Yet, these ideas are ever changing as they are synthesized by each member. The knowledge within the CoP continually changes as each colleagues practice continually grows and evolves. When you mix mentoring and CoP's the mixture provides a larger community working collaboratively toward shared, significant goals. The environment is one in which competition, if not absent, is at least de-emphasized. In a mentoring learning community, all participants have are given the opportunity and the responsibility to learn from and help teach each other.
Newbies begin to engage more actively with old timers and each other.
The role of the old timer as the transmitter of information diminishes and all help facilitate a newbies common sense of the groups purpose. The newbie soon knows what the old timers know. They will become the experienced, the expert guide, the coach, and the master learner. Positive CoP mentoring behavior.