ACADEMIA MASTER CLASS

Unpacking teaching and learning,  communication and collaboration
and instructional peer coachinG
Academia Master Class
Unpacking teaching and learning in English, communication and collaboration and instructional peer coaching.
By focusing on these four interconnected domains—teaching and learning, instructional peer coaching, communication, and collaboration—the Academia Masterclass aims to equip educators with the tools they need to excel in their roles, enhance student outcomes, and contribute positively to the educational community at large.
Download Program Overview

Academia Master Class is an intensive 35-hour-long educational  program. It is a comprehensive program designed for educators who aim to deepen their understanding of teaching and learning and enhance their skills in several critical areas of academic excellence.
This masterclass focuses on effective instructional strategies. It underscores the importance of peer coaching, as a form of reciprocal mentorship and as a tool for instructional improvement, fostering an environment where educators can learn from one another through structured and supportive interactions.

A significant component of this masterclass is dedicated to the art and science of communication within the educational context. Participants will explore various communication strategies to engage all stakeholders more effectively. This exploration includes understanding the dynamics of verbal, non-verbal, and digital communication and how they can be optimized.

Collaboration stands as another pillar of this program, highlighting the benefits of working together in academic settings. The masterclass delves into collaborative techniques and frameworks that can be integrated into classroom practices, departmental planning, and across the broader educational community. It aims to build a culture of collaboration among educators, where shared goals, resources, and successes become a driving force for collective achievement.


This interactive and very practical masterclass provides participants with
hands-on experience. They will have opportunities to apply what they learn in real-time, receiving feedback from peers and the facilitator, and immediately implement new learning in their teaching practice.

1. Building Community, grounded in collaboration and collegial dialogue; continuing with:
2. Public Speaking, practicing impromptu speaking, presenting and giving a pitch; merging onto:
3. All the Trends, teaching and learning with technology, ed tech pedagogy and tools; tuning into:
4. Planning, deeply diving into unit planning and backward design; and ending with:
5. Assessment, grounded in rubric-rooted grading and rubric design that supports visible learning and creating cultures of thinking.

TESTIMONIALS:

Sanja is a great empowering educator! Recently, I had the opportunity to attend an Academia Master Class. It was a great experience in which I gained new teaching skills. Definitely, I will use some of Sanja´s teaching skills in my practice. Personally, I had most benefit of speaking in English during 5 days of intensive course. Thank you Sanja for encouraging me to speak in English (constantly in my head - "Bad English is a good English" ;)). Thank you Sanja for the great experience and huge amount of knowledge. I have learned a lot and had a great time. Hope you have lots of students in the future!

Ana Andabak Rogulj, DMD, Ph.D.

School of Dental Medicine University of Zagreb
This course will reflect on my practice and it will be easier for me to give and receive feedback, to present and speak publicly. I will use new learning in my work with students and also colleagues.

Kristina Goršeta, PhD

Associate Professor at School of Dental Medicine University of Zagreb
Everything was useful and very interesting! Sanja is an amazing (truly good :)) educator!

Marija Buljan, MD, PhD.

Dermatovenereologist, Assistant Professor
Thank you! For me, this was one of the best experiences in my education.

Irihna Filipović Zore, PhD

Oral surgeon at School of Dental Medicine University of Zagreb
Very good working atmosphere, everybody engaged, very useful and most enjoyable! Sanja K. very professional and a very good  motivator.

Arjana Tambić-Andrašević, PhD, Dr. Med.

Head of department for microbiology, infectology and sterilization
Very useful for all of our colleagues. Excellent group energy, very motivating!

Iva Butić, PhD, MD

Clinical Microbiologist, University Hospital for Infectious Diseases
I really enjoyed all the classes and found them useful. The feedback routines helped me a lot and I plan to introduce them in my own teaching practice!

Ivan Šalinović

Research Assistant at School of Dental Medicine University of Zagreb
Absolutely top education.

Božidar Pavelić, prof. PhD


School of Dental Medicine University of Zagreb
Sanja was very friendly. I felt relaxed and after this course I am more confident. This course should be repeated for all our colleagues who have to teach.

Tomislava Skuhala, PhD, assistant professor


Clinic for Infectious Diseases, Zagreb
Sanja is the most competent and inspirational young woman I've ever worked with. She challenges herself and those around her to do their best; always looking for ways to be creative, innovative, and supportive. She has a wealth of experience working with people of all ages and easily establishes a rapport with them that forms the foundation for successful coaching experiences. She is a trusted, respected, and liked colleague that everyone wants to work with. As I write this comment, I secretly hope the person reading it is an administrator from my organization - to whom I say, grab her before someone else does!


