When setting class policies and expectations, involve your students in the process by creating community agreements together. Community agreements are a collaborative effort between students, instructors, and teaching assistants to establish classroom norms for behavior, engagement, and communication. Developing community agreements early in the semester fosters a supportive and inclusive environment by empowering students to shape course expectations based on their needs and experiences. This process helps build trust, camaraderie, and mutual respect from the start of the semester.
What to Include in Community Agreements
When creating community agreements, consider asking guiding questions to your students to address the expectations that matter most to you. Some guiding questions to consider include:
- What does engagement look like?
- How do we solve problems together?
- How do we show care and respect for one another?
- How can we make the most of our time in class?
- How do we respond to mistakes?
- How can we support those who are struggling?
- How do we set ourselves up to meet both learning and daily objectives?
- How do we maintain physical safety in this environment?
To help your students envision what the class community agreements might include, share examples of community agreements.
How to Draft and Develop Community Agreements
The process of drafting community agreements may vary depending on field of study, learning objectives, class size, and course modality. Here are a few activities that can help students build community as you collaboratively create these agreements:
- Think, Pair, Share: Students first reflect individually on their expectations, and then share their ideas with a partner. The ideas generated can later be shared with the larger group.
- Small Groups: In small groups, students discuss the guiding questions, and then draft suggestions to present to the class.
- Group Revisions: Once a draft of the agreement is available, all students can reflect on it. In small groups, they can revise, clarify, and add suggestions. These revisions are shared with the entire class for broader discussion.
It’s important to remember that community agreements are not set in stone. The focus and language may need revising as the semester progresses, based on topics, activities, and class dynamics. These agreements are living documents that should evolve in response to students’ needs and behaviors. Regularly reviewing and updating them as a class shows your willingness to collaborate with students.
Further Reading
- Community Agreements | The New School
- Community Building in the Community College Classroom | Inside Higher Ed
- Crafting Community Agreements | Barnard College Center for Engaged Pedagogy
- Creating Community Agreements with Your Students | Boston University Center for Teaching & Learning
- Developing Classroom Community Agreements to Cultivate a Critically Compassionate Learning Community | Radical Teacher
- Developing Community Agreements | National Equity Project
- Establishing Classroom Ground Rules | University of Washington in St. Louis Center for Teaching and Learning
- Fostering Community and Belonging | Cornell University Center for Teaching Innovation
- Fostering Engagement and Belonging | NIU CITL
- How to Hold a Better Class Discussion | The Chronicle of Higher Education
- Using Community Agreements to Start the Year Strong | Edutopia
- Washington Race Equity & Justice Initiative Organizational Race Equity Toolkit | JustLead Washington
- Week of Engagement Toolkit | NIU CITL
