Knowledge transfer in community-embedded learning : a case study

A design approach to the distance delivery of professional development in the area of e-learning design and facilitation was taken. The intent of the design was to address the problem of the transfer of learning in a distance context, modelled on Kazmer’s (2007) community-embedded learning framework. Strategies were designed to support the two-way transfer of knowledge between the online social world and the workplace community. The process of transfer was identified as being through the generalization of specific experiences and knowledge, and its subsequent application to the local context, or to the online social community. The process of generalization was regarded as being critical to the transfer of knowledge. Data obtained through an analysis of student materials provided indications that generalization and transfer of knowledge had occurred within the diverse range of teaching contexts of participants and the online social environment. The result is a series of design principles that may well support the design of community embedded learning in other contexts.