezuela

Ramos, 2014

CoPs in Venezuela

Society Meets Education

Agency Social Models:

I make changes with help from others.

There’s my society and there’s how I act upon it.

Constructivism:

I construct knowledge with help from others.

There’s what exists, and there’s how I perceive it (construct it).

There’s a multiplying effect in our action among colleagues, as the way how our peers’ contributions also benefit us and

help us all develop professionally.

Vygotky, 1926 [1987]; Dewey, 1938

Ramos, 2014

CoPs in Venezuela

Ramos, 2014

CoPs in Venezuela

Ramos, 2014

CoPs in Venezuela

Ramos, 2014

CoPs in Venezuela

Join #CoPsVT15:• What have colleagues done for me that has helped me?• What have I done for peers that has helped them?• What things have I changed in my job because I’ve

chosen to view them with a fresh set of eyes?

Becoming an Agent

There’s a multiplying effect in our action among colleagues, as the way how our peers’ contributions also benefit us and

help us all develop professionally.

Join #CoPsVT15:• What have colleagues done for me that has helped me?• What have I done for peers that has helped them?• What things have I changed in my job because I’ve

chosen to view them with a fresh set of eyes?

Your choice:

• Identify a relevant CoP.• Inquire on it.• Join it.

Living with a CoP:

Your reason:

• Set priorities• Set aside reasonable time.• Check your skills set.

Your passion:

• Find a special interest.• Engage in it.• Enjoy.

Your reward:

• Expanding network.• Peers to resort to.• Development & credibility.

“That’s just the way it is”, “It’s not my job”, “Nothing’s gonna change”…no longer me-or-them dilemmas ; it’s “us”. We can address

personal priorities while improving what really matters around us. Each one of us has the potential to be a mover, shaker, and game

changer, as we engage in communities of practice (or CoPs), such as VenTESOL. We’ve looked into them, their supporting concepts, options and opportunities as a time and space where doing an

apparently small part, originating in our educational framework of reference and daily endeavors, can mean a world of difference to

many colleagues, students, and fellow citizens. Yes, our approaches, practices, and even schedule priorities of choice can conveniently

and successfully step into CoPs’ common ground for action. Today, we’ve gained fresh perspectives on realistic ways to become a 00-

Teacher, non-secret agent of change!

Yes, we are CoPs,Non-Secret Agents of Change!!

AndrsRamos

AndresRamosVE

CoPs: 00-Teachers,

Non-Secret Agents of Change

A session on the power of the passion for what we do!!

Andrés Ramos