The Learning Communities Demonstration is a large-scale, random assignment evaluation of learning community programs at six community colleges. During the first year of the demonstration, all six colleges expanded their learning community programs and, in the process, faced similar challenges in selecting courses to link, recruiting and supporting…

Despite the wealth of studies on smaller learning communities (SLCs), student voices are missing from the debate on high school reform. This article examines how students experience SLCs. A participatory research method, data-in-a-day was used to provide a systematic and inclusive method for gathering data on student perceptions. Data-in-a-day is…

This paper comments on strengths and weaknesses of the papers on communities of practice in this special issue of "Technology, Pedagogy and Education." First it discusses the character of communities of practice and the question of whether schools are environments that are conducive to the development of teacher communities of practice. It then…