Getting Past Isolation: A Global Community of Practice

• In Event: Cultivating community & shifting practice: experiences from five communities of practice

Proposal

This educator-geared Community of Practice, launched in July 2022, has rapidly expanded to include educators and leaders from over 840 education-focused NGOs across 96 countries. This global community now reaches more than 40 million learners, engaging members in discussions, resource sharing, and co-learning experiences centered on evidence-based practices that foster key employability skills. A significant part of this effort supports the Gates-funded AI-for-education.org initiative, which pilots and scales critical AI literacy tools and training for educators and organizations.

With over 90% of members remaining active, the community has surpassed engagement and retention goals. More than 70% of participants have reported applying the knowledge, resources, and strategies gained to enhance their organizations. Additionally, 98% have noted improved access to learning materials, and 89% reported a positive impact on their ability to serve learners.

Monthly networking sessions, office hours, and active regional hub coordinators have contributed to a dynamic exchange of ideas and best practices. Courses on AI, Makerspaces, Design Thinking, and Program Evaluation have seen increased participation and certification achievements. Notably, the AI course led to significant learning gains, with average scores improving from 36.5% to 91.3% among over 250 participants. The community has also achieved an impressive 92.3% Net Promoter Score.

Over the past year, the community has averaged more than 650 weekly contributions, with over 1,500 members actively engaged, and nearly 50% of those members contributing posts, comments, and other content. In total, there were over 6,300 member contributions in the second year, accounting for more than 57% of all activity. Member contributions ranged from 46% to 72% of total activity, demonstrating strong and growing engagement.

In the past year, over 45 resources focused on teacher effectiveness, student engagement, and organizational sustainability have been shared, along with more than 60 technology tools and digital resources. These resources were interacted with over 20,750 times in the second year alone. In the first month of year three, over 1,200 users were actively engaged, driven in part by a new system for newsletter delivery and new pilot cohorts. A digital literacy pilot group, initially targeting five NGOs, saw 58 unique NGOs apply.

The Community of Practice will continue to facilitate cohort-based learning, conduct more pilot projects with toolkits, and deepen our organizational understanding of community needs. Through ongoing co-design and member feedback, the community remains committed to addressing the core needs of its members. As the community enters its third year, the top five areas of interest identified include teacher training, open curriculum and resources, content and tool curation, evaluation and evidence-based practices, and infrastructure and access.

Author

• Jody Britten, JodyBritten.com