One of the students whose work was published in our 9th edition of Fields was Amber Frankland from the School of Education and Professional Development.

We asked Amber to tell us a bit more about the research below and you can read the full article here:

"In March 2020, a virtual community of practice was created for Further Education practitioners from across the UK to meet and discuss pedagogy in response to the disconnect practitioners felt during the pandemic. This collective has continued to operate since and acts as a remedy for silo-working and professional loneliness. 

The research concentrates on the application of the Thinking Environment principles as the core values of the community of practice; investigating how the few rules in place contribute to a feeling of belonging. 

It was found that the community of practice acted as a third space for practitioners to convene, outside of professional and familial units to converse about their passion for pedagogy. Some practitioners voiced that the use of open plan staffrooms in Further Education colleges across the UK had bred silo-working, and by intra-organisational working the community of practice, they are able to share knowledge in a community led model."  

Fields: Journal of Huddersfield Student Research Open Access Author Spotlight Education