1. COPCS: Community of Practice, Creativity and Support NCDB: Area 4 State/Multi-state DB Projects

2. Presentation Team Diane Kelly, Director Connections Beyond Sight and Sound, MD dmkelly@umd.edu Kathy McNulty, Associate Director National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness kathy.mcnulty@hknc.org Susan Edelman, Director VT Project for Children and Youth with Deaf-Blindness susan.edelman@uvm.edu

3. Community of Practice, Creativity & Support (COPCS) Community of Practice as a Framework History, Purpose and Membership Protocols and Processes Areas of Shared Work Progress and Achievements to Date Future Directions Sustaining Strategies: What makes it work?

4. Community of Practice Key to improving performance Approach to knowing and learning “Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.” http://www.ewenger.com/theory/ Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge University Press.

5. COPCS: History Community Learning as Belonging Practice Learning as Doing Collaborative teamwork as a shared belief and practice for years among many of the states projects (1990’s) Face to face Positive Interdependence Individual Accountability Interpersonal skills Creative problem-solving Opportunity out of situation - 2001 “In what ways might we…”(2002) PDM, Boston

6. COPCS: History continued Meaning Learning as Experience Identity Learning as Becoming Product development workgroups established (12/2002) Three Products: 2004 SOS - Sharing Our Strengths 4/2005 COPCS was born!

7. Identity

8. COPCS: Purpose and Membership The purpose of the Community of Practice, Creativity and Supports (COPCS) is to share, create and support the project staff working on the ten federally funded state deaf-blind projects in Area 4, one of four regions being supported by the National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness. http://www.tcnj.edu/~webtest2/area4

9. COPCS: Internal Processes Protocols Developed: October-December 2005 Norms: the ways we operate when together, based upon our guiding principles, beliefs, and research Communication: the media and strategies by which we share, create, and support each other Decision-making: the processes by which we make decisions about our shared work Protocols Approved: December 6, 2006

10. COPCS: Areas of Work Technical Assistance Activities Professional Development Product Development Family Support & Training

11. COPCS: Progress & Achievement COPCS Website http://www.tcnj.edu/~webtest2/area4/collaboration.htm

12. COPCS: Future Directions As a Community, we want to: commit to contributing to the body of evidence- based practices on deaf-blindness; identify on-going strategies that will sustain and energize the membership to pursue the highest level of professionalism and creativity in serving children who are deaf-blind;

13. COPCS: Future Directions encourage and welcome new members into the community; expand the current content areas of work by beginning to explore COPCS activities in the areas of Early Intervention and Literacy.

14. Sustaining Strategies Guiding Principles and Protocols Faithfulness to CPS Frequent Contact Celebrations Unique Identity Work Ethic “Re-energizing”

15. Focus on Process and Shared Leadership

16. Working Together in Energizing!

17. Unique Identity! EVA Tour 2007

18. Celebrations!