Running Head: EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION & COLLABORATION 1

Effective Communication & Collaboration

Shawna LoPresto

Regent University

In partial fulfillment of UED 496 Field Experience ePortfolio, Spring 2017

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Introduction

Communication is an essential component to education due to the many parties involved.

It is the responsibility of the teacher to communicate well and to collaborate with students,

parents, teachers, and administrators. Since the goal is for every student to grow and succeed,

these effective skills are not optional. Without effective communication, students will struggle to

understand goals. Without collaboration, teachers will struggle to meet all needs. If it takes a

village to raise a child, it must take just as many to teach them.

Rationale for Selection of Artifacts

My first artifact is a letter home to the families of the students in the classroom of my

first placement. I knew going into this that I wanted to be able to build a relationship of trust with

students and parents so that communication would be an open door. Writing a letter home was

my way of letting them know who I am and showing my excitement to be in their class. I also

chose to write this letter home as practice for having my own class. I know that having effective

communication between teacher and parent can provide the best support for the student inside

and outside the classroom.

Cotton & Wikeland (1989) said that, Parent involvement in children's learning is

positively related to achievement. Their research goes on to tell about the effects of student

achievement in relation to parents who are and are not involved in the students learning. If

parent involvement leads to a better level of achievement for students, then it is very important

for a teacher to communicate well so the parents can be further involved.

My second artifact is a schedule and some notes from the all-day 5th grade collaboration

that I was able to attend. During this collaboration session, all the 5th grade teachers, the special

ed. Teacher, and the math and reading specialists spent time reviewing data and planning ahead.
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I had already begun planning some of the units they were discussing, but ended up changing

things because I realized that other teachers had ideas I wanted to try instead. Throughout

collaboration, the teachers and specialists took time to really dissect student growth and look at

future goals. This is essential because it takes a team of support to be able to teach effectively,

and have students meet objectives as well as their own goals.

Reflection

Throughout my time at Regent, my practicum observations, and student teaching thus far,

I have seen examples of great communication, as well as poor communication. When

communication is poor, people do not work together, and when people are not working together,

the goals are not clear. Additionally, when goals are not clear, they are seldom met because there

was no clear communication from the start. As a teacher, I will communicate with faculty and

parents so that everyone can be on the same page regarding the education of students. I have seen

how well students can do when the teacher communicates clearly and effectively. Students can

be empowered by effective communication between them and their teacher, because they know

the expectations and can walk in confidence through their efforts to meet those expectations. A

teachers words to their students can change mindsets, inspire motivation and hope, and instill

value.

With communication between parents, teachers, faculty, and students comes

collaboration. Berry, Daughtrey, and Wieder (2009) said that Collaboration among teachers

paves the way for the spread of effective teaching practices, improved outcomes for the students

they teach, and the retention of the most accomplished teachers in high-needs schools (p. 2).

Throughout my experiences, I have seen teachers come together to find ways to meet struggling

students where they are and get them where they need to be. I have seen teachers and parents
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discuss the goals and challenges for a student, working together to decide what would be best for

that student in their future. I have seen administration collaborate with teachers who just need

some tools to get their students motivated. In each of these circumstances, none of the students

involved would have had a real chance to overcome the situation if there was not collaboration

between individuals who wanted to help. It is through community that we can learn from another

and conquer tasks. As a future teacher, I plan to collaborate effectively and communicate well

with others so that I can provide the best educational experience possible to each one of my

students.
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References

Berry, B., Daughtrey, A., Wieder, A. (2009). Collaboration: Closing the Effective Teaching Gap.

Retrieved from http://www.teachingquality.org/sites/default/files/Collaboration-

%20Closing%20the%20Effective%20Teaching%20Gap%20(February%202010)_0.pdf

Cotton, K., Wikelund, K. (1989). Parent Involvement in Education. Retrieved from

http://multiculturaleducole.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/55317746/ParentInvolvementiEduc

ation.pdf