This article makes the case for a new framing of liberal education based on several decades of research emerging from the learning and developmental sciences. This work suggests that general knowledge stems from acquiring both the habits of mind and repertoires of practice that develop from participation in knowledge-building communities. Such work shifts the focus from "learning about" to an emphasis on "learning to participate." The article concentrates on three ways learning and developmental science theory and research can shed light on recent debates about liberal education and assist in thinking through its reform. First, it considers some of the core assumptions implicit in formulations of liberal education today, focusing on how they portray the "stuff " of learning and comparing this to how learning scientists think about that "stuff." Second, it discusses why learning scientists suggest that current conceptions of practice-based learning oversimplify current research. The concept of "situated learning" is more than the idea that students simply learn by doing; it includes the adoption of the practices, beliefs and values of a knowledge community. Third, it draws from work in the developmental sciences that suggests how learning and development unfold over time. Learning occurs in phases repeated in different venues: for instance, the curriculum (general education and the major), the co-curriculum, and the larger community. Finally, it offers as an example of an attempt to weave this body of work into liberal education reform Clark University's Liberal Education and Effective Practice (LEEP) initiative. (Contains 1 figure and 8 resources.)