Learning in a simulated community of practice

Simulation as a vocational didactic method in media production

Abstract

The aim of the article is to gain knowledge about how simulation and supervision can be used to build professional competence. To acquire knowledge on this topic, we simulated communities of practice in media productions. The simulations have been used in teaching a bachelor's program in TV production to provide students with experiences of real tasks in the media industry. The study employs an action-oriented qualitative approach. The authors are practitioner-researchers investigating their own practice. There are 10 informants in the study, and the sources of information include researcher logs, student logs, questionnaires, and qualitative interviews.
The theoretical perspectives are based on theories of communities of practice, where people share a common engagement in what they are working on. One of the topics addressed is which aspects of the simulation have contributed to promoting learning. In the teaching sessions, students received guidance from an industry professional from the media sector. The supervision is linked to reflective practice, where students are given space to reflect on their performed actions. The results show that simulating a community of practice has contributed to an increased work pace and a holistic understanding of the profession. At the same time, some students experienced simulation as a distraction in the learning process. Through supervision, students had the opportunity to reflect on their professional practice with a mentor familiar with the skills and requirements of the media industry. The supervision focused on mastery techniques for handling a high work pace and provided an understanding of ergonomics. Our conclusion is that learning has transitioned from instrumental training to professional practice in a simulated context.