Running Head: EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION 1

Effective Communication and Collaboration

Jasmine Erickson

Regent University

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

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Introduction

Effective communication and collaboration are both extremely important components of

a healthy teaching environment. It is important for teachers to work together to plan out the

curriculum, work through issues that arise, and ensure that all students are meeting the standards

that have been laid out by the state. When done effectively, problems are able to be addressed

with sufficient time to correct issues before they hinder student success. Effective

communication also allows teachers the chance to share ideas and work towards offering a

superior education than could be achieved by working alone.

Rationale for Selection of Artifacts

Artifact 1 is a picture showing a weekly collaboration session with five kindergarten

teachers, me, and a math specialist at Centerville Elementary. I chose this artifact because it

gives a peek into what a collaborative environment looks like. Centerville teachers have weekly

collaboration as a grade level and alternate between meeting with the reading and math

specialists. Collaboration is a scheduled time that is set aside to work on making sure upcoming

curriculum aligns to SOLs/VBOs, discuss students that are struggling, and share ideas on how to

help students achieve the goals the school has laid out for them.

The math specialist featured here started the meeting off by discussing the performance

of the lowest level students in math. She wanted to gauge if there had been any improvement

from the past few weeks. Teachers then referred to data that has been collected on recent

assessments to discuss what progress had been made (if any). The focus was then turned to

specific students that have not been able to keep up with the curriculum, and the teachers

discussed why they thought those students were struggling. Everyone was then given an
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opportunity to share strategies that might be beneficial to try, and the teacher that works with the

student(s) in question set up a plan of how to scaffold instruction to assist the student(s) moving

forward. Finally, the pacing guide for kindergarten math was consulted and the instruction plan

for the next few weeks was placed on the calendar. Teachers also discussed which lesson plans

aligned well with the standards as well as lessons that had not gone well in prior years.

Collaboration in this setting is often very short (up to an hour), but as long as everyone has

stayed on track a lot can be accomplished. Effective communication is the key to a successful

collaboration session.

The second artifact demonstrates the amount of progress that can be made in a half day

collaboration session. On the left side of the picture, it shows what the planning calendar looked

like prior to the collaboration meeting. The right side of the picture shows what the calendar

looked like after the session had concluded. So, in this particular half day planning session, four

and a half weeks were planned in their entirety.

In this half day collaboration the kindergarten teachers brought all of their lesson plan

ideas to the table. The pacing guide was consulted to see what standards needed to be fulfilled in

the upcoming weeks. Several lessons were seed lessons, or lessons that were mandated by the

district, and those were always prioritized. We then worked on the language arts curriculum and

looked at books that were used in previous years to fulfill the standards. The teachers discussed

books they liked from prior years, and books that seemed to not meet expectations. Everyone

discussed ideas of which books could be used to replace ones that underperformed previously.

Finally, discussion was shifted to math standards and the lessons were planned out in a similar

way.
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Collaboration was also used as a time to open up communication and make sure that all

teachers were on the same page. There is one teacher in particular that often deviates from the

lessons planned by the grade level. This has been a point of contention for some of the other

teachers. Their main concern was that the rogue teacher did not use the same assessments as the

other teachers which meant that there was not consistency in grading. So, the concerned teachers

were able to use collaboration as a platform to voice their concerns in a non-confrontational way.

By reaffirming to the entire group the importance of needing to use the same assessment for all

teachers on the grade level, they were able to effectively communicate their concerns without

calling out one person in particular.

Reflection on Theory and Practice

When teachers have effective communication and collaboration, it positively impacts the

success of their students. In New York, a study was done of over 1,000 teachers that revealed

how “students showed higher gains in math achievement when their teachers reported frequent

conversations with their peers that centered on math…” (Jones, 2014, para. 2). This should not

come as a surprise, because when teachers work together they are able to more effectively

overcome issues they may face in the classroom than working alone.

Unfortunately, although the benefits of collaboration have been demonstrated time and

again, it is often hard to implement. As Matthew Joseph, a principal of 11 years points out,

“collaboration is a talent and skill developed through humility, patience, and vision” (Joseph,

2018, para. 4). While this may take time to achieve, teachers and administrators can strive for

better communication and collaboration by “creating a community that fosters collaboration”

(Joseph, 2018, para. 3).

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Without effective collaboration, teachers often feel isolated. Schools need to allow

adqueate time for collaboration and foster an environment “that allows for a give-and-take of

ideas” (Harper, 2018, para. 2). In the ideal circumstances, teachers will be more willing to work

together as team. As it was demonstrated in the collaboration sessions I have been a part of,

collaboration allows teachers the opportunity to make a cohesive plan for the success of all

students.

There are many components to effective communication and collaboration such as shared

ideas, mutual respect, and working together to make sure students are thriving. Although it is

not always attainable, teachers and administrators alike should always try to strive to provide an

environment conducive to collaboration. When teachers collaborate and communicate

effectively, students are bound to succeed and that is always the most important benchmark of a

quality education.
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References

Harper, A. (2018, February 1). Effective teacher collaboration requires time and focus.
Retrieved from Education Dive: https://www.educationdive.com/news/effective-teacher-
collaboration-requires-time-and-focus/516098/

Jones, L. (2014, July 18). The Power of Teacher Collaboration. Retrieved from Teaching
Channel: https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2014/07/18/power-of-teacher-
collaboration-nea/

Joseph, M. (2018, January 30). How to be a collaborative leader. Retrieved from wSchool
News: https://www.eschoolnews.com/2018/01/30/collaborative-leader/