Running Header: EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION Page 1

Effective Communication and Collaboration with Students and Parents

Ivory Ysquierdo

Regent University

In partial fulfillment of UED 495 Field Experience ePortfolio, Spring 2019

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Introduction

The teaching competency, Effective Communication and Collaboration, as referenced in

the Student Teaching Handbook, requires evidence of communication and collaboration with the

students, teachers, parents, or other professionals in the school community. In this competency

are two artifacts that I have collected over the first three weeks of student teaching at my first

placement, Bettie F. Williams Elementary School. These artifacts are important to document

because they prove communication from teacher to student and teacher to parent. As a student

teacher, not only am I learning from my cooperating teacher, but I’m also practicing to be a

teacher that developed relationship with students and their parents.

Rationale for Selection of Artifacts

The first artifact that I chose to include is a letter I sent out to each student’s parent in the

class. In this letter, I introduced myself as a Student Teacher. I expressed my excitement for this

journey with their child and the role I will play in the classroom each and every day. I felt this

letter was necessary as my Student Teaching experience began in Mrs. Smith’s classroom,

because as I slowly begin taking over the classroom, the parent’s involvement is incredibly

important in the learning experience I am providing for their child. I have had communication

with parents in other ways throughout these first three weeks, but this letter allowed for the

comfortability in phone calls, the parent-teacher conferences, and notes sent home that have

happened over the few weeks. This letter was sent home in each child’s take-home folder on the

first Wednesday of the first week.

The second artifact that I chose to include is an example of an informal assessment. This

is one of many informal assessments I take each and every day during our math small group
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time. This artifact shows my collaboration with students in the classroom. Each day, I will either

sit with Mrs. Smith to lead a small group or lead my own small group to assess students in their

understanding of the math content being learned. In this specific assessment, students were just

taught how to find equivalent fractions on a number line. On this sheet are three separate groups

of students being assessed. The first group of students were students on the average fourth grade

level of understanding. They understand the process, but were showing they needed help in the

process of finding equivalent fractions. The goal is to have each student reach an ability to find

equivalent fractions on a number line independently, without any guidance or help. Through this

assessment, we were able to differentiate which students needed assistance with the next step and

which didn’t need help at all. The first group proved to show independence, whereas the last

group of students showed to need more help. After each day, Mrs. Smith and I will look at all the

informal assessments and regroup student according to their understanding. If they show superior

work, they aren’t required to attend a small group and assigned independent work for that day.

This assessment shows how I work with students each day and the progress of learning that is

happening within each student.

Reflection on Theory and Practice

Reflecting on how effective these artifacts have proven to be, I remember UED 406

Classroom Management and Instructional Strategies and EFND 508 Teaching Reading in

Elementary Grades. In UED 406, I learned the importance of parent involvement. I learned about

the first days of being a teacher and the importance of first impressions. I learned through Dr.

Kreassig that setting classroom expectations from the beginning are incredibly important if you

want to see consistency in your students within the classroom. Likewise, setting a firm
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expectation of parent and teacher communication is necessary in the beginning if I want to see it

throughout the rest of the school year. Author Barbara Mariconda wrote in an article by

Scholastic, Five Keys to Successful Parent-Teacher Communication. She states that when a

teacher is able to communicate from the beginning that he/she wants to be in-touch regularly, the

teacher is likely to see more success in communication from parents throughout the rest of the

year (Mariconda). Barbara also has a book, “Easy and Effective Ways to Communicate with

Parents”. Here, she discusses the importance of finding the best way to communicate with each

individual parent. Because there are so many parents to keep track of, it can be helpful to write

down the preferences of desired communication. She suggests to keep a log of the occurrences of

parent-teacher communication. “The log becomes increasingly useful when you jot down

parents’ full names, how they wish to be addressed, and any pertinent notes about the

communication you’ve had in the last column” (25, Mariconda). As a student teacher, I found it

appropriate to do a letter home, however, in my own classroom, I hope to maybe have a letter

along with other forms of communication. Some would include regular meetings with parents

and daily communication through school-approved communication apps that connects teachers

and parents. Being in the classroom, I am able to see the consistency my cooperating teacher has

with her student’s parents. She is consistent in letting parents know how well the students are

doing through an app called “Remind”. Here, she is able to communicate to parents without

having to make phone calls or sending out emails.

EFND 508 really prepared me for my second artifact. In class we had assignments of

creating running records and assessing our peers. Without this assignment and learning of how

these informal assessments are beneficially for the teacher, I would not have had the confidence

to take on this task by my cooperating teacher. Through these, I was challenged to assess
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students in their reading proficiency, however, through this student teaching experience, I am

able to see how these records are used in the math context. The same concepts used in assessing

the students is used here. It takes skill and practice to pay attention to the students as well as

record what is being said/done by the student. I love one of the resources given by Dr. Martinez,

ReadingA-Z.com, which coaches one through assessing students. Through this resource, I am

reminded of the importance of feedback for the child. Celebrating what they are progressing in

and showing them where we are going to see improvement in is important. Without this type of

reflection with the students, it can become easy for the students to become discouraged. I have

seen this already as I assess Mrs. Smith’s class.

As I continue to use these informal assessments in the classroom, I hope to really become

familiar with the way a student progresses academically as I closely pay attention to every

mistake and victory in learning. I hope to really know the students in these small groups and find

how I, as a teacher, can better accommodate my teaching style to each learner.

As I continue in the classroom with my cooperating teacher, I plan to continue to seek

advice in appropriate and efficient communication with parents. I hope to find ways to make

each parent comfortable with reaching out to me and find me trustworthy as their child’s teacher.
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References

Mariconda, B. (2003). Easy and effective ways to communicate with parents. New York:

Scholastic Professional Books

Mariconda, B. (2003). Five Keys to Successful Parent-Teacher Communication. Scholastic.

Running Records. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.readinga-

z.com/newfiles/levels/runrecord/runrec.html