A learning community, to me, implies many things, specifically collaboration, cordiality, respect, socialization, and transfers of information. The word community itself emphasizes the importance of students working together and looking out for one another. The teacher acts as the facilitator of this learning community and is still an active member.
These communities are of vital importance to our young adolescents both because of the social aspect as well as the comfortability and acceptance coming along with this. Community members respect each other and acknowledge the successes of their fellow classmates. Building this collective confidence is so important at this vulnerable time because students often feel lonely and this puts a damper on their self esteem. It's so important they feel accepted and supported by their peers, but this is not to forget the importance of teacher validation as well. Teacher attitudes impact students in this same way, as highlighted by Brown and Knowles, both through verbal and nonverbal actions (110).
To make this community known to students, teachers should set aside class time to present expectations. Whether this is during syllabus break down or a more frequent process, it is nonetheless necessary. Once students understand this sense of community, they will feel more comfortable in the classroom and around their peers.
I like the idea of setting expectations. Is that something you think you could do WITH your students? I bet you all have similar ideas of what the "class rules" should be.