Recently The Learning Curve has worked with students and teacher-leaders at the following schools:
Parent Testimonials
“I chose Thea to manage my son’s school placement because she was recommended by my son's current teacher. She is very experienced with HK international school system and selected three suitable IB schools for my son in no time. She was always responsive to any questions I had, kept me informed, understood what I was trying to do, and let me know what the next step was. My son was accepted by all three schools. I am so appreciative of her efforts and professional competence.”
Ashley Poon, parent of Island School student
“As a parent, it took no time at all for me to gain confidence in this highly intelligent thinker. You know your child will be appropriately challenged regardless of ability level. For those already high achievers, get ready to be inspired by Thea and raise yourselves to an even higher level. Yes, it’s possible!
Fred Chann, Parent of ISF Academy student
“Thea has worked with two of my children on TOK, the EE and the university application process, and is currently working with my third. Because of her guidance, many of the students in my child’s year including my son, were granted interviews and offers at Oxford and Cambridge. In my observations of her, she has always demonstrated exceptional teaching skills regardless of the diversity of learning levels of each student. I have been impressed by her dedication to her pupils and her high-quality teaching skills. I am confident that Thea will continue to be a positive influence on many more students to come.”
Gloria Wu, Parents of ISF Academy, UCLA and Dartmouth College students
Student Testimonials
“Thea’s rigorous teaching transcends across a wide range of subjects: from TOK to EE and universityapplications, she is always precise and pushes her students to the very best of their ability. In particular, the teaching and support she gave me on my TOK Essay was invaluable. She pushed me to select the most relevant and clear real world examples, provided ample constructive criticism of the arguments I made, which was the reason I received an “A” for my TOK Essay. I highly recommend Thea to anyone who is looking to achieve the best of their ability, and then some more.”
Matthew, University of Oxford student
“In preparing for my TOK presentation I knew I wanted to focus on my passion for theatre and the arts. I wanted to use the global hit musical ‘Hamilton’ as my real-life situation but needed guidance on how to formulate a knowledge question that would be focussed on knowledge but still allow me to inquire into the elements of the musical that resonated with me most. In setting high expectations and then helping me to meet them, I would attest in retrospect that I would not have survived the DP without Thea’s expertise and encouragement, nor would I have achieved 3 Core points.”
Chin Ho, NYU Tisch School of the Arts student
“Thea’s continuous patience, unwavering commitment and wealth of experience helped me achieve top scores in TOK and enabled me to obtain all three IB core points. TOK classes with Ms Bleyberg have inspired me to take electives in philosophy at higher education, alongside my major in environmental studies and economics at UPenn next fall.”
Sabrina, Wharton School student
“Thea has an acute understanding of what an examiner looks for, which was particularly helpful as she encouraged and guided my exploration of an unconventional topic for my EE in English Literature and in TOK, in which I received the maximum possible grade of an “A”. She is sensitive to the individual needs of students, providing one-on-one counselling during which she gave constructive comments to assist me. Overall, it was an honor to have been taught by Thea, as she made TOK and EE the most enjoyable part of my IB journey and an incredibly enriching learning experience for me.”
Cynthia, Brown University student
“In our many sessions working through essay drafts, I most appreciated Thea’s ability to quickly identify and express clearly what in my writing was good and what needed to be rethought or changed. While never babying me through the process, Thea gave me the necessary pushes and guidance that allowed me to work towards the higher standards that I knew I was capable of achieving if I produced my best. Whilst the work was all my own, Thea’s help in giving my essay a new structure and direction allowed me to improve it in ways that helped me achieve the best of my potential. As a result I achieved an “A “in the Extended Essay.”
Sean, UCLA graduate
“I received great support from Thea in completing my World Studies Extended Essay in Economics and Geography. Not only did she give me useful advice on the general structure of the essay, but she also helped me narrow down the scope of my research area to make it more focused. In the beginning, Thea encouraged me to brainstorm potential topics that could provide an opportunity for interdisciplinary research. Later on, she advised me on the different research methods (such as quantitative and qualitative research) and sources that I could use in answering my research question. The research sources that Thea recommended helped me gather research data more easily. Her consistent support made this process much smoother.”
Joy, University of Oxford graduate
“From providing detailed feedback on my personal statement to arranging multiple mock interviews, Thea gave me a lot of tailored support in my university application process. From an early stage, Thea talked me through the general process of UK university applications, and the additional requirements of Cambridge University. Later on, Thea and I spent a lot of time going through my personal statement. From the very generic first draft to the concise and polished final draft, my personal statement went through a complete "upgrade" as I incorporated Thea’s advice. Even after attending my interviews at Cambridge, Thea followed up with me on my experience. In the end, I was very delighted to find out that Cambridge offered me a place to study Economics in the coming year.”
Mary, University of Cambridge student
“Thea expertly guided me through the UCAS application process including writing the personal statement. Despite gaining offers to top universities, as the exams drew closer, I was paralysed by procrastination on the final drafts of key assessments and exam revision. Thea took it upon herself to mentor me in the final months before and during my exams to ensure that I had a study schedule and was staying on track with my deadlines and revision. It is a credit to Thea that I made it through the exam period and met my conditional offer to study at my first-choice university in the UK. I could not be more grateful for everything she’s done for me.”
Liane, University of Bath graduate
School Testimonials
“Thank you so much for sharing your expertise on the delivery of TOK and integrating TOK across the curriculum. Your suggestions are practical, relatively easy to implement and are almost certain to result in better student outcomes. Your experience in this core component of the DP and your willingness to continue to act as a sounding board in our planning and implementation of new policies and practices around TOK is invaluable in giving us confidence that we are on the right track to making substantive improvements.”
María Regina Velázquez Graue, DP Coordinator at John F. Kennedy - The American School of Querétaro, México
"The American School of Queretaro was fortunate to have recently consulted with Extended Essay expert, Thea Bleyberg. As an IB Core Team, we had given our questions to Thea ahead of time, and she diligently provided answers to each of them. For our school, it was a revelation as she gave us insight as to how and what we should be doing in certain situations. She was clear, thorough, and precise in her answers. Our school can now go confidently in the direction we need to go in because of Thea's services; we also hope to be able to bring her to Mexico next academic year to lead EE supervisor training for our faculty."
Dr. Angie Broeckel, Vice-Principal at John. F. Kennedy - The American School of Queretaro
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