Meet The Trainers
Yvonne Collings
Diploma Teaching (NZ), Graduate Diploma Special Education, Graduate Certificate Educational Studies.
Yvonne Collings currently serves as a Director of Kagan Australia Teacher Professional Learning. In her career Yvonne has taught in public and private schools in New Zealand and Australia and finally in the leadership role as Deputy Principal at a disadvantaged public high school. She has taught K-12 in physical education, mathematics and science. Her last 10 years of teaching was with emotionally disturbed and behaviour disordered high school students. Yvonne was involved in coaching teachers, facilitating staff development, and designing curriculum and assessments. Her classroom experiences in low socio-economic communities and private schools has proved to her that Kagan Structures make an incredible difference in the lives of students and the teachers who use the structures. Her experiences as a classroom teacher, coach, and curriculum developer, along with her enthusiasm and passion for learning, ensure that all learners will leave her workshops motivated, knowledgeable, and eager to implement Kagan strategies.
What Participants Say:
“Yvonne was very animated and knows content well. Approachable and flexible in the delivery. Very organized and kept the workshop flowing.”
Michelle, Year 4 Teacher St Joseph’s Primary School, Kingswood NSW
“Yvonne was energetic and inspiring. She had recent classroom practice and related it to the structures. A fantastic communicator and educator.”
Katherine, Year 1 St Michaels Primary School, Baulkham Hills NSW
“Yvonne is confident, knowledgeable, enthusiastic. The workshop was practical and well paced. Very convincing! Yvonne knows her information extremely well.”Vicki, Waroona District High School, WA
Robyn Cragg
Bachelor Arts (Biological Sciences), Diploma Physical Education (Hons), Graduate Certificate Educational Studies, Conspicuous Service Medal, Reserve Force Decoration
Robyn Cragg currently serves as a Director of Kagan Australia Teacher Professional Learning. Her career in education spans over 40 years and includes being a physical education teacher, Inspector of Schools, Director of Schools and 20 years as a Principal in disadvantaged schools. Robyn is a life-long learner and keeps current on effective instructional practices and teacher professional learning. After being trained in Kagan structures and leading her school on their Kagan journey she saw the school’s test scores soar, children actively participating, and classrooms full of children excited about learning. She is eager to share her real life experiences and the power Kagan structures bring to the individual teacher and the whole school. Her strong knowledge background, experience, enthusiasm and passion are evident in her training sessions. Her parallel career was as a commissioned officer in the Australian Army Reserve, reaching the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
What participants Say:
“Robyn – Thank you, as usual, I found you a truly inspiring speaker. It’s great to see a presenter who totally believes in what she is presenting.”
Assistant Principal, Coal Point Public School, NSW “Robyn is excellent. She showed and taught at the same time! She made sure we understood what cooperative learning is all about as well as related it to our current classroom practice.”
Suzanne, Support Teacher Learning Assistance, Biraban Public School, NSW “Fantastic! Robyn was vibrant and determined to ensure we understand the concepts and ideas.”
Rohani, Year 7-12 Teacher De La Salle College, Ashfield NSW
Natalie Pin
Bachelor of Education – Early Childhood
Natalie has been in education for 6 years and is currently teaching at St Michael’s School in Bassendean as an Early Childhood teacher. She is passionate about being in the classroom and sharing her cooperative learning knowledge and experience with her fellow colleagues, after travelling to America in 2017, and becoming an International Kagan Trainer.
She enthusiastically leads her team in implementing Kagan in their classrooms. Natalie has seen the power of Co-operative Learning with her own students and within her school. St Michael’s School was the first Kagan Model School in Australia.
Natalie is currently leading her school on their Kagan journey and is excited to share her enthusiasm for Kagan Cooperative Learning with others. She was first introduced to Kagan Cooperative Learning five years ago and has been enthusiastic about it ever since the beginning.
Natalie was very fortunate to have been exposed to this style of teaching very early in her career. She has experienced the difference Kagan Cooperative Learning has had not only on students’ academic results but also in their attitude towards learning.
What Participants Say:
“A great presenter! Nat was enthusiastic, well organised and confident with the material she presented.” Sue Year 1 teacher WA
“Natalie is so knowledgeable and passionate. I absolutely loved being in her workshop.” Katy, Pre-primary teacher, WA
“Amazing! Natalie was a fantastic presenter for the whole 2 days. She kept everyone engaged and enjoying the PD. Although we were doing activities the children do, she never treated us like 5 year olds (which I find happens often). Very knowledgeable and inspiring!” Emily, Pre-primary teacher, WA
Myrissa Dix
Myrissa has been in education for 10 years and is a Deputy Principal of a primary school in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. She has taught students from Kindergarten to Year 7 and has worked as a Literacy Coach and a Learning Support Teacher, supporting teachers of students with special needs.
Myrissa is currently leading her school in their Kagan journey and is excited to share her enthusiasm for Kagan Cooperative Learning with others. She has experienced the difference Kagan Cooperative Learning has had on her students, not only in regard to their academic results but also in their attitude towards learning.
