Running head: EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION 1

Effective Communication and Collaboration

Kerria Holliday

Regent University

In partial fulfillment of UED 495 Field Experience ePortfolio, Spring 2020

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Introduction

Community and collaboration are significant pieces of the foundation a teacher has to lay

to be successful in this career. My experiences in the classroom have shown me how detrimental

communication and collaboration can be if not done efficiently and effectively. Most teachers

collaborate in some aspects to ensure that students' needs are met to the best of their ability.

Effective collaboration may look like grade-level meetings, staff days, planning, or simply

asking a coworker for a new strategy. Tending to the whole child's needs means addressing their

growth from every level and making sure that all of their support systems are on the same page.

There must be intentional communication between the students, teachers, parents, administration,

and other staff to build meaningful relations and achieve this goal. This paper reflects the

competency of effective communication and collaboration and how I have worked to fulfill this

during my student teaching experience.

Rationale for Selection of Artifacts

The first artifact I chose was my student teacher introductory letter I wrote to send home

to parents in my students' Tuesday folders. I wanted parents to know who is in the classroom

with their students throughout the day and teaching them. That way, when students go home to

talk about their day, my name wouldn't be unfamiliar. I also had this service as a way to "break

the ice" with communications to parents about their child. I wanted parents to know a little bit

about me and that I am just as invested in their learning experience as their actual teacher.

This letter served their purpose a few weeks into my placement when we started having

our parent/teacher conferences. Parents were more openly engaging with me about their child's

academics and needs than I feel they would have been if I didn't previously introduce myself.

The American Federation of Teachers (2013) stated that increased motivation for learning,
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improved behavior, more regular attendance, and a more positive attitude about homework and

school, in general, are all advantages for children when parents become involved. We had

parents come in to watch me do a morning meeting with their students so they could see that we

were working on their social/emotional growth as well. One of the parents started talking to me

about how her (really shy in class) daughter talks about me at home! We also discussed my

experience at Regent and how it is going for me. She was super sweet, and I accredit that open

window towards my introductory letter.

The second artifact I chose was a picture from a grade-level collaboration meeting after

students completed their quarterly testing. Every other week while the students were at p.e., the

third-grade math teachers, the special education teacher, the principal, and the math specialist

would meet. We would discuss strategies to use while teaching the next unit, ask the math

specialist questions regarding something a student asked that we didn't understand, and anything

else that could be useful for the next two weeks. This meeting, in particular, was a little different.

All of the third-grade teachers met to place students into categories of who is below average,

average, and above average. We went over the questions from the quarterly that the majority of

students missed and why we think that those particular questions were so challenging. We talked

about each child's specific weaknesses then discussed what we could implement in our classes

that will help move more of the below-average list upward.

Reflection on Theory and Practice

Throughout my major classes at Regent, my professors have continually stressed the

importance of effective communication with students, administration, and parents at all times

throughout the year. Communication with parents can shine a light on a student's ability that I

may have never noticed before. Although parent-teacher conferences are fantastic, with time
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constraints and availability issues, "written communication is probably the most efficient and

effective way we can provide valuable ongoing correspondence between the school and home"

(Williams & Cartledge,1997, p.30).

Students may show an area of strength or weakness at home that we don't get to see in

our classrooms with twenty other students in it. If a student is struggling with concentrating or

completing work, a parent may be able to offer some insight into their interests that we can

incorporate into the classroom. Also, a simple letter home or text to mom/dad, stating, "Johnny

did awesome in math today! With a little more work on XXX, he'll be ready to go!" can

encourage parents to help their child at home to achieve their goal. Parents are key determiners

to making sure that a student is receiving the best learning experience.

Effective communication will also help develop deeper relationships with students. The

very first thing I took over in Ms. Stemen's classroom was morning meeting. This not only

presented an opportunity for the students and I to get to know each other, it also allowed for me

to help develop their social/emotional growth. The students were able to think about their wants,

needs, and what's important to them. One thing my students mentioned when I started was their

enjoyment being a part of what made their classroom great. Their actions concurred what they

told me with their willingness to help and how serious they took their classroom jobs.

Knowing this, I involved my students when we were decision making in the classroom. I

would pull a stick and accept three suggestions that students could choose from, and we always

did a class vote when I offered ultimatums. Sometimes this took a little longer than a teacher

would like, but I believe by doing, so it gave them a sense of pride and belonging. I let them

know that I care about the way they feel, and it opened the door to more personal individual

conversations. Them freely opening up to me was due to the trust they placed in me just by
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simply showing them that their voices truly mattered. We established that communication from

the beginning and never let up.

I chose this picture to represent collaboration as my artifact because it shows the third-

grade team and other specialists working together to reach a common goal. I did not tell them

that I was taking their picture until after the fact. I wanted to capture the raw essence of

collaboration and what that looks like when done effectively. Right from the start, there was no

hesitation when jumping into collaboration. In my first meeting, when Ms. Tahoe saw me raising

my hand to speak, she said, "you're here, you're just as a part of this as we are. Go ahead!" That

meant so much to me. I never hesitated to provide my feedback on her suggestions, the new

manipulatives for the classroom, what the students' needs were, or anything.

Collaborations at this placement meant that we were working together to reach a common

goal because "teachers are sure to bring different knowledge, skills, beliefs, motivations, and

understandings about students to the learning process," (Brownell, Adams, Sindelar, Waldron, &

Vanhover, 2006). A coworker may have implemented a miraculous new strategy for their

students to learn how to tell time, for example, that I would have never thought about.

Collaboration can be summed up as a brainstorming session to share ideas and solve existing

problems. Even if everything isn't resolved in one meeting, collaboration relieves stress from

teachers' shoulders and reminds them that they have a support system and don't have to do this

alone.
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References

American Federation of Teachers. (2013, November 07). Building parent-teacher relationships.

Retrieved March 3, 2019, from https://www.readingrockets.org/article/building-parent-

teacher-relationships

Brownell, M. T., Adams, A., Sindelar, P., Waldron, N., & Vanhover, S. (2006). Learning from

collaboration: the role of teacher qualities. Exceptional Child, 72(2), 169-185

Williams, V. I., & Cartledge, G. (1997). Passing notes-to parents. Teaching Exceptional

Children, 30(1), 30. Retrieved from http://eres.regent.edu:2048/login?url=https://search-

proquest-com.ezproxy.regent.edu/docview/201075744?accountid=13479