People don't become physicists by learning formulas any more than they become football players by learning plays. In learning how to be a physicist or football player how to act as one, talk as one, be recognized as one - it's not the explicit statements but the implicit practices that count. As people change careers and jobs alter frequently, learning on site is not enough. Talented people need to immerse themselves in dynamic communities and to follow developments in specialized knowledge. Knowledge communities are built on the more complex interactions, such as continuous conversation.
Communities of practice are the theoretical and inevitable building blocks of society.
Collaboration between aspiring students and established educators prompts new perspectives. With the help of mentors, peers and professors, students work their way ever deeper into a learning community and its institution toward increasingly full participation. New challenges spring from an expanding community. The continuity of family and generational commitment and the sense of present tied to past and future create the backdrop from which students question, test, act and hope. Faculty-student access and advising play a key role in this communication process.