Arno Dirks

Background

About Arno Dirks

Arno Dirks graduated from the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme in the early 1990s. He went on to study and conduct research in theoretical physics at Imperial College, England; Erlangen University, Germany; and the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics at the University of Toronto, Canada. In 2003 he returned to the IB, this time as a teacher at the Mahindra United World College of India. Since then he has taught Physics, Mathematics and Theory of Knowledge at schools in India, Germany and Canada. As the IB Coordinator he successfully assisted in bringing the IB Diploma Programme to the Dwight International School in Canada in 2009 and as Director of Studies guided Oaktree International School through the curricular demands of the IB authorisation in April 2011. Arno is currently the Deputy Head of College - Academics at Pearson College UWC in Canada. He is an examiner and moderator in Physics and, as a member of the External Review Committee for the development of the Physics curriculum, takes a keen interest in the development of the IB. In 2012 Arno joined the IB Education Network and has since led IB teacher workshops and roundtable discussions in Mathematics and Physics. Between 2012 and 2021 he was an online Mathematics HL teacher and course leader for Physics with Pamoja Education. At Kognity, Arno was the lead author for the digital textbooks of Mathematics HL & SL and Physics. As an avid outdoors person, Arno has introduced numerous students to rock climbing, expedition hiking and snow sports. He acknowledges the importance of "great challenges"-as advocated by Kurt Hahn-as integral to experiential learning. Dedicated to the holistic development of students, he embraces the educational opportunities afforded at schools which value a rich extra-curricular programme. He brings to education a richly varied pedagogical background, as a student, teacher and father, and an authentic appreciation of many cultures: European, Asian-Pacific, North American and African.