Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Tiffani Cosendine
Regent University
Introduction
communication and collaboration are in a school system. Teachers must be intentional when
interacting with students, parents, families, and other professionals in the school. It is immensely
important for teachers to build connections with other educators around them. Because “teachers
are sure to bring different knowledge, skills, beliefs, motivations, and understandings about
students to the learning process,” (Brownell, Adams, Sindelar, Waldron, & Vanhover, 2006),
they are able to learn from one another when sharing ideas. This paper reflects the competency
of effective communication and collaboration and how I have worked to fulfill this during my
placement.
The first artifact I chose to represent the communication part of this competency is the
introductory postcard I created for students to take home on my first day of student teaching. The
purpose of this postcard was for me to introduce myself to the students and their families. Using
the website Canva, I typed up a short introductory paragraph stating who I was, where I am
going to school, and that I was looking forward to getting to know the students and being a part
of their classroom. I also added a picture of myself and three fun facts about me. This postcard
was my way of communicating to students and parents by simply saying hello and a little bit
about me.
The second artifact I chose to represent the collaboration part of this competency is a
sampling of notes I took during grade-level meetings and planning sessions with my cooperating
teacher as well as notes I took when helping to plan a Project-Based Learning (PBL) assignment
with the grade level. When I would meet with my cooperating teacher to discuss upcoming
lessons, I would usually try and write down the overall plans for each day so I knew exactly what
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION & COLLABORATION 3
I was supposed to be teaching. I would also be sure to write down any suggestions given by my
cooperating teacher. In addition, I made sure to take notes when we were planning the PBL so
that I could help facilitate it and ensure that I knew exactly how to help it be successful for the
students.
collaborative school. Grade-level meetings occur at least two or three times a week, even if only
for a half hour while the students are at P.E. or specials. At these meetings, teachers share lesson
ideas, discuss student progress (individually and as a grade level), and talk about upcoming units
and how they may approach them. Being included in these meetings has been immensely
beneficial and truly opened my eyes to how much intentional planning is involved with teaching
when it comes to implementing instruction and assessing student learning. Three important
factors of teacher collaboration include: (a) sharing of common goals, (b) shared ownership in
student learning and school improvement, and (c) focus on improving instructional practices
(Burton, 2015). These are three practices I have witnessed during grade level planning sessions.
When I first began my placement I often found it difficult to offer up my thoughts during
collaborative sessions since I was still new and a little shy, but now, being in week 5, I have
gotten to the point where I am more open to sharing my ideas and am even asked to on occasion.
For example, over the past few weeks my cooperating teacher and I met with a grade-level
specialist and another fourth grade teacher to implement a Native American PBL. A PBL, or
learning and teaching approach that uses real-life problems to initiate, motivate and focus
knowledge construction” (Ribeiro, 2011). As to be expected given that definition, this was an
extensive project that took several weeks to develop and required significant collaboration and
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION & COLLABORATION 4
communication. For the final stage of the PBL, the specialist planned a “breakout” session for
the students that involved students solving clues about the Native Americans in order to open the
locks on “breakout boxes” and successfully complete the PBL. My role in this was that I offered
some of my input on how we might to do this, and I even came up with one of the clues myself.
This was a meaningful experience for me because, even though I am only a student teacher, I
was still able to feel as though I was part of a team with others in the school.
advice given to me by my cooperating teacher or the SPED teacher that is also in the classroom.
I am not hesitant to seek them out whenever I need guidance in generating lessons or planning
out the day. Especially with three of us in one classroom, it is crucial that we communicate about
what is on the agenda each day so that we can ensure that everything operates smoothly and that
the students are all on task and receiving the instruction that they need. Making sure I am
communicating with the students is also a priority for me. Not only do I need to make sure I am
well. I have been working to build rapport with my students, and one way I do this is by simply
talking with them outside of giving instruction, whether it be about their interests or weekend
plans. My goal is to write each of the students a farewell letter at the end of my placement to let
them know how much I have enjoyed being with them in their classroom, and I am planning to
References
Brownell, M. T., Adams, A., Sindelar, P., Waldron, N., & Vanhover, S. (2006). Learning from
Burton, T. (2015). Exploring the impact of teacher collaboration on teacher learning and
http://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/3107
Ribeiro, L. (2011). The pros and cons of problem-based learning from the teacher’s