Using a Special Education Dialogue Guide for Knowledge Transfer Within a Community of Practice: A Case Study.

The purpose of this research is to examine the use of dialogue within a cross-agency Community of Practice, and how Dialogue Guides facilitate the transformative activities to accomplish knowledge transfer. Communities of Practice are informal groups "bound together by shared expertise and passion" for joint enterprise where people assume roles based on their abilities, skills, and interests rather than titles or position in organization (Wenger & Snyder, 2000). Dialogue Guides are models for conducting interactive discussions across stakeholders in communities and circulate a common set of source materials for involving various audiences (IDEA Partnership, 2006). The conceptual framework for this research explores important concepts from theoretical and empirical literature including (a) situated learning and social learning theory; (b) adult learning theory; (c) systems change theory (including change theory, general systems theory, systems change, chaos/complexity theory, and living systems); (d) organizational learning and knowledge management theories and (f) dialogue theory contribute to the knowledge base. Further, common elements found across the literature are also found in the dialogue session data and provide a holistic view of knowledge and learning for organizations and individuals. This study examines research across diverse systems, identifies important concepts in knowledge management, knowledge transfer, and knowledge utilization, and posits possibilities for the future for those involved with adult learning and systems change in education. A single case study using a proof-of-concept trial examines the strategic use of dialogue within an established cross-state, cross-agency Community of Practice focused on improving transition outcomes for youth in PA. Common concepts emerge across the literature and appear as essential elements that provide the critical characteristics of that domain's work. They include context and content, community, collaboration, diversity and equality. These elements provide a natural structure for the research and the research questions. Qualitative data were collected---including field observation, video and audio transcription, participant post-event interview, and group work. Data will show that Dialogue Guides improve shared understanding of important issues in education and the laws that influence those issues.