Learning Together Through New Technologies: Exploring Classroom Interactions Through Legitimate Peripheral Participation In A Community Of Practice

The purpose of this study is to explore how novice learners can become part of a learning community through legitimate peripheral participation (LPP) in the community of practice. This work examines the notion of enabling LPP by fostering communities of practice in a college undergraduate capstone course. Ten students participated in a practitioner-based research initiative to identify and implement changes to a wireless grids technological infrastructure. Preliminary findings suggest that several communities were at work in the classroom and student identities as members in these various communities were constantly in tension. The work suggests that LPP in communities could be enabled by a college curriculum that fosters a community of practice.