After four or eight years of study at the ISK Tirol, students graduate with the Austrian Reifeprüfung (Matura) and with the internationally standardized and externally assessed IB Diploma.
Aliesa de Bray, MSc (Ed), who teaches Biology and Chemistry at ISK in addition to her role as IB Diploma Programme Coordinator, is the central point of contact for all matters relating to this globally renowned curriculum.
My career path as a teacher has taken me…
On an unexpected journey. When I started teaching I taught in The Netherlands and figured that would be it, but the next school year I was teaching in Beijing, China and I haven’t looked back since. I was able to learn about different teaching methods (national curriculum, AP, and IB) while abroad and develop as a teacher, as well as becoming interested in a leadership role, that I am now able to fulfil in the ISK.
My role at the ISK includes …
Teaching chemistry to the upper school and biology to the lower school, but also having a leadership role. In this role I inform students and parents about the DP, help grade 10 students with the selection of their DP subjects, am in charge of the grade 12 DP exams in May, make sure that, as a school, we adhere to the IB regulations, and much more.
Teaching the IB curriculum means …
That I am not just teaching a subject, but that I am also teaching students about critical thinking, writing skills, and the impact they can have on the world. It means that you go beyond what is normally taught from text books and that you prepare the students for excellence and being able to deal with whatever challenges they will face after school.
My favourite place in Kufstein is …
Not in the city itself, but in the mountains around Kufstein. There is this winding path going up the mountain called Elfenhain and just passed the three logs is this path that goes through the forest. I hardly ever see people there and it is so calm and quiet, that it is one of my favourite places.
