From Students to Scholars: The Transformative Power of Communities of Practice

Participating in a doctoral program can be a transformative experience that shapes the identity of the learner. What learning spaces might best facilitate that identity development? This article presents the findings of a study examining doctoral student perspectives of participating in a Community of Practice (COP) intentionally used to foster emerging scholar identities. The researchers examined the actual experience of the participants, explored the impact on their identities as scholars, and, finally, compared with other types of similar teaching models. The findings suggest identities shifted and self-efficacy increased among all the participants in the COP. In addition, the power of this model may be most important in the area of continuity and continued growth a year after the class ended.