Community Agreements

COMMUNITY AGREEMENTS

Community agreements can be a powerful tool for facilitating engaged and thoughtful communication among students and faculty. This guide will explain what a community agreement is, when to create one, different approaches, and possible topics.

Community agreements board with post it notes and light bulbs.

On this page, we will cover:

      1. What is a Community Agreement and Why Should I Have One?
      2. When to Create a Community Agreement
      3. Approaches
      4. Possible Topics to Cover
      5. Additional Resources
      6. References

 

What is a Community Agreement and Why Should I Have One?

You likely already have language in your syllabus or elsewhere in your learning materials that explains your expectations for student interactions. You may explicitly tell students that you expect any number of behaviors, such as punctuality, preparedness, technology usage (or lack thereof), and more. Many of us devote time and energy to devising policies like these that we think will best suit our students’ needs, minimize distractions, and contribute to a positive learning environment—only to have students ignore these standards. 

Unlike a set of classroom behavior expectations dictated by the instructor, a community agreement is a set of guidelines created in collaboration with the faculty and students. The guidelines clearly outline acceptable and unacceptable classroom behavior with the goal of maintaining a safe and productive learning environment. Topics vary widely, but they may include anything an instructor would normally cover in a “behavioral expectations” syllabus clause. The important difference is that students help create the guidelines, ensuring that the expectations address students’ and instructors’ concerns and are clearly understood and agreed upon. 

Equity research supports the importance of inviting students to collaborate with you to increase transparency (Evans, 2017), especially when setting classroom expectations, which has been found to increase students’ sense of belonging (Kirby & Thomas, 2022). Collaborating on classroom ground rules is one way to honor students’ funds of knowledge, inviting them to seize agency and be an active participant in their own education (Daddow, 2016). Community agreements can help you establish the classroom as a safe space where students can focus on learning (Hammond, 2015; McGuire, 2015).

 

When to Create a Community Agreement

Community agreements are often created on the first day of class, but they can also be integrated after instructors notice a need for increased communication guidance. This may happen just before a discussion-heavy module or a section of the course when you know you will be covering sensitive or controversial topics. Community agreements are also helpful in clarifying expectations and reestablishing the classroom as a safe space if heated discussions have already occurred. It is best to be as transparent as possible about your reasons for creating the classroom community agreement and your goals for the exercise. Remember: The goal is to engage students in helping to create and maintain a more effective learning environment.

 

Approaches

There are many different approaches to soliciting student participation in the community guidelines creation process, but a few steps are universal: 

  1. Explain the purpose of a community agreement and show examples
  2. Create the agreement in collaboration with students (see below for ideas)
  3. Treat all suggestions with respect
  4. Ensure that the agreement is written down and available for all students to view (consider posting it on Canvas)
  5. Model expectations by adhering to the community agreement yourself 
  6. Refer to and revise the community agreement as necessary throughout the semester

Anonymous Suggestion Methods

Allowing for anonymous suggestions can increase student participation because it removes fear of judgment. Consider allowing students to make anonymous suggestions by filling out and turning in notecards or submitting suggestions using a shared Google doc or an app like Padlet Links to an external site. or Jamboard Links to an external site.. All suggestions should be considered and discussed with respect. You don’t need to include all suggestions, but take care not to treat any of them dismissively. 

Once you’ve collected ideas, you can have students discuss or vote, using the Democratic Method discussed below, on the ones they feel should be included in the community agreement. 

Small Group Method

Small groups of students can also brainstorm guidelines to include in the community agreement. Each group might elect a spokesperson to share their ideas with the class, or each group member might share their own ideas. Putting students in small groups encourages “talking to learn” behavior (Regents of California, 2018). Small groups can also help shy students feel more comfortable participating. 

Acronym Method

This approach works best with small classes and may be combined with the other approaches. Together, choose a word that represents your goal for the classroom community, such as SAFETY, RESPECT, or GROWTH. Then, choose a descriptive word or phrase for each letter of that word, creating a classroom acronym. For example, the S in safety might stand for “silence” (while others are talking), “serenity” (keeping calm during difficult conversations), “smile” (use a positive tone when addressing others), or something else. You may have students brainstorm ideas in small groups and/or vote on their favorites. Consider bringing dictionaries or encouraging students to look up potential words on their phones. 

