In this paper we address the obfuscation surrounding the concept of learning communities by operationalizing "community" according to four characteristics that serve as boundaries for defining a community: access, relationships, vision, and function. Although these community boundaries sometimes overlap, they represent distinctive…

Many universities in the United States and Europe offer honors programs to meet the demands of gifted and intelligent students. One of the standard goals of these programs is to build an intellectual learning community. Establishing a community can be difficult because it requires that students show an active attitude and initiative. Many…