Anka Vonic


Learning and Technology Coach at Zurich International School
No risk is too intimidating for Sanja! She was a key collaborator in the development of a school-based coaching structure and building coaching capacity. Her ability to adapt quickly allowed her to support Pre-K - 12 teaching and learning with ease. She always displayed a caring and open-minded demeanor. She always met these demands with a smile and a positive, can-do attitude! I welcome any future opportunity to collaborate with Sanja!

Christina Botbyl

PK - 12 Curriculum Director at American International School Kuwait
Sanja is an exceptional collaborator. She is both a good listener and contributor, but also creator and leader whenever necessary. She has been part of my team for a year now and we worked on drafting two projects pertaining to creativity in education (Croatian Science Foundation and and institutional project at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, UNIZG). Sanja is proactive, hard-working, punctual, easily thinks out of the box, and never fears new challenges. She knows how to motivate collaborators when things tend to go sideways as well as make an extra effort to assist any member of the team.

Renata Geld

Associate Professor at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Deputy Director at the Doctoral Program in Foreign Language Education, Head at the Department of English, UNIZG

Sanja is bright, professional and fun to work with. She was completing her PhD during the time we worked together and she not only excelled in her studies, she kept our school on track. Her colleagues appreciated her because she was patient and kind when helping them learn the workings of our MIS system. I could completely depend on her and that was highly appreciated in my role as Director. I can see that she has gone from success to success and that comes as no surprise.

David Harris, Ed.D.
Co-Owner / Centre Director at OXFORD LEARNING CAMBRIDGE-HESPELER
Sanja is a gem. She has the genuine desire to help others grow and engage in lifelong learning in interconnected ways. She is optimistic and empowered and shares her approach generously. She models what she preaches and creates the conditions for others to drive their own learning. I've seen her in action and appreciate her down-to-earth and effective approach.

Fanny Passeport (she/her)
Founder of No Borders Learning
Sanja is one of the most accomplished and inspiring women I have ever met. She was, and still is the epitome of a life-long learner and risk-taker- she was always learning and trying out new things and was fearless about it. By doing so, she not only grew professionally and as a person, but she also inspired others to do the same. I am so lucky that even though Sanja’s career path led her to new places, we stayed friends and she can continue to inspire me. Another thing I love about Sanja is her calmness and professionalism. Even in a “crisis”- actually especially then. Sanja has experience working with people of all ages and has a way of developing great relationships. She is always looking for ways to collaborate, be innovative and supportive. Watching her grow professionally as a committed educator and coach has been and will continue to be inspiring. I hope to work with Sanja again and recommend her wholeheartedly.

Ana Grubac (Ana LibrariAna)
PreK 3- Grade 12 Librarian/Book Reviewer/Educator

Sanja was always ready to try something new she had learned from colleagues. In the area of assessment, she helped teachers demonstrate and model good assessment strategies using tech tools in a way that helped make them feel more comfortable using the tools at hand. She helped others to understand how to easily modify their electronic gradebooks, in order to value the learning process rather than only the final outcome as a percentage. She inspired students to build Android apps which were then marketed in ‘Google Play.’ This engagement with a genuine audience outside the classroom walls is one of the hallmarks of 21st century learning, a goal Ms Kisicek encouraged everyone to embrace. I've been delighted to watch her continue on her path as a committed professional educator and coach.

Joyce Halsey
Director of Studies at Oxford Study Courses

Sanja is a synonym for effectiveness with contagious joy. I met her in 2007 and have been inspired by both her private and professional life she has been creating ever since. Sanja always roots for a whole person in front of her and coaches with the right questions, even when they feel quite bold. Sanja is the extraordinary expert and humble practician of collaboration and leadership.

Vlatka Blagus
Croatian Language and Literature Teacher, PhD Student of Glottodidactics, Independent Researcher and Proofreader
I have known Sanja since I was a college student. Sanja showed excellent mentoring and team leadership skills and was ready to hear new ideas and suggestions. Thanks to Sanja, I learned a lot about collaboration and teamwork. After my studies, I followed her work and she is a real example of how dedication and effort pay off in both private and business life. I definitely recommend Sanja for collaboration.

Josip Knezevic
Lead IT Business Analyst @ TEVA / CRM Consultant / Product Catalogue Expert

Through my 13 years of teaching career, I had a chance to work with Sanja for 3 years. She is the only person who had plenty of time in my classes with various students of different age and grade levels. She was not only there just to be present. She always enriched my teaching with her open, kind, and trustworthy collaboration. I learned a lot from our conversation and collaboration. I am grateful to have a chance to benefit from her coaching perspective.

