Running head: COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION

Effective Communication and Collaboration

Regent University

Tiffany Crisp

In partial fulfillment of UED 495 Field Experience ePortfolio, Spring 2018

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Introduction

In the educating profession, it is essential to have excellent communication and

collaboration skills. In order to thrive in the field of education, teachers need to form

relationships (Kouzes & Posner, 2004, p. 118). Teachers are undoubtedly in a position of

leadership and interacting with other teachers, staff members, students, and parents on a daily

basis, therefore, it’s important that they know how to interact and work together effectively with

each different group of people. Fortunately, I was placed in a Kindergarten classroom where I

was able to apply my communication and collaboration skills with the students and their parents.

Rational for Selection of Artifacts

Parent Introduction Letter:

The first artifact I chose to highlight was the copy of an introduction letter I sent home

with all my students during the first week of my placement. In the letter, I introduced myself and

discussed my role in the classroom as well as briefly mentioned my love for the Kindergarten

students. I wanted the parents to be aware of my position in the classroom and have an idea of

who was in the classroom with their students.

As a future educator, I’ve learned how important it is to create relationships with the

parents of the students you have in your classroom. I wanted to start off on a high note in my

student teaching placement with providing the parents with some information about me. I’ve

observed that parents are much more inclined to listen to the teacher that already has a

relationship with them than a teacher who contacts them only with issues or problems. In my

future classroom, I would want to communicate and collaborate with all the parents face-to-face

instead of using an introduction letter if possible. Since I was only in my placement for seven

weeks, I decided a letter would suffice for this specific instance.

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Student Behavior Management Strategy:

The second artifact I chose to feature for the skill of communication and collaboration

was the anger management chart I made for a Kindergarten student I have. In my observations of

the kindergarten classroom, I discovered that the students are not always sure how to act in

varying situations. For example, I had a student come up to me and tell me that he was angry, but

he couldn’t explain to me why he was feeling the way he was—he just did. Similarly, the student

with anger management did not know how to express his anger in an appropriate way. His

immediate reaction in anger was always to throw, kick, or hit someone/something. Obviously,

this behavior must be addressed and confronted with healthy communication and collaboration.
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The student and I worked on coming up with a strategy he could utilize when he got

angry or frustrated instead of acting out in violence. We came up with a behavior management

strategy together. I asked what the student thought would be a good strategy for dealing with his

anger in an appropriate way and we created a plan based on what we thought would work best

for him. The strategy we decided on was having the student clench his fists out in front of him,

take a deep breath in, and then open up his hands (like he is “letting go” of his anger). The

student and I practiced using this strategy repeatedly with positive results with less violent

outbreaks and increased control over his reactions.

Refection

As aforementioned, communication and collaboration are key aspects in a teacher’s job.

Without effective communication and collaboration with colleagues, students, and parents,

teachers will not be successful in their career. In fact, the Interstate New Teacher Assessment

and Support Consortium (INTASC) sets ten standards for its teachers to meet. More specifically,

one of the standards states that teachers need to foster relationships with all peoples in order to

“support students’ learning and well-being” (Powell, 2012, p. 20). In addition, Carol Radford,
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author of Strategies for Successful Student Teaching, states that “building trusting relationships

with everyone at the school in the key to your success” (Radford, 2013, p. 4).

Gary Borich, author of Observation Skills for Effective Teaching, takes collaboration and

communication as a teacher one step further. Borich suggests that teachers assume the role of a

collaborative leader in their field to ensure student learning and success (Borich, 2015, p. 5).

Borich also believes that teachers need to have good communication and collaboration skills for

other reasons besides to benefit the learning of students. He discusses how communicating and

collaborating with other teachers can greatly benefit the teacher when needing

advice/guidance/direction from veteran educators (Borich, 2015, p. 7).

Something I discovered through my student teaching process is that teachers are better

and happier when they cooperate, communicate and collaborate with their colleagues. I’ve seen

and personally experienced how difficult and tiring teaching can become if you choose to do it

alone and without help from others who have more experience. One of my goals as a first-year

teacher is to position myself in a mentoring situation where I can learn and grow under an

knowledgeable and practiced educator. Of course I would still have my own teaching style, my

own ideas, and my own preferences, but I want someone who will help guide and mold me into

the best and most effective teacher I can be.

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References

Borich, G. (2015). Observation Skills for Effective Teaching. Boulder: Paradigm Publishers.

Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2004). Christian Reflections on the Leadership Challenge. San

Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Powell, S. D. (2012). Your Introduction to Education: Explorations in Teaching (Vol. 2). Upper

Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson.

Radford, C. (2013). Strategies for Successful Student Teaching. Upper Saddle River: Pearson.