The role of international teachers at the Nazarbayev Intellectual School of Physics and Mathematics is to support local teachers. One way we do this is by identifying where they feel that they need support and then creating professional development (PD) to address those needs. Three other international teachers and I recently teamed up to offer a PD for science teachers on how to conduct and analyze lab work, which the Cambridge curriculum emphasizes to ensure that students are comprehensively prepared for university. We were very happy that feedback from the local teachers about our first PD was excellent. This shows that we are working well together to meet the needs of the students.

I, Mr. Ronald B. Gonzales have experienced teaching in some parts of the international community. My first teaching assignment overseas was in Papua New Guinea. After a few years, I worked at the International Teaching Faculty in Atlanta Georgia, USA where I stayed for 6 years. My new assignment as of present time is as a teacher in Shymkent, Kazakhstan. Every teaching experience I can say is a different learning experience. When I passed all the requirements to teach in NIS Shymkent, I got really excited for I knew, this would be another opportunity for growth. My first impression of my teaching assignment in Shymkent is that a tough responsibility awaits me in NIS school system. A kind of responsibility that I need to equate with perseverance, hard work, and resiliency in order to perform well at it.

I was sitting on my sofa and thinking where to venture out for my next assignment. As a lifelong learner, I wanted to experience a new arena of teaching and learning process. Sky was my limit.

I have taught in Asian countries like India, Maldives, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. I also had teaching experience in different curriculum as IGCSE, ICSE, EDEXCEL, CIE and IB. I worked as a teacher, an instructor, IB Diploma Coordinator and am also an IB Diploma Examiner. I had very good offers in my hand from Philippines, Myanmar, Indonesia and India. Suddenly my eyes went to a job ad as an Economics advisor/ team teacher in NIS. I was so fascinated by the term team-teaching that I accepted the challenge. I l ... Read more »

This is my second year in Kazakhstan and I confess my experience working in NIS Shymkent keeps being rewarding in all senses. This academic course I am having the opportunity to work with new local teachers and the pleasure of, not only co-teach, but also mentor three of them. They all come from the English subject and none of them had taught Global Perspectives and Project Work before. It is astonishing to see that after a month and a half they all have adapted to the subject due to their openness of mind, professionalism and good will towards the challenge of learning how to teach a new subject that is completely different to theirs.

As an experimental platform at the national level in the field of secondary education, Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools are in a constant process of improving and growing. Thus, in connection with the beginning of the 2014-2015 academic year the number of children enrolled in the Intellectual Schools has increased. So did the number of teachers to ensure the quality of the educational process. In Nazarbayev Intellectual school of Physics and Mathematics of Shymkent in connection with the start of the new school year, an active process of adaptation of newly hired teachers has begun. In order to ensure an effective and fast orientation a program is designed, according to which numerous activities for the new teachers are plan ... Read more »