Sezin Sağlam Karaçal
MYP Science Teacher at American International School Kuwait
One of the best and most useful workshops I have attended so far. Sanja shared with us valuable knowledge on communication skills, guided us and encouraged us to apply these valuable and vital and useful communication skills. Sanja is an extremely interesting speaker and caring for the participants of her workshops. Thanks Sanja!

Irena Mikšić
mag.prim.educ. music teacher at OŠ Popovača
Sanja is a wonderful person who has left a big mark in my life in a short time. My association Erudio and I organized the event 'European EFOS Week' and fromday one she followed and encouraged us. As an external person she was advising and supporting us. Sanja was part of our event as a presenter as well. Thanks to her workshop, my nervousness prior to public performance began to diminish. Thanks to Sanja, I realized that I can make mistakes and learn from them. For this beautiful young woman who has become so successful and wants to pass on her knowledge to others, I have only words of praise!

Ana Vučković
Marketing specialist @ Capptoo AG
Sanja is a great at empowering people in the first place. When I needed support the most, her ear and her hearth was near. She is also one of the best educators and coaches I ever had! What she preaches and teaches, she also lives as a great and intuitive Leader. Through collaborative communication, she guided me and I recommend her to everyone who has stopped for a while in life to gain a new momentum. As an ex rowing champion Sanja K. really knows how to give you momentum and speed you up. I recommend!

Josip Papak
Country Sales Manager @ Mellon | Innovator
I had the pleasure of working closely with Sanja for the past couple of years while preparing CPD for EFL teachers in Croatia, as well as organizing capacity building activities within the e-schools project (#CARNET) for my colleagues, senior advisors at Education and Teacher Training Agency (#AZOO). I can confidently say that she is a talented and dedicated professional. Sanja is an exceptional team player who always goes above and beyond to ensure that projects are completed on time and to the highest standard. She has a sharp eye for detail and is an expert in communication and education.Throughout our collaboration, Sanja consistently impressed me with her problem-solving skills, communication abilities, and positive attitude. She was always willing to lend a helping hand and was an invaluable resource in achieving and fulfilling our goals. Her work ethic is truly unmatched. Sanja is a tremendous asset to any team, and I have no doubt that she will continue to achieve great success in her career.

Davor Černi
Erasmus coordinator / E-schools project manager / Deputy Head of the Department of Secondary Education at Agencija za odgoj i obrazovanje - Education and Teacher Training Agency; Senior advisor
Dr. Sanja is an amazing educator, leader, mother, and friend. No one has entered her life and not been inspired by her kindness and professionalism. She is a pioneer in her field and it is a privilege working with her.

Samanta Fleurant
M.ED in Advanced Teaching, Instructional Coach at AISK, IB Workshop Leader and STVM, CFG Coach
Sanja’s commitment to boost people and places is second to none. She has the skills, energy, and sixth sense to make it happen.Croatia is lucky that she is back

Andreas Wil GERDES
#WorldCitizen No8
Sanja K. held a communication and collaboration training for our members and partners. We gathered one morning on Zoom and have pushed ourselves into confusion. That was a good kind of confusion that opened our minds for new learnings. We had fun, we learned something new, got new ideas, got the chance to think about ourselves, and about others. Sanja’s guidance was very valuable and I am happy we went through this together. Feedback received from all participants was extremely positive and everyone was grateful for the opportunity to participate in such a great training. If you are thinking about organising this for your team, I do recommend you go ahead and do it.

Sanja Veletanlic

Virtual assistance @Go2human Hub |  Notion Consulting @go2sanja

Academia Master Class LEARNING OUTCOMES

The participants will be able to:

  • lead collegial dialogue to communicate and collaborate effectively with all academia stakeholders

  • analyze texts to collaboratively construct meaning

  • give and receive peer feedback

  • explore instructional peer coaching to leverage institutional leadership capacity

  • practice giving pitch and public speaking

  • demonstrate speaking and listening skills to improve teaching practice

  • craft different types of questions to support inquiry-based learning

  • participate in facilitation protocols

  • reflect on practice and implement peer observation protocols

  • understand educational technology frameworks to support teaching and learning

  • unpack unit planning elements and backward design

  • consider how to design authentic assessment with an achievement rubric

  • collaboratively reflect on examples of student work and implement visible thinking routines

  • develop common understanding around formative and summative assessment and differentiation

  • engage in a variety of learning experiences and activities

  • synthesize new learnings as they continue to grow as educational leaders, communicators, and collaborators

For more details, please see Program Overview
The course is available in Croatian, too!