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The University of Phoenix adult learning model is based on the idea that learning does not occur in isolation. Learning occurs as individuals dialogue with others such as faculty and peers to gain new insight and perspective. For this reason, The University of Phoenix groups students in cohort communities.

A cohort is a group of individuals working cooperatively to achieve common goals. Students benefit greatly from working in a cohort because they are able to share their personal and professional experiences and learn from each other.

The cohort model is a microcosm of real life, as students' experiences in the cohort often mirror challenges faced in their personal and professional lives. Interacting in the cohort provides students opportunities to learn new ways of addressing personal and workplace challenges.

Doctoral Learning and Communities of Practice

According to Reynolds and Herbert (1998), cohort learning provides students with the opportunity for ongoing and supportive interaction between peers, between students and facilitators, and between students and the larger community.

As members of a cohort uncover new ideas and understanding, their dialogue increases, diversifies, validates, and assures understanding. Although individuals often require time alone to think and reflect, learning in a cohort environment keeps individuals engaged and inspired to learn.

Cohort communities encourage camaraderie, build student confidence, and challenge individuals to strengthen and apply their critical thinking skills.

Doctoral learning differs from learning at the bachelor's or master's levels. Doctoral learning in general, and doctoral writing in particular, require the integration of feedback and dialogue to formulate scholarly thought.

Doctoral faculty often insist that doctoral students may not rely upon personal opinion when reaching conclusions. Rather, students must support their ideas and opinions with scholarly evidence and be able to generalize their findings. As previously stated, one way to advance scholarly thought is through interaction in a learning cohort.

Another way to advance scholarly thought includes reading scholarly (peer-reviewed) publications and supporting ideas with citations from these publications. Another way to promote scholarly thought is to participate in a community of practice.

According to Wenger, McDermott, and Snyder (2002), a community of practice is a group of individuals with a shared quest and interests, who interact regularly to improve their learning.

A community of practice is not simply a group of individuals with surface commonality; for example, people who share the same taste in music or like the same type of movies. Members of a community of practice are practitioners of a common discipline. They dialogue with peers to validate and generalize their practitioner experience.

They create a collection of resources, practices, and tools; sharing these resources to build a more comprehensive body of knowledge. Developing shared practices requires time, continual interaction, and dialogue.

An interesting discussion with someone in the company cafeteria may provide new information, but this type of conversation is simply a conversation. Members of a community of practice communicate with a purpose. The purpose of their communication is to advance learning and validate experience. Sometimes, developing a shared practice is accomplished without members' conscious awareness.

For example, a group of nurses who eat lunch together every day may not realize their discussions have become one of their primary sources of information on how to improve the quality of patient care. Because of their conversations, these nurses have created a protocol for their practice.

As doctoral students, the cohort is your community of practice. The cohort is an organization in its own right with unique characteristics. Members of the cohort continually engage in knowledge sharing and use feedback from peers to advance scholarly thought. The student-to-student and student-to-facilitator interaction affects the educational experience on three levels: (a) internally, (b) externally, and (c) throughout the life of the student (Wenger, McDermott, & Snyder, 2002).

Students' educational experience is impacted internally through online dialogue with fellow students and facilitators. Students integrate the feedback gained in their online dialogue to advance scholarship and to validate and generalize their opinions.

Students' educational experience is impacted externally as they apply information gained through online dialogue to their leadership practice and workplace experiences. Finally, students' educational experience is impacted throughout the lifespan, as they generalize and apply their learning to the practice of leadership outside the academic setting.

Leadership Development

The ability to integrate theory and practice requires rigorous self-examination, flexibility, and the willingness to remain open to personal growth and change. A commitment to self-examination suggests leaders, as part of their ongoing development, continually examine whether their actions match their words. Leaders should conduct a periodic, personal gap analysis. If inconsistencies exist, leaders should develop corrective action or leadership-development plans.

Part of developing a leadership-development plan requires that leaders identify the competencies that define effective leadership and assess themselves against these competencies. Although various leadership-competency models exist, Spencer and Spencer's (1993) research determined that 21st century leaders must be able to display the following competencies:

Strategic Thinking - The ability to understand changing market conditions, opportunities, and trends, and identify an optimal response.

Change Leadership - The ability to communicate change initiatives in a way that inspires adaptive action.

Relationship Management - The ability to develop a network of relationships and contacts whose cooperation is necessary to achieve organizational goals.

Flexibility - The ability to change processes and procedures when necessary.

Entrepreneurial Innovation - The motivation to champion new products, services, and production processes.

Interpersonal Understanding - The ability to understand and value the input of colleagues from a diverse community.

Empowerment - The ability to share information, solicit others' ideas, delegate meaningful responsibility, and make employees feel more capable and motivated to assume greater responsibility.

Team Facilitation - The ability to use group process skills to inspire diverse groups of people to work together effectively toward common goals.

Portability - The ability to adapt rapidly to and function effectively in any unfamiliar environment. (p. 343)

The competencies above consist of interpersonal and functional skills, both of which are important to the practice of leadership. As doctoral students and students of leadership, it is your task to assess yourself against these leadership competencies and develop a plan for growth and change.

There are a variety of ways to develop these competencies. Recognize that you are earning the highest level of academic credentials and as such are responsible and accountable for your own development, progress and completion of all strategies undertaken. Begin now to craft your future leadership strategy.

References:

Reynolds, K., & Hebert, F. T. (1998). Learning achievements of students in cohort groups. Journal of Continuing Higher Education 46, 34-42.

Spencer, L., & Spencer, S. (1993). Competence at work: Models for superior performance. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Wenger, E., McDermott, R., & Snyder, W. (2002). Cultivating communities of practice: A guide to managing knowledge. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.