In a community of practice students would be engaged in literacy practices; they would be doing the practice of literacy as it relates to their daily lives with people who are engaged in the same kinds of practices. In the classroom though, students were engaged in practices about literacy that were often disconnected from its use in their lives (as in the example of the fractions exercise that was developed to help students double recipes in the coffee shop). The students'; instructor devised an activity, incorporating a variety of tools—a worksheet, measuring cups, and measuring spoons—for use in the classroom. Although students had opportunities to use the same tools that they used in the coffee shop, the handling of the tools was isolated from their real use (they weren't actually preparing muffins), and the worksheet, rather than facilitating understanding, added an additional level of learning (students had to discern the meaning of written questions and representational diagrams, and then figure out how to represent an amount, then record that amount in an acceptable manner). In this way, they were engaged in practices about literacy as opposed to actively doing literacy practice.

As stated earlier, 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. Students who entered the classroom were accepted as members of the group despite striking differences in culture, abilities, and lifestyle. (It was a testament to the instructors and students who strove to support one another, reserved judgment, and learned about each other that such a supportive and cohesive group formed.) But without realizing the learning purpose of an activity (a vocabulary exercise will help students expand their vocabulary, but for what purpose?), it was difficult to perform the integral tasks and to engage in the improvised practices that are part of participation in a community of practice. In addition, students in the classroom identified themselves more as students than employees or potential employees, which is contrary to the program's goals.