Running Head: COMPETENCY SIX MCMASTER 1

Competency Six:
Effective Communication and Collaboration
Priscilla McMaster
Regent University
27 March 2021
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Introduction
Effective communication and collaboration with students, families, and other education

professionals, is perhaps the most difficult one to prove. Everything that a teacher does in

planning communities, team meetings, and often in the classroom are the result of continual

collaboration, but there isn’t necessarily written proof of this. I have chosen to include two

artifacts, that I believe, best reflect my own collaboration and communication with students. The

first artifact is a collection of screenshots depicting a poll, and the results of said poll, which I

had students complete in two of my bells so they could decide which project they were most

interested in completing. Each project reflected the ideas of author purpose, characterization, and

plot development in stories. Some students were polled in person as they did not all choose to

participate in the poll, but I wanted their voices to be heard. The more buy-in I can create, the

better off my students will be, especially so close to their spring break. The next artifact I chose

has a few different elements. I struggled to figure out what would best complete this competency

so I have chosen to include a copy of an assignment made by a fellow teacher, a copy of my

version of that assignment, and an email from her saying she has used my lesson material. All of

this should reflect proof of the ongoing collaboration between myself, and the students and other

professionals at this school.

Artifact One

This first artifact is a set of polls I had students complete in ordered to choose which

project they wanted to do for their final test grade for the quarter. I let students choose between

to different reading projects that would have required them to closely read a text, understand the

purpose of characterization, and the flow of plots. The first project has them read a short story by

Horacio Quiroga which functions as a small myth or folktale about nature. Then students would
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have to either write a folktale of their own or create on in a comic strip. The students would also

have to complete serval graphic organizers. The second option was one where they would read a

short story by Shirley Jackson and then go through a text and look for foreshadowing clues,

complete graphic organizers, and then write either a continuance or create a comic of the story.

Both of these projects require very similar knowledge and skills from the students so I gave them

the choice of which one they would like to complete. 75% of students chose the first project in

bell 5, and 85.7% of students chose project one in bell 6. While, not every student responded to

the poll, I did ask a few students in person what they wanted as well and every single one I asked

said project one. While this is the more vigorous of the two assignments, and even though these

are my inclusion and general education bells, The fact that they chose the project with more

work, should also work towards the goal of participation because they have had some stake in

what they are going to do. I believe that student choice is more than a gifted strategy, it is an

adolescent strategy. Creating student buy-in during this difficult time in school is essential. In my

efforts to collaborate with students, I am trying to help them see the rationale behind our

assignments, as well as trying to get them to want to participate. Students and parents believe

that this school year doesn’t count. Through having students choose their work, I am reinforcing

the idea that not only do their voices matter, but so does the effort they put into this, and every,

school year.

Artifact Two

This artifact contains a few elements. I have included examples of projects I have adapted

from what other teachers have created, and I am including emails from the other eighth grade

English teachers, stating that they have also used content that I have made. This is all to illustrate

the idea that most things that teachers do in the classroom are a result of collaboration. Teachers
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need other teachers to help them fill in gaps in their own knowledge, illuminate blind spots, and

give students the best and most diverse education possible. Our own learning styles and

preferences can limit the quality and overall complexity of the lessons teachers give their

students, but by running lessons past others, teachers can ensure they are checking all the boxes

for student learning. When I was taking a course on group communication, I learned a lot about

the dangers of group think and the need that everyone has to be consistently challenged and

exposed to new ideas. Teachers should never stop learning and planning communities are a

fantastic way of achieving this goal. These artifacts show that not only have I been able to

contribute to other teacher’s classrooms, but I have also been able to learn and adapt my

instruction from the learning community as a whole during my student teaching internship. After

observing a sixth-grade classroom and seeing the teacher use non-linguistic representations to

teach students about the bill of rights, I was inspired to give my students more opportunities to

use their art skills to engage them in their learning. Nothing exists in a vacuum, and to give

students the best chance possible, my own learning and teaching should reflect this truth.

Theory to Practice

Collaboration and communication are more than just buzz words in education, they hint

at the end goals of education itself. Teachers should be working to guide students towards

becoming life-long learners and generous collaborators. There is a major trend in business and

communication courses towards teams and collaboration as necessary skills in the workplace and

teachers would be remiss to not utilize that information to guide their instruction. In addition,

research suggests that more successful schools are also schools that use collaboration and

communication as a part of their teachers’ routines, essentially, practicing what they preach

(Wong & Wong, 2018, p. 277). Burden and Byrd suggest that allowing students some control
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over their lessons is a significant factor in their motivation to complete the assignment (2019, p.

192). I have used this information many times in my planning of instruction and have seen

positive results in both student-teacher relationships when students are given choices, and also in

classroom management. In their book, Better than Carrots or Sticks, Smith, Fisher, and Frey talk

about how building collaboration with students can help affirm their autonomy, self-esteem, and

be a restorative practice for students who have undergone trauma (2015). I think most would

agree with me in my conclusion that there were many aspects of this past year that created fear,

uncertainty, and in some cases trauma in students’ lives. In all our lives. Teachers are in a unique

position this year to be a sort of ballast for the healing and regrouping that schools and students

and communities at large must go through.

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References

Burden, P. R., & Byrd, D. M. (2019). Methods for effective teaching: Meeting the needs of all

students (8th ed.). Pearson Higher Ed.

Smith, D., Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2015). Better than carrots or sticks: Restorative practices for

positive classroom management. ASCD.

Wong, H. K., & Wong, R. T. (2018). The first days of school: How to be an effective

teacher (5th ed.). Harry K Wong Publication.

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Artifact One
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Artifact Two
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This is the set of directions that Mrs. Sumsion created. The poem we used remained the same so

I am only including the things we did different.

Directions:

• Read the poem

• Highlight in green at least 3 phrases that make an impact on you.
• Follow the directions to complete the table at the end of the poem.

(CNN)Amanda Gorman, the nation's first-ever youth poet laureate, read the

following poem during the inauguration of President Joe Biden on January 20:

Copy and paste the words/phrases that you identified as

meaningful to you (the green highlights) into the chart
below. Describe how each word/phrase is meaningful to you.

Quote Meaning to you

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• •

This is what I did in my version based on her work.

Directions: Read this poem by Amanda Gorman and highlight three or more passages in yellow

that mean something to you. When you are finished go to the bottom of the document and copy

and paste the passages you chose in the chart and then in complete sentences write your

explanation of why those passages meant something to you.

Passage: Personal Meaning: