Professional

After completing a Bachelor of Science degree in microbiology and botany at Monash University in Melbourne, I decided to become a primary teacher.

I worked at St Margaret’s School, a school known for both its traditions and innovative approach to education.  It was there I developed my understanding of differentiation and its importance in the classroom. The work of Howard Gardner: Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences (1983) and Benjamin Bloom and his team’s: Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (1956) were my starting points.  I was immediately able to see a change in student outcomes when each individual’s learning abilities were recognised and nurtured.

St Margaret’s School also has a respected music programme and this gave me the opportunity to involve myself in orchestras and choirs.  I was able to teach and conduct 8 and 9 year olds in their first experience as an “orchestra”, and write plays for middle primary students to perform for parents.

My move to Italy immersed me in the world of second language acquisition and mother tongue maintenance. Working at The Bilingual School of Monza (BSM), an IB World School, provided me with many professional opportunities.  Presenting at the European Council of International Schools (ECIS) ESL and Mother Tongue conference in Amsterdam in 2014, at which Jim Cummins was the keynote speaker, and at the Milan conference on multilingual education attended by Fred Genesee and Else Hamayan are just 2 of these.  A highlight of my time at BSM was having Fred and Else visit my classroom and observe my practice.  

Working at BSM was my first experience as a PYP Coordinator.  I spent time inducting new staff into the programme and oversaw the school’s programme evaluation visit in 2014. As PYP Coordinator I ran staff workshops on thinking skills and visible thinking routines and focussed on teaching transdisciplinary skills (now ATL’s) and giving students choice in their learning.

July 2016 saw my husband and me attend Carol Ann Tomlinson’s week long Summer Institute on Academic Diversity at the University of Virginia. This, , was a pivotal moment in my life as an educator, as was hearing Jim Cummins give his keynote in 2014.

Utilising my understandings about interlingual teaching and learning and catering for academic diversity, I was part of a team which established Your Italian English School (YIES) in Vedano al Lambro outside Milan. The principal and I designed an inquiry based English curriculum gaining inspiration from some of the top national curricula from around the world such as the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence and the Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS) from Australia.  The school opened in August 2016 and has gone from strength to strength, providing quality bilingual education.

I currently work at Al Batinah International School in Sohar, Oman. ABIS is a 3 programme IB World School. Early on I was asked to provide a workshop to staff on differentiation. This was attended by many staff and I received feedback later on the ways they had incorporated these strategies into their day to day practice. 

During my time as upper primary PYP Coordinator I was part of the school’s Pedagogical Leadership Team and Learning Development Team. The lower primary PYP coordinator and I led staff meetings focussing on, and encouraging, teacher agency.  Workshops were structured to give time for staff to explore and use the expansive resources on the MyIB website.  Time was also spent on school culture and developing a collaborative approach.

Throughout my time as a curriculum coordinator, both PYP and other, I have continued to be a classroom teacher. While I have taught students from 8 – 12 years old I now consider myself to be an upper primary specialist.

I enter my classroom every day knowing that I have the best job in the world and I am genuinely excited about the journey the students and I will take.

Personal

Born and raised in Australia, I was immersed in travel from a young age. My parents took my siblings and me on a myriad of adventures, first in the ‘outback’ of Australia and then internationally when we travelled the world for 6 months.

My world view and actions have been heavily influenced by my father saying to me, “But Kirsty, it’s about making the world a better place for other people”  To that end, I spent several years as a Saturday morning helper at our local, volunteer-run library.  I was also a councillor of my local municipality for five years, serving the last year as Mayor.  After my official municipal involvement, I was active in local residents’ and arts groups.  I was involved in maintaining the integrity of open spaces in a growing residential area and worked towards the establishment of Wilson Botanic Park, a botanical garden in a former quarry on the outskirts of Melbourne. Successful Arts weekends were organised by the Berwick Arts Council, of which I was a member, bringing concerts and exhibitions to the local area. Our municipality was also involved in providing support to the emerging nation of East Timor (now Timor Leste) and my husband, Don, and I spent time on the committee of the Friends of Emera which raised awareness of, and much needed funds for, that region of the country.  A personal highlight was attending a fundraising event attended by Nobel Peace laureate Jose Ramos-Horta.

My sense of social justice was one of the reasons I took my first overseas teaching position at the Bilingual School of Monza in Italy.  BSM had worked with Syrian refugees, bringing them into the school to work and share their experiences with students.  Hearing one of these refugees talking to my grade 5 students about arriving in Italy after several uncertain days in the Mediterranean on a broken boat was life changing. The school was also involved with providing clothing for refugees who arrived at Milano Centrale railway station; a gathering point for displaced people.

2021 © K. Lottkowitz