What Participants Say:
“Brilliant – knows the content and applies it herself so ideas are practical and tested!” Diane, Year 4/5/6 teacher, Jigalong Remote Community School
“Kept things moving along at a good pace. Everything was made very clear. Questions were welcomed but not necessary!!” Michelle, Yr 7 / high school teacher, Jigalong Remote Community School
Dale Wolfenden
Bachelor of Education
Dale has been in education for nearly 20 years, working as HPE teacher, primary teacher before working in school leadership. With more than 14 years’ experience in school leadership, 7 as a Principal in regional and remote Queensland and more recently as Deputy Principal of Kuluin State School on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland.
Dale is currently leading his school in their Kagan journey and is excited to share her enthusiasm for Kagan Cooperative Learning with others. He has experienced the difference Kagan Cooperative Learning has had on his school community, not only in regard to their academic results but also in their attitude towards learning.
What Participants Say:
“Dale was excellent, very professional and entertaining. He is flexible and accommodating. He continually read the needs of the audience/participants.” Joanne, Primary Teacher, QLD
“Fantastic presenter! Well spoken and knowledgeable about Kagan Cooperative Learning. Dale is practical, confident and easy to listen to. He definitely walks the talk.” Brian, Primary School Teacher QLD
Karen Sigston
Bachelor of Education – Early Childhood
Karen has been working in education for 8 years and is currently working on the Sunshine Coast as a year 2 teacher. She is passionate about teaching and building students skills socially and academically.
After participating in Kagan Cooperative Learning to improve her own teaching practices Karen has now furthered herself by becoming a Kagan International trainer.
Karen encourages and supports colleagues in developing their knowledge about Kagan Cooperative Learning and welcomes her colleagues into her classroom to further their understanding.
The opportunity that Kagan has given to extend her teaching is one that not only impacts her professionally but the students she engages.
Karen is a dynamic and engaging trainer. She shares a wide range of practical examples of classroom implementation of Kagan Cooperative Learning with workshop participants.
Annelie Zuccolo
Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Teaching, Masters of Arts in Communication and is currently completing a Master of Arts in Screen Studies
Annelie currently serves as a Grade 5/6 Teacher of a Primary School in the Northern Suburbs of Melbourne as well as heading up Curriculum and ICT. She is passionate about helping her fellow teachers implement Kagan in their classrooms after first hearing Dr Spencer Kagan in 2005, and seeing the power of Co-operative Learning for herself. Now that she has been teaching for 10 years in both Secondary and Primary Education, Annelie has seen the impact of Kagan through the positive connection of students, improvement in their academic results and the impact a brain friendly environment has in the classroom that Kagan provides for her students.
What Participants Say:
“Very clear, went at a measured pace and broke the session up into manageable chunks.” 
“Fantastic, engaging, knowledgeable and approachable.”
“Knew the content well and easy to follow. Answered our questions all day!”
“Clear, concise and entertaining!” Comments made by Primary Teachers in Victoria.”
Lisa Liebregts
Bachelor of Education
Lisa is currently an Assistant Principal at Mary MacKillop Catholic Community Primary School in Ballajura, Western Australia where she is leading the staff through their Kagan Cooperative Learning Journey. Lisa has been an assistant Principal for 15 years in three catholic primary schools in Western Australia and she has two Masters Degrees; one in early childhood and one in leadership. Lisa has also been a short-term Principal at St Michael’s in Bassendean where she was instrumental in leading the school to become the first school in Australia to become a Kagan Model School.
Lisa is passionate about engaging with and learning about high quality educational pedagogy. She enjoys investigating best practice models in education and applies her knowledge of these to mentor and support staff as well as students. Lisa received a scholarship to attend the Instructional Leadership Academy held in America in 2015 and has become a highly competent coach, committed to sharing her expertise in Kagan Cooperative Learning to assist and support classroom teachers become highly effective practitioners.
Lisa is also a trained Reading Recovery teacher, who recognises the importance of delivering quality literacy intervention, particularly in the early years. Lisa is highly skilled at data analysis and interpretation and uses her understanding and attention to detail to create and design learning programs that are targeted to students need. Lisa values high expectations and understands that to achieve active engagement, it is essential for all students, including those with additional needs.
“Your exper
tise and thorough knowledge of your activities and understanding of the cooperative learning process was very evident throughout the PD. The staff enjoyed the activities and the demonstrations. There is much excitement and discussion about how we can use the techniques to help improve our own teaching and impact on learning”. (participants from Narrewarren P – 12)
Sally presented several Kagan Structures for me from the Training in Day 1. She broke them down, modeled them and gave explicit instructions on how to use them in different ways. I now feel confident to use these structures in my class.
(Libby Tuck Cranbourne South Primary School
Sally has made my Cooperative Learning journey a great deal easier. She explicitly models new structures, explaining each step clearly and sharing tips from her own experiences. Her presentations are informative and engaging. (Emma Slocombe Cranbourne South Primary School)