The evidence on learning communities suggests that student intellectual and psychosocial development is improved by participation. Faculty members become rejuvenated as learners once again through rediscovering the boundaries and intersection of their discipline with others. Active learning, collaborative learning, strategies to improve critical thinking, and connections between in-class and out-of-class activities all are harnessed toward the goal of creating real learning that forms an individual capable of making informed choices in a democratic society. Political scientists should be at the forefront of civic-minded curricular reform, and learning communities are one fruitful avenue to pursue toward that end. In this article, the author provides a general introduction to the learning community concept for political scientists. He explains why learning communities are a useful curricular innovation for both students and faculty, describes some of the general models used for creating learning communities, provides examples particularly relevant to political scientists, and concludes with some of the practical matters that need to be addressed in order to initiate and sustain learning communities. (Contains 7 notes.)