Running head: EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION Sutton 1

Effective Communication and Collaboration

Maria Sutton

Regent University
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Introduction

This artifact paper covers the competency on effective communication and collaboration,

a competency that I believe is very important for educators. As a high school English teacher,

these are two things I love to emphasize because they are 21st century skills. In other words,

students are likely to use these skills in any area of work or study. While still in school, students

must learn how to communicate and collaborate with their peers as well as their teachers. After

all, studies show that students demonstrate greater levels of achievement when they collaborate.

One study in particular produced evidence to support the idea that “collaboration is linked to

higher grades for Black students” and encouraged schools to “consider increasing opportunities

for high-quality collaboration as a potential strategy for maximizing success for students from

varying backgrounds” (Surr et al., 2018, p. 4). As for communication, any educator knows that it

is not simply one way. I will discuss this in more detail later on, but it is worth mentioning

momentarily. Both communication and collaboration have an important role to play in every

classroom, which is why I chose a welcome letter and student survey to serve as my two artifacts

for this competency.

Rationale for Selection of Artifacts

I virtually distributed two welcome letters at the start of the semester: one for parents and

students and one for students on the first day of class. The former one is my first artifact because

it addresses multiple groups of people while serving as the initial touchpoint between myself and

these families. The goal of my letter was to encourage positive attitudes towards communication

among parents and students for the upcoming semester. I prioritized this primarily due to the

research that supports the benefits of communication between parents and teachers. One study’s

“findings strongly suggest that formalized and frequent teacher–family communication can have
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an immediate effect on important mediators of student academic achievement” (Kraft &

Dougherty, 2013). In my letter, I provided contact information and asked parents to inform me of

any communication preferences or contact me at any point during the semester. I also

emphasized my excitement towards working with both students and parents. It is a big

responsibility as a student teacher, but I take it seriously because I know the benefits of

communication for my students.

I have greatly enjoyed the many opportunities I have had to work with my cooperating

teacher throughout the semester so far. One such occasion resulted in the student survey we gave

to our third and fourth block classes. This is the item I am choosing to present as my second

artifact, which highlights the ways in which I have collaborated with my students as well as my

cooperating teacher. The basic template (including some of the questions) was created by Mrs.

Craft, although I updated the design to fit my preferences and added another section of questions

to meet my needs. I wanted to learn more about the learning styles and personalities of my

students, so questions ranged from “I learn best when ______ [check all that apply]” to “Are you

an ___________ [introvert, extrovert, ambivert, or I’m not sure]?”. Students answered bonus

questions in addition to mandatory questions, and the overall results were very informative. I

learned that they self-admittedly work best when music is playing and they are able to work in

groups. I also discovered which students are self-motivated and which ones tend to procrastinate.

Overall, I chose this artifact because it demonstrates my ability to collaborate with both

colleagues and students; I gathered this information and continue to consider its implications for

my lessons and classroom management strategies.

Reflection on Theory and Practice

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I have collected a great deal of knowledge during my time at Regent, especially in

regards to communication. As previously established, communication is significant in the field of

education. One thing I have learned over the course of my studies is the importance of context

when communicating with students. We discussed this in UED 407 (Classroom Management),

but this lesson applies to a wide range of scenarios. Some students may come across as ignorant

or defiant when they are simply antisocial. Many of my students seem to fall into this category,

something I realized after having a conversation one day with a student in fourth block. I

mentioned earlier that communication goes both ways. During a time of virtual learning,

communication with students has involved reasonable compromise. Every day I encourage

students to reach out if they have any questions, although I have doubled my efforts to

communicate this around the time a major project is due. Many students will respond that they

are good to go yet send an email requesting help at the last minute or admit they are lost when I

check in on them personally. Despite my best efforts, communication is something I cannot

succeed in on my own. It relies partially on the efforts of my students, so I continue to model and

encourage open and honest communication as often as possible. Patience and flexibility are

definitely key in this process, and they are two of many valuable traits Regent has cultivated

within me over the past few years.

Lastly, I am also well-acquainted with collaboration and have gained meaningful

experiences with it as well. For example, classes such as UED 444 (Content Reading and

Differentiation) and UED 491 (Teaching English in Secondary Education) integrated

collaboration as an important element of learning. As I expanded my understanding of teaching

through hands-on group activities, I also expanded my teaching toolbelt. Many of the same

strategies implemented with myself as a student were intended to prepare me to use with my
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students in the future. These opportunities were extremely beneficial for me as both a student and

a teacher. Similarly, students need opportunities to verbally interact with their peers for extended

amounts of time because “it is through these interactions that students will develop the essential

21st century communication and collaboration skills” they need to be successful (Spies & Xu,

2018, p. 22). How often do educators present information without allowing students to create

their own interpretations or share ideas? All things considered, communication and collaboration

are two skills that “work together to give students a rich experience of 21st century learning”,

something that is not only the responsibility of schools and educators, but of local communities

as well (Hall, 2018, p. 113-14).

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References

Hall, C. D. (2018). Evaluating the depth of the integration of 21st century skills in a technology-

rich learning environment (10787618) [Doctoral dissertation]. ProQuest Dissertations

and Theses Global.

Kraft, M. A., & Dougherty, S. M. (2013). The effect of teacher–family communication on

student engagement: Evidence from a randomized field experiment. Journal of Research

on Educational Effectiveness, 6(3), 199-222.

https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2012.743636

Spies, T. G., & Xu, Y. (2018). Scaffolded academic conversations: Access to 21st-Century

collaboration and communication skills. Intervention in School and Clinic, 54(1), 22-30.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1053451218762478

Surr, W., Zeiser, K. L., Briggs, O., & Kendziora, K. (2018). Learning with others: A study

exploring the relationship between collaboration, personalization, and equity (executive

summary). American Institutes for Research.

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED592101.pdf