Building learning community through a transdisciplinary multi-layered approach

Abstract

This article examines the development of a transdisciplinary multi-layered intergenerational community of practice (CoP) in higher education that involved students, faculty members, project staff, and outside members at Hong Kong Baptist University. Utilizing an ethnographic practitioner research approach, the authors reveal the unique characteristics of this CoP, which was manifested in its formation, membership, structure, process, and sociocultural context. Five sets of themes were identified: (a) membership establishment and role differentiation: structuring the community; (b) leadership, autonomy, and ownership: working together; (c) group brainstorming and joint decision making: progressing; (d) teamwork, collegiality, and belongingness: building the team; and (e) learning through intergenerational interaction: attaining the CoP’s objectives. Implications are drawn for the use of the CoP model in higher education to facilitate students’ affective learning and whole person development.