ABOUT

Current - Educational Practitioner

Karolina has worked in a variety of educational settings with twenty two of those years as a Primary School Principal.

QUALIFICATIONS

Masters - Meeting the specific individual learning needs of children in literacy

Graduate Diploma in Student Welfare

Diploma of Education

ACHIEVEMENTS

Australian College of Educators, Ballarat Region "Regional Educators Award".

High Performing Principals Program, travelling to Trier Germany to attend the EAPRIL (European Association for Practitioner Research on Improving Learning)

4th European Practice-Based and Practitioner Research Conference and school visit in Holland.

School Council nomination for National Excellence in Teaching Award

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

Chair - Staff and student wellness and wellbeing conference Melbourne
Chair - Evidence based teaching summit Melbourne
Evidenced based teaching summit Sydney
International forum for children’s welfare Melbourne
Seventeenth International Conference on Learning Hong Kong
Fifth UNESCO-ACEID International Conference – Reforming Learning Curriculum and Pedagogy: Innovative Visions for the New Century – Bangkok
UNESCO-ACEID International Conference – Learning the Treasure within – Melbourne

I have held a variety of positions with educational groups, including President of the Australian College of Educators - Ballarat Region.

FURTHER RESEARCH

Organisational change, Learning Cultures, Leadership, Developing a classroom community of inquiry and Intrinsically motivating students to learn and take responsibility for their own learning.

My interest has always been to find the key to inspire students to love to learn.

My Philosophy of Education

1982 (Final year of Dip. of Teaching)

My Philosophy of Education is to provide children with the skills and the will to develop in a positive way to be valuable members of society, making learning relevant to the child so they seek to learn more in a variety of areas and in a variety of ways. I feel it is important for children to feel proud and responsible for what they do thus developing their own evaluation system of themselves and their environment.

Therefore as an educator, I feel it is of extreme importance to set an example for the children so they can strive for high standards. It is very important to create a positive learning environment where the children feel free to learn at their own pace developing themselves to their fullest potential. It is also very important to have an understanding of the children including their strengths, weaknesses, home life, peer relations etc. I feel with this understanding it is easier to help the children with difficulties they may have, understand their reactions of various situations and to develop their self-esteem by bringing out their strengths.

As the rate of development is characteristic of a particular child and the experiences he/she encounters, it is essential that the children are given a wide variety of experiences to cater for his/her needs of development. Children need positive reinforcement from their educator as well as themselves, for this reason it is necessary to help children understand how to reflect on their work or actions which will make them take responsibility and pride in what they do.

Along with evaluating themselves children need to be aware of people and their environment around them, grasping ideas or situations that are of benefit to them and leaving those that could be detrimental to their growth.

In achieving development of the children I have found it necessary to develop myself. As an educator it is important to keep up with new ways and means of educating and further developing those already in existence. An important aspect of an educator’s role is not just to evaluate the children but themselves, their program, the curriculum and the school effectiveness overall; continually thinking of more effective processes and outcomes. Many points must come into consideration here such as understanding yourself as a person, understanding the community in which you work, understanding your colleagues, working together to produce the best results, providing a caring environment for all, being very tactful and most of all enjoying what you do.