This is a good paper (16 page PDF), though I have mixed feelings about it. It asserts that building a sense of belonging helps students complete courses, and studies this through the development of identity and community in The Data Mine (TDM), "a residential learning community that allows students to live and learn under the same roof." So, on the one hand, as I see it, learning a discipline means learning to see the world the way members of the discipline see the world. So there is an element of community formation. On the other hand, the community formation process described here demands a degree of conformity and collaboration that would make me uncomfortable. It may be that most people thrive under such conditions, which would drive statistical results, but some people really don't, and these people are overlooked in generalizations about community identity.
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