Hi! I'm Ellen Kolonoski, a.k.a. Wonder Teacher Ellen. An educator for the past 32 years, I'm passionate about learning, gifted education and. most of all, creating conditions for wonder in the classroom.
I earned my Bachelor’s degree from Alfred University (1994), a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Scranton (2009) and completed a graduate certificate in gifted education at Rutgers University (2014).
I have shared my work as a conference presenter at the local, state and national levels and as a professional learning facilitator. Not only will I be presenting Astonish, Amaze and Aspire: Connecting Wonder and Creativity in Gifted Learning at NAGC25, I am thrilled to have been invited by Silverquicken to share their game Water Falcon and be part of the closing keynote Won't You Be My Neighbor? I have previously presented Servin' Around the World: Empowering Gifted Learners at NAGC23.
I authored a leadership curriculum to coordinate with Adam Braun's book The Promise of a Pencil. National Geographic Society utilized her “Move the Great Pyramid” lesson as part of their supplemental materials for the IMAX movie, Mysteries of Egypt. I was awarded an NJAGC Instructional Mini-Grant for "Sew Inventive." I served as the New Jersey Coordinator of the National Geographic Bee for five years. I was the Kittatinny Regional High School Teacher of the Year in 2006-2007, went on to be named as Sussex County Teacher of the Year and was a finalist for New Jersey State Teacher of the Year.
