https://edufolios.org/kzagotsis/reward-systems/
This will be my 8th year of teaching and within that time, I have never used a reward system. The site I’m at however, has been implementing Positive Behaviour Intervention Support for about a year and a half. This approach uses both incidental and explicit teaching of expected behaviour, which ideally, decreases the negative behaviour […]
Classroom Setup 2019https://edufolios.org/kzagotsis/classroom-setup-2019/
Physical Spaces In Week 0, we were lucky enough to be given a generous amount of time to spend setting up our classrooms. This included the option of removing some of our excess furniture or resources to be used somewhere else. I like to consider how well the physical space was working the year before […]
ICT Classroom Resources 2019https://edufolios.org/kzagotsis/ict-classroom-resources-2019/
Earlier this term, my onsite colleague, D. borrowed a few resources from the Special Education Resource Unit (SERU). SERU offers a library of resources to borrow from to educators who support students with disabilities and learning difficulties. These range from transferring and standing equipment, change tables and seating options to curriculum resources. Recently, they have […]
Modbury STEM PLC ~Thinking Technologically~May 23rdhttps://edufolios.org/kzagotsis/modbury-stem-plc-thinking-technologicallymay-23rd/
Overview As part of the STEM 500 project I spent Wednesday at Tea Tree Gully library with three lovely ladies from the Modbury partnership; Deanne from my site and Liz and Val from Ardtornish Primary School. Deanne and I both teach at Modbury Special School. Our students have an intellectual disability, the majority are on […]
Prompt Levels, Wait Times and Assessmenthttps://edufolios.org/kzagotsis/prompt-levels-wait-times-and-assessment/
This post was partly inspired by a new relief teacher who shadowed me for the day a few weeks ago and partly by a conversation I had with some colleagues, including Giulia, who is working alongside me for part of this year as a 4th year Pre-Service Teacher. Both observed me working with the students […]
The First Week of 2018https://edufolios.org/kzagotsis/the-first-week-of-2018/
It’s the end of Week 1 with my new class, 5 of whom are new Receptions. My focus has been on establishing relationships with children and their families. I’ve written a letter introducing myself and my team, explained processes, answered questions and sent SeeSaw invitations home. I mentioned my availability and also gave parents my […]
2018: New Year, New Classhttps://edufolios.org/kzagotsis/2018-new-year-new-class/
Towards the end of last year, staff spent several meetings working on class lists. I’m not sure how it works at other sites, but we consider every child, working and reworking. Generally the class teacher thinks about their current students and where they are best placed, but the opinions of NIT teachers, relief teachers and […]
Digital Technologies in Special Educationhttps://edufolios.org/kzagotsis/digital-technologies-in-special-education/
Planning and Co-Creating One of the targets I’d set myself after coming back from Educhange in September was to create a Digital Technologies differentiated unit plan for Term 4. I’d expanded on my limited knowledge of coding, robotics etc and the question I had-if it was possible to teach these skills to students with intellectual disabilities-had […]
Last Day of Term 4, 2017https://edufolios.org/kzagotsis/last-day-of-term-4-2017/
Last Friday, the last day of school, I stood in the doorway of what had been my classroom for the past two years and just paused for a moment. This space, a double classroom born of necessity of the nature of the students I had, was where I feel I came into my own as […]
An Extracurricular Observationhttps://edufolios.org/kzagotsis/an-extracurricular-observation/
An Extracurricular Observation Last Friday, during Cooking, I had my second observation of the year. I’ve always taken the whole class to the Living Skills room, while some teachers choose to take a few students at a time or to do cooking in their classrooms. I think this a missed learning opportunity, especially as transitioning to […]
