Steering through Turbulent Waters While Developing a Community of Practice: Struggles in an Undergraduate Agricultural Leadership Course Based on Service-learning

This study explores teaching practices to share insights with others who may struggle when developing communities of practice. Communities of practice develop as people engage in shared, purposeful, and patterned activities, which contribute learning. This qualitative studya classroom ethnographychronicles the teaching of an undergraduate agricultural leadership course based on service-learning. Learners participating in the community of practice struggled through interpersonal conflicts among themselves and with their teachers. During the early stages of the service-learning project, antagonism and distrust inhibited learning. The teacher/researchers found Tuckman's (1965) theory of smallgroup development helped "make sense" of what students experienced and provided a heuristic for adjusting teaching pedagogy to steer learners through the process. Written and oral reflection and active learning groups enhanced student learning. Understanding that communities of practice struggle through predictable developmental stages can aid teachers and learners as they make sense of interpersonal conflict on the road to forming successful groups. Researchers found service-learning to be a viable context for leadership education and helped students apply theory to practice while concomitantly motivating them to learn. Because undergraduate leadership education is challenged by a new paradigm, service-learning, well-planned reflective practices, and an understanding of Tuckman's group developmental stages may help educators shepherd communities of practice to meet the ideals of this new paradigm.