Running Head: COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION

Effective Communication and Collaboration

Emily Kooiman
Regent University

In partial fulfillment of UED 495 Field Experience ePortfolio, Fall 2016

COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION

Introduction
Demonstrating effective communication and collaboration as a teacher is one of the most
important skills to have. The success of a student depends on communication with the student,
the parents or guardians, and the surrounding community. The teacher must communicate with
the students in order to understand what they need to thrive educationally. Effectively
communicating with the parents or guardians also has a dramatic effect on the student because
the communication can either propel the parents or guardians to get involved in the classroom or
it can give the teacher important insight into the childs home life. Lastly, participating in
valuable communication and collaboration with the greater school community plays an important
part in the childs education because a teacher needs the support of the community to maximize
the students success in the classroom.
Rationale for Selection of Artifacts
At the beginning of my first placement, I drafted a letter to the parents and guardians of
Mrs. Gressleys class to extend a welcome to them and give a short introduction of myself. Even
though I met some of the parents at the Open House, I wanted all the parents to know who was
spending the next few weeks with their child. After introducing myself in the letter, I expressed
how exciting it has been to get to know the students already. I made sure to include specific
details about the students to show the depth of my intentionality in getting to know them. To
close the letter, I included my contact information in effort to make myself available to the
parents if they should need anything. Another part to building a good rapport with the families is
through positive interactions with them in person. I have made an effort to introduce myself and
make meaningful conversations with the parents or grandparents I have met.

COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION

Collaboration with other community members who affect a childs success, specifically
the other teachers in the school, is another essential component to this competency. A students
success is just not dependent upon his or her teacher. A teacher must depend on others for
support, resources, and tools. Therefore, I chose notes from a collaboration meeting to show my
involvement with the other members of our grade level. In this meeting we discussed how our
weekly meetings can be successfulby respecting each others time, thoughts, and opinions.
Next, we discussed what common assessments we would implement for Language Arts and
Math. It is important for each teacher on the grade level to give the same assessment to all fourth
graders so no one is way ahead of the other. Last, one of the teachers shared some resources she
had for the upcoming unit on space. When teachers share resources with each other it enables
everyone to provide better quality lessons for their students.
Reflection on Theory and Practice
In the Foundations of Education class, we learned the importance of building a good
relationship with the parents and families of our students. If parents are involved in the students
education and school life it, ...increases academic achievement and attendance rates and leads to
more positive attitudes and behaviors of students in the classroom (Powell, 2015, p. 350). One
way to begin building that bridge between school and families is by sending out a welcome letter
at the beginning of the year. By reaching out to the parents at the beginning, it increases the
likelihood of having positive connection and communication with the family throughout the
year. Sending letters to families can also open up the relationship for the teacher to see into the
environment the children live in at home.

COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION

Klein and Miller espouse the importance of teacher-parent relationships

Family-teacher relationships are essential for learning about the children from an additional and
valuable source, promoting childrens emotional health, and helping children deal with difficult
problems that may have lifelong consequences (2008). By learning what a child goes through
on a day-to-day basis, it gives the teacher insight on what that child needs to succeed. Maybe the
child needs more structure because he or she feels out of control due to the current family
situation? Or maybe the child needs extra attention because there is no parent at home who is
able to give it? Building relationships with the family is critical to understanding a childs
situation and giving the teacher tools to help that child succeed.
Collaboration is another extremely important part of a students success. There is power
in unity, and when teachers are unified with each other, they can help each other reach a
common goal. Phillips and Hughes say in their article, Teacher Collaboration: The Essential
Common-Core Ingredient, that through collaboration, teachers can find the best ways to help
their students reach these higher expectations while still maintaining individual styles and
flexibility (2012). When teachers collaborate together, they enable each other to become the
best teachers they can be and provide the most excellent lessons to their students.
It is also vital to the health of a classroom that teachers build good connections with other
members of the schoolother teachers, the special education teacher, the guidance counselor,
janitors, the school nurse and the administration. When teachers work together, they can extend
support to each other in order to create successful learning environments. Teachers have the
privilege of plugging into the wealth of resources other teachers have to offer when they

COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION

collaborate together. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 says, Two are better than one, because they have a
good return for their labor; if either of them falls down, one can help the other up
In conclusion, effective communication and collaboration are vital to the success of
students. Communication with parents and families can increase the students achievement in the
classroom because teachers can encourage the parents to be involved and can learn how to meet
the needs of the students. Collaboration with the school community is also vital because teachers
need to support each other in order to provide quality education to students. Communication and
collaboration, when used correctly, play an irreplaceable part in classroom and student success.

COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION

References
Klein, A. & Miller, M. (2008). In Support of Family-Teacher Partnerships. Retrieved from
http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=359
Phillips, V. & Hughes, R. (2012). Teacher Collaboration: The Essential Common-Core
Ingredient. Retrieved from
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/12/05/13hughes.h32.html
Powell, S. D. (2015). Your introduction to education: Explorations in teaching, 3rd edition.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.