Conceptualizing a professional learning network through the lenses of communities of practice and activity theory

This presentation provides an overview of one of the projects in the PRACTIS team: Creating, Computing, and Collaborating in Mathematics (CCC-M), examining how it can be described through the combined lenses of the communities of practice framework and cultural-historical activity theory. This paper serves to: (a) Document the evolving processes of a professional learning network (PLN), which aims at enhancing the capacity of teachers and students for integrating technology into teaching and learning and to improve student success in mathematics, with a focus on the transition from elementary to secondary school, as the context of a research-practice partnership project (b) Characterize two different communities (i.e., research and teaching communities) in the PLN in terms of “communities of practice (CoP)” (e.g., Joint enterprise, mutual engagement, and shared repertoire) (Wenger, 1998) and in terms of “Activity Theory framework” (Engeström, 1987). (c) Conceptualize the PLN by making links between the CoP conceptual framework and Activity theory framework.