Learning Communities

  One of the interesting consequences of reading Etienne Wenger is that it makes me realize how important community is to learning. Is this a "therapeutic" insight? A healing insight? Well, being an introverted person who likes to process things on his own and see a bigger picture (rather than piecemeal), I sometimes feel like learning in communities comes across as too fragmented. But what I am realizing is how this is mainly due to my expectations of what learning is supposed to be and how it's supposed to happen. Maybe I can summarize in a few key points.
   First is, shattering the expectation of a unified learner, who, furthermore is capable of "knowing everything". Knowing everything about a subject, as Wenger suggests, is neither particularly feasible nor desirable. People can sometimes choose to learn superficially because they know that the subject material will not become part of their performance evaluation, or might even be subject to change. Highly technical information might even be glossed over in favor of a high level information, simply because there is no need to learn the nitty gritty to perform one's functions in an organization.
  Second is, the importance of not taking for granted the "untold" spaces of learning. Learning can even take place through a chat on facebook. Now, that's a revelation to me! If the discussion is meaningful and brings together insights from different people and is related to some kind of significant thing we do, then learning can take place in those simple conversations. In other words, learning is neither restricted to authority nor contained only in book learning--even though, in theory, the latter is often the more comprehensive and weightier treatment of a given subject.
    Lastly, the importance of allowing for gaps, or "mind the gap". There are many ways that gaps in a person's understanding or knowledge can be filled, and expecting it to come from the help button on one's computer (or help desk) is too simplistic. Help comes in unexpected places, and part of the idea of learning is not to reify the process to one or two channels, but rather, to stay open to a multiplicity of channels.
  I believe that these principles, among others, help me to relax into new channels of learning, as well as to never feel that a meeting or an unexpected encounter is a waste of time. It can help build one's repertoire of learning and meaning.