This paper focuses on in-service teacher professional development. The purpose of this paper is to: reexamine the definitions and characteristics that are often associated with the community of practice metaphor; clarify that this metaphor is a theoretical tool for educational researchers to make sense of interactions that take place in educational settings; and use the community of practice metaphor as a theoretical lens to reflect on interactions that took place at a rural Midwestern school district that was involved in a teacher professional development program. The paper concludes with suggestions on how to use community of practice as an instruction design tool for supporting and enhancing organizational learning. The data presented in this paper was extracted from a larger multiple case study that took place in 2 rural Midwestern school districts during August 1998 to May 2000. (Contains 18 references.) (Author/AEF)