Running head: EFFECTIVE COLLABORATION AND COMMUNICATION 1

Effective Collaboration

Kira Lynn Madison

Regent University

In partial fulfillment of UED 495 Field Experience ePortfolio, Fall 2019

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Introduction

Effective collaboration is essential in any setting. Whether you work in a school, law firm,

laboratory, or technical shop, communication and collaboration are critical to a productive work

atmosphere. Collaboration can look different for everyone; it can start with phone calls and

emails, or it could be face-to-face communication. Collaboration between peers and between

clients is critical to make sure that needs are being met as well. In teaching, collaboration

between the parents of the students is crucial to understanding the needs of the students.

Collaboration with other teachers also helps create a warm school climate as well.

Communication is key to working with everyone inside and outside of the classroom.

Rationale for Selection of Artifacts

My first artifact is a letter that I wrote to the parents of my students during my second

student teaching placement. I wrote this letter to let the parents know that I will be coming into

their child’s classroom and teaching. I believed that this opened effective communication with

the parents by telling them about me and my journey throughout student teaching. I think that it

is also essential that they know that another person is going to be in the classroom with their

child throughout an extended time frame. My letter was meant to inform, introduce, and thank

the parents of my students. I have needed to write a note home to parents in my placement so

far, and I felt more comfortable about sending the note home because the parents knew who I

was. Opening that communication with my student's parents is essential not only as a student-

teacher but especially when I become the teacher of my classroom.

My second artifact is a schedule of our team meeting at my second placement. We will

meet on the select dates for collaboration with the reading specialist, principal, and our other hub
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teachers. I choose this artifact because, during our collaboration time, we get to discuss our

guided reading groups, lesson plans for the next units, accommodations of our students, and

overall collaboration with giving ideas and strategies to each other. Collaboration for us also

happens after school most days when we get to meet with all eight of the first-grade teachers.

Collaboration has been effective in getting to know the teachers that I work with and building

relationships with them. They have taken me in and have welcomed me to their group with open

arms. Collaboration also helps with giving ideas back and forth between teachers who are at

different levels of their teaching careers. During collaboration, we get to build off the strengths

that each of us possess and use those to help with teaching our students.

Reflection on Theory and Practice

In my time in college, I have realized just how important collaboration and

communication is. Without discussing and planning, group projects, or partner projects would

not have been as good as they were. In my student teaching, I have seen active and ineffective

collaboration. I believe that good collaboration is “authentic and relevant problem solving”

(Sutton & Shouse, 2016, pg. 70). When teachers get together, they should be working to solve

situations or coming up with ways to create authentic and educational plans. Collaboration times

should be used wisely and involve everyone in the meeting, not just one or two teachers.

Communication in the schools is critical for many reasons. Still, one of the main reasons is that

“expectations and needs of students’ and teachers’ tend to be met through teaching and

communication in schools” (Aslanargun, 2015, pg. 27). Communication and collaboration

between students, teachers, principals, and school workers are crucial to keeping a warm

classroom and school climate. When people work together, a lot can be achieved, and that

achievement helps change jobs to careers.

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Parent and teacher communication is crucial and should be maintained further than a

once-a-year conference. Communication and collaboration not only happen inside the school but

outside as well. I have learned that sending home weekly letters, updates, and resources for

student growth, parent-teacher relationships are open and caring. I have found that when parents

are informed of current and future school-related issues and events, “and when two-way

exchanges of ideas and opinions are promoted, confidence, trust, respect and esteem between

parents and teachers are directly reinforced” (Bordalba & Bochaca, 2019, pg. 45). Building

relationships with the parents of our students is essential and much needed. Teaching is not an

every-now-and-then event; it is a commitment. As a teacher, we are committed to education, and

with that comes the building of relationships. I believe that making relationships with parents is

just as crucial as establishing relationships with students. In schools, communication and

collaboration has an importance that should not be overlooked and should be taken seriously.
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References

Aslanargun, E. (2015). Teachers’ expectations and school administration: Keys of

communication in schools. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 15(60), 17-34.

Bordalba, M. M., & Bochaca, J. G. (2019). Digital media for family-school communication?

parents' and teachers' beliefs. Computers & Education, 132, 44-62.

Sutton, P. S., & Shouse, A. W. (2016). Building a culture of collaboration in schools:

Collaboration builds teacher trust and expertise and enables schools to implement

changes in instruction with greater ease and comfort. Phi Delta Kappan, 97(7), 69-73.