We have a number of references we can make available to you. Here are a few excerpts from feedback we’ve been given recently:

References for Tim:

“Mr Woods teaches in a variety of ways, so everyone is always making progress and not missing out. He makes learning fun and interesting because he’s so knowledgeable and he knows how to get us to work hard. He is always positive and relaxed and generous with his time. Last year he helped me set up my own small business. I wouldn’t have been able to do that without his support.” -A. Mohammed (Year 13 Business Student)

“Tim is a knowledgeable and effective teacher. I’ve been told by students that they’ve learned more from Mr Woods than from any teacher they’ve ever had.” – B. McNaught (Head of Year 10)

“Tim is very driven to make improvements and is a strong teacher. In the classroom he has clear learning objectives and sets high standards for staff members and students. Tim also has introduced e-learning techniques such as websites that allows students to access learning materials and monitor their learning progress.” – A. Alkas (Business Studies Teacher)

“Mr Woods is very motivated!” (T. Kim, IB Economics Student).

“Under Tim’s management I have learnt many things about data management and how to analyse data. His strengths are in finding practical solutions and he has a very methodical procedure for any complexities the department experienced.” - Mr B. Shamim (Business Studies Teacher at Paddington Academy, in London)

“He quickly made himself an invaluable member of the WRL Faculty and has shown himself to be a hardworking, conscientious and forward thinking person.” – Miss B. Sandiford (Head of Business at Bishop Challoner Catholic Collegiate School, London)

“I appreciate Mr Woods because he offers us opportunities not only to adhere to the syllabus, but also to learn in much more breadth and depth.” (Y. Choi, IB Economics Student).

“Mr Woods’ website has helped me to work ahead of most of the rest of the class. I also appreciate that he is always available after school for coursework catch up.” (S. Miah, Year 12 BTEC Student)

References for Bettina:

“Bettina was hugely effective last year in raising standards of attainment at KS4, the culmination of which was a significant rise in the GCSE pass rate, the highest that the school as ever seen. Indeed it placed the school nationally in the top 2% of schools for value-added scores, against the bottom 18% in the previous year.” -Peter Jones (Assistant Vice Principal) at Paddington Academy

“Bettina establishes very good working relationships with students and they enjoy her lessons. Bettina uses a variety of assessment for learning techniques and informs her planning accordingly. She monitors student progress and differentiates material to ensure that EASL and SEN students can access learning. – Oli Tomlinson (Acting Principal of Paddington Academy)

“Mrs Woods is a great teacher. She is the best Head of Year we have had. She has made a big difference in my life –both inside of school and in my home life as well. It’s nice having a teacher who cares about you so much.” -R. Smith (Year 11 Student)

“Very quickly the students responded to her friendly yet focused drive for them to be successful. She is a sympathetic listener who creates a safe learning environment that allows and encourages learners to be creative and to take risks with their understanding and oration, of often quite challenging concepts. – Philip Ellis (Head of the 6th Form)

“We are a difficult year group, but she has made us take more responsibility and get our act together. She has arranged a lot of intervention groups for us, so we can all get the support that we need.” – J.M. (Year 11 Student)

Early-interview pleasantries. (Bettina)

Q: “What do you when you have a student who is under-performing?” (Bettina)

Q: “What does a good lesson look like?” (Tim)

That’s all the questions we’ve answered so far. We will be add a few more as the job search continues. Please, if there is a question you’d like us to answer, please suggest it in the comments section below and we’ll answer it here.

We are both e-Learning specialists (Bettina an ICT and ITGS teacher and  Tim with an MBA  in Integrated Technology Management). We have worked in very successful schools and have seen how technologies can be used to dramatically improve teaching and learning. We use teaching websites (Tim’s and Bettina’s) to extend student learning beyond class hours. We have developed a lot of resources over the years that we can bring with us when we start.

Tim’s Projects and Interests

I have used my MBA training to support Enterprise education. I’m convinced of the importance of developing practical management skills in all students, not just those with more of a vocational focus. So I have worked to give students the opportunity to identify problems, discuss possible solutions and then go further and realize some of these solutions, taking action somehow.

I encourage students to come back around, to re-evaluate the outcomes of the effort, their assumptions going into the process and what to do next. I enjoy seeing students’ self-confidence grow when they see they can make a difference in real problems of their community. In the UK, I was involved in organizing a variety of enterprise events, the most successful of which was the Lionheart Challenge.

