A formação de comunidades de prática no processo de ensino e aprendizagem

Abstract

The virtual communities are present in the reality of the internet. In this context, one sees the growth of virtual communities with the academic purpose. An example is the creation of a virtual community formed by students of administration of the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA). The aim of this study is to assess whether the virtual community formed by these students, operates as a virtual community of practice focused on the process of teaching and learning. The interest in this community emerged from the experience of a teacher to realize that it provides an integration between its members. The main theoretical concepts are studied social networks, virtual community social capital, community of practice and learning. We conducted an interview with the coordinator and applied a questionnaire to community members. It was found that the virtual community studied can be characterized as a virtual community of practice, it has several existing features (Wenger, 1998). The community studied works like driving organizational learning, it transforms, modifies or creates new practices. Thinking about the perspective of education, this type of environment is a new option for teaching and learning developed by universities.