Democratic Method

Have students vote on potential community agreement items to see what is most important to the greatest number. You may give students a list of existing community agreement items (see “possible topics” below) or use ideas generated via brainstorming in one of the other approaches. Students may vote by show of hands (consider asking them to close their eyes to decrease fear of judgment), using paper ballots, or via technology such as Poll Everywhere or a Google Form. 

Note: as the instructor, you can choose to include additional guidelines that were not voted upon, but you should explain why you feel these points are important and why you are including them.

 

Possible Topics to Cover

Each group of students will bring a different set of values, expectations, and fears to your classroom. Provide examples of your own concerns from prior experience, such as expectations for what students should bring to each class, when they should arrive, how they should address you and each other, and how you can all minimize distractions in the classroom. Ask students about their own prior experiences and what types of classrooms they feel most comfortable participating in. Be willing to compromise—your students are likely to have different values. The goal is to create a set of expectations that helps everyone feel welcomed, heard, and appreciated. 

Sample Community Agreement Preamble

Consider including an explanation of the community agreement in your syllabus and/or at the top of the page on which you display your community agreement principles. Here is some sample language that you may copy/paste or edit as you choose: 

The classroom should be a safe space in which all students have the right to learn and ask questions in a comfortable and open atmosphere. To facilitate this ideal, we as a class have created the following guidelines to serve as our community agreement. Community agreements establish group expectations for behavior and interaction to ensure that everyone’s needs are met and everyone’s voice can be heard. Please contact me right away if you have any concerns. 

Sample Classroom Agreements (Adapted from Washington University at St. Louis) 

  • Show respect for others as individuals by learning and using their preferred names and pronouns.
  • Respect the speaker, even when you do not agree with or respect the point the speaker is making.
  • Listen carefully; do not interrupt—even when you are excited to respond.
  • Try not to generalize about groups (even groups with which you identify) and do not ask another person to speak as a representative of a group.
  • Keep an open mind—enter the classroom dialogue with the expectation of learning something new. Look forward to learning about—and being challenged by—ideas, questions, and points of view that are different than your own.
  • Do not “monopolize” the conversation; give others a chance to contribute to the discussion.
  • Support an atmosphere of learning and growth. Approach discussion as a means to “think out loud.” Allow others (as well as yourself) to revise and clarify ideas and positions in response to new information and insights.
  • Bring out ideas, perspectives, or solutions that you think are not yet represented or haven’t yet been adequately discussed.
  • Support your arguments with evidence. Be honest when you are not sure if you have enough evidence to make a strong argument or when your thoughts about a topic are still speculative or exploratory.
  • Try not to make assumptions; ask questions to learn more about other perspectives, especially those that are different from your own.
  • Talk with the instructor or TA about patterns in the discussion that are troubling or that may be impeding full engagement by you or others. If it is not possible to talk with the course instructor, talk with the department chair, an academic advisor, or a trusted mentor.

 

Additional Resources

California State University, Northridge. (n.d.-a). Student conduct code. 

California State University, Northridge. (n.d.-b). Why pronouns matter for everyone.

 

References

Daddow, A. (2016). Curricula and pedagogic potentials when educating diverse students in higher education: Students' Funds of Knowledge as a bridge to disciplinary learning Links to an external site.. Teaching in Higher Education, 21(7), 741–758.

Establishing classroom ground rules Links to an external site.. (n.d.). Washington University in St. Louis. Retrieved February 13, 2023.

Evans, E. L. (2017). Quality improvement in student learning outcomes assessment: Faculty learning, collaboration, engagement, and transparency Links to an external site.. Assessment Update, 29(3), 1–16. 

Hammond, Z. L. (2015). Culturally responsive teaching & the brain. Corwin.

Kirby, L. A. J., & Thomas, C. L. (2022). High-impact teaching practices foster a greater sense of belonging in the college classroom Links to an external site.. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 46(3), 368-381.

McGuire, S. Y. (2015). Teach students how to learn. Stylus.

The Regents of the University of California. (2018). Talking to learn Links to an external site.. Transforming STEM Teaching Faculty Learning Program, University of California, Berkeley.