I also write a blog, when I have some spare time. I write about how to maintain a high quality of life in increasingly challenging times. I find writing to be a process of discovery (rather than a simple act of writing down what you already know). I encourage my students to write as much as possible and I have often mentored students in their writing outside of class.

Finally, I enjoy mentoring. I have developed a program I call Leadership for Life, which is a leadership development program for students. It explores a lot of the same issues I deal with on my blog, but in a student-friendly way. We do activities to help students clarify their hopes for their life and to make incremental changes to help them achieve what is important to them.

Bettina’s Projects and Interests

For the past 5 years I have been heavily involved in managing the pastoral systems in schools. This means I spend a lot of my time one-on-one with students, helping them to manage the demands of their school lives (and often their home lives as well).

With my PE background, I have always been involved in coaching. I have coached a wide variety of sports and have pursued additional qualifications (most recently in trampolining and gymnastics) to keep my training current.

I also enjoy finding ways to bring together my passion for art and for good causes. Recently I worked with a group of students raising money for developing countries by creating and selling one-of-a-kind greeting cards.

Finally, I also really like travelling. I feel very privileged that we have been able to travel extensively in the past 7 years. While we have taught in 5 different countries, we’ve had the opportunity to visit more than 60. This has given us a lot of valuable insights (and stories) that help me in my teaching.

Tim Woods

I got my Bachelor of Arts (2001) and Bachelor of Education (2002) degrees from Queen’s University in Canada. I earned these, through a 5-year Concurrent Education program. During my final year I was awarded a grant to travel to Costa Rica for my final teaching practicum. This was my first international teaching experience. Several years later, while teaching full time, I earned my MBA from the Open University Business School in England. This advanced management training has considerably enhanced my effectiveness as a Business and Economics teacher and as an employee.

This year I have completed a 4-day IB Economics training session in Berlin and a month-long certified online course on Internal Assessments (with Triple A Learning). I have also gained Qualified Teachers Status in the UK and have become a certified member of the Ontario College of Teachers (my OCT site).

Outside of my teaching, I have also recently become a certified member of the Cognitive Edge, an internationally recognized creative facilitation group.

Bettina Woods

My Bachelor of Education (2000) is from Flinders University, in South Australia. I specialized in Health, P.E. and Information Technology. I specialized in integrated approaches to Middle School.

In the past year I have completed a 4-day IB Information Technology in a Global Society course at Oxford and a seven-week online IB training program with (Triple A Learning).

In the last year I have also earned my Level 1 Gymnastics and Trampolining Certificates and earned UK Qualified Teacher’s Status.

Please have a look at our resumes. (Click here for Tim’s CV and click here for Bettina’s CV). They are included on this site, but they are password protected. If we haven’t emailed you the password yet, please send us a quick email (timothywoods@gmail.com) and we will reply right away with the password which opens both files. Thanks you very much for your interest.

We are both experienced, enthusiastic teachers. Here are a few points that we feel set us apart from the crowd:

• We both have over 6 years of teaching experience.
• We have both worked in a range of schools, from challenging inner-city London schools to elite international schools. We always work hard to find ways to make a real difference.
• We are well-trained in our teaching specialisms. We both have Bachelor of Education degrees and IB experience. We also have both earned UK Qualified Teacher’s Status –which is a fairly rigorous process. (We have evidenced all 33 of the UK Professional Standards for Teachers.)
• We have worked in 7 countries and we have travelled to over 60 (click here to see where) and this has greatly enhanced our cultural sensitivities and adaptability.
• We both have a consistent track-record of quickly being asked to take on additional management responsibilities when we join a new school. We think this shows how well we perform as teachers.
• We have no dependants and we are open to living anywhere!
• We feel we have a lot to contribute to an education community. We are committed to improving as educators. We have taken part in a lot of excellent training over the years (as you can see on our Qualifications and Certifications page).
• We can manage (or contribute considerably) to any school’s E-Learning and Enterprise Skills initiatives.
• Most importantly, we are very successful in the classroom. We recently completed 5 years teaching in the UK. During this time we both scored consistent “Good” or “Outstanding” lessons, when observed internally. This record was maintained when we were observed by Ofsted and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate (Click here to see what that means).

On our Resumes and References page you can read some of the feedback we’ve had about our practice as educators. (We have great references!)

Here is a quick list of what else is available on the site:

• An explanation of our projects we’ve undertaken to contribute outside the classroom.
• On our Virtual Interview Page, you can hear us answer some common interview questions.
• You can read our resumes (CV’s).
• And of course, you can contact us to continue the discussion.