Fran noted the difference she had seen in students' attitudes when trying a new task in the coffee shop compared to the classroom. She said she didn't see the same enthusiasm or willingness in the classroom as she saw in the coffee shop. In the classroom, students might express a need to focus on an area of weakness, she explained, but they lacked the desire to learn new things. Fran explained,

I don't think it's quite so immediate, practical, or refined as getting in there [the coffee shop] with the hands–on stuff. They do verbalize those things, but it's probably much more real for them, I think, in a real setting.

In other words, the coffee shop activities were more practical, concrete, and meaningful for the students compared to the more nebulous classroom activities.

In order to judge their success in the classroom, most of the students said they depended on the teacher to tell them if their work had been done well. Nadine explained that she knew she had done well "when the teacher told you, like you're working and someone says, 'Oh, you're doing a very good job.'" Often, she wasn't sure how she was doing with her classroom work and explained how she depended on the teacher's judgment, even when it contradicted her own.

At least you have confidence. It probably doesn't look good to you, but it look good to them, and I say okay. If they say I do a good job, at least I have more confidence to push myself, to go far, and far more.

The key to understanding participation is to be engaged in a productive activity with a community of practitioners to the extent that the learner begins to see him or herself as a full member of that community. In the classroom, the instructor felt that lower level students identified themselves primarily as students. For some, this may be a new way of seeing themselves, particularly for Stacey, who had never attended school before. But these same students didn't necessarily see themselves as employees or potential employees, despite the fact that the classroom was an integral part of the employment preparation program. The higher level students, on the other hand, seemed to have a more flexible and broader vision of themselves. In addition, the classroom did not provide many opportunities for the students to be engaged in productive and meaningful activities.