Abstract

The purpose of this research was to contribute to the understanding of communities of practices as a Social Theory of Learning. It waw carried out in the second cycle of a secondary school in the Dominican Republic, during the 2021-2022 school years, in which a Community of Practice was developed with the aim of promoting an education focused on learning with the incorporation of ICT as support for it. In the second cycle, a team of 10 co-researchers was formed, guided by the research coordinator, they developed an Action Plan to improve their teaching practice. This study was carried out under the qualitative paradigm using the Participatory Action Research method for the formation of the Community of Practice and the development of its actions. Active methodologies teaching strategies were incorporated, and the tools of the Moodle platform were used. Among the techniques used are participant observation, interview, questionnaire, researcher´s diary and field notes. The theoretical contributions of the research are linked to the verification process of the Situated Learning Theory of Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger, the key concepts of the communities of practices and the development of action hypotheses generated from teaching practice. The methodological contribution consists of the us of Participatory Action Research for the development of the Community of Practices and its practical contributions: the improvement of practice.

Keywords: Community of Practice; Active Methodologies; TIC; Participatory Action Research