IB Diploma Programme
IBDP Economics SL/HL
Teaches IBDP Economics SL/HL.
TEACHER & IBDP ACADEMIC MENTOR
Mr Nguyen
Duc Hieu
Economics, Business Management
and Academic English
Mr Nguyen Duc Hieu, a teacher and Academic Mentor at Times Edu, has taught and guided students on international programmes such as the IB Diploma Programme (IBDP), Cambridge IGCSE, AS & A Level and SAT.
He focuses especially on the subjects Economics, Business Management and Academic English, while also personally mentoring IBDP students through building a study plan, improving exam technique and completing the programme’s key academic components.
Programmes taught & mentoring
IBDP EconomicsIBDP Business ManagementIGCSEAS & A LevelAcademic EnglishSATLNATIBDP Mentoring
TEACHER & IBDP ACADEMIC MENTOR
Guiding students through
IBDP Year 1 & Year 2
4.95/5.0
GPA, placing him among the top-achieving students
8.0
IELTS
7years
Experience in teaching LNAT
Year 1–2
Academic Mentoring in the IB Diploma Programme
SL / HL
IBDP Economics & Business Management
01 · Teaching & mentoring experience
Global teaching,
academic mentoring
Focused on Economics, Business Management and Academic English, while also personally mentoring IBDP students as they build a study plan and improve their exam technique.
IB Diploma Programme
IBDP Business Management SL/HL
Teaches IBDP Business Management SL/HL.
Academic Mentoring
Mentoring students on the IBDP
Experienced in mentoring IBDP students, closely tracking their progress throughout exam preparation.
Internal Assessment
Guidance on Internal Assessment (IA)
Guides IBDP students through the Internal Assessment (IA): choosing an approach, building arguments, analysing data, then writing it up to the assessment criteria.
Learning plan
Building academic study plans
Helps students build an academic study plan, identifying strengths, weaknesses and study priorities for each stage of the IBDP.
Academic Writing
Essay Writing, Analysis & Evaluation
Guides students in Essay Writing, Application, Analysis and Evaluation — the key skills needed to score highly in Economics and Business Management.
Cambridge AS & A Level
Economics 9708 & Business 9609
Teaches Cambridge AS & A Level Economics (9708) and Business (9609).
Cambridge IGCSE
Economics & Business Studies
Teaches IGCSE Economics (0455/0987) and Business Studies (0450/0986).
Academic English
English as a First Language & English Language
Teaches English as a First Language (0500) and English Language (9093).
SAT preparation
Supporting students aiming for top scores
Helps students prepare for the SAT, especially those aiming for top scores.
Curriculum design
Lessons, assessment & plans
Experienced in designing courses, lesson plans, assessments and learning pathways for international-programme students.
LNAT · 7 years
Teaching LNAT
Has 7 years’ experience teaching LNAT.
02 · Mentoring IBDP students
Academic Mentoring
from Year 1 to Year 2
With IBDP students, Mr Hieu does not just focus on each individual lesson, but takes a long-term Academic Mentoring approach.
Throughout mentoring, he and the student assess current ability, build a learning plan, track progress and develop the ability to learn independently.
The goal of mentoring
Understand the IBDP’s demands, learn to organise their own study and keep results steady throughout.
In mentoring, he works with students to
Assess current ability and pin down the gap to the target grade.
Build a study pathway for each stage of IBDP Year 1 and Year 2.
Track syllabus progress and key assessments.
Analyse recurring mistakes in their work and plan how to fix them.
Develop academic essay writing skills and critical thinking.
Practise using command terms such as Explain, Analyse, Discuss, Evaluate.
Prepare strategies for Paper 1, Paper 2 and the other assessment formats of each subject.
Manage Internal Assessment progress and academic deadlines.
Develop the ability to learn independently rather than relying entirely on the teacher.
Beyond short-term grades
Mentoring aims not just to improve short-term grades but to help students understand what the IBDP requires, organise their own study and keep their results steady throughout.
03 · Teaching approach
Five principles
in his lessons
Teaching focus
Know what the exam asks, link knowledge to real cases and build sound judgement.
01
Learn from exam demands
Rather than just going chapter by chapter, students first learn how examiners assess their work.
Command terms such as Explain, Analyse, Discuss and Evaluate each demand a completely different approach. Students need to know exactly what each asks before building an answer.
02
Focus on Application – Analysis – Evaluation
In Economics and Business Management, remembering content is only the first step.
He focuses on helping students develop along the chain Knowledge → Application → Analysis → Evaluation, turning knowledge into a quality answer that meets the assessment criteria.
03
Link knowledge to real-world situations
Economics and Business concepts are set in the context of real businesses, markets and economic issues.
Not just definitions: students must also know:
- When to apply a theory.
- Which data to use.
- Which stakeholders are affected.
- The limits of a decision.
- How to reach a sound judgement.
04
Evaluation needs criteria
A good conclusion is more than simply giving an opinion. Students learn to evaluate against criteria such as:
- Short-term vs long-term.
- Cost.
- Risk.
- Objectives.
- Stakeholder impact.
- Market conditions.
- Scale and context.
This builds well-grounded judgement instead of vague conclusions.
05
Analyse errors, track progress
Recurring errors in their work are logged and sorted into groups:
- Knowledge gap.
- Application.
- Analysis.
- Evaluation.
- Essay structure.
- Exam technique.
- Time management.
These errors are checked again in the following work to make sure students really improve.
04 · Education
University of Agder
& Aalto University
Master’s in Global Development & Planning and Bachelor’s in International Business. GPA 4.95/5.0, among the top-achieving students; awarded the Ilkka Kontula Foundation scholarship.
Master’s Degree · Norway
Global Development & Planning
University of Agder, Norway
MSc in Global Development & Planning
Bachelor’s Degree · Finland
International Business
Aalto University, Finland
BSc in International Business
Certificate
- IELTS 8.0
Scholarship
- Ilkka Kontula Foundation
Academic background
- Hanoi – Amsterdam High School for the Gifted
English-specialist class alumnus
05 · Who it’s for
Which students are a good fit
for Mr Hieu
For students who need better exam technique, a study method that suits them, or an IBDP Academic Mentor alongside them through Year 1 and Year 2.
- Studying IBDP Economics SL/HL.
- Studying IBDP Business Management SL/HL.
- Needs an IBDP Academic Mentor alongside them in Year 1 or Year 2.
- Needs Internal Assessment (IA) help.
- Knows the content but often loses marks on Analysis and Evaluation.
- Needs to improve Academic Writing and essay structure.
- Studying Cambridge IGCSE, AS or A Level Economics/Business.
- Has just moved to an international programme and needs a study method that fits.
- Has a high target grade and needs a systematic learning plan.
06 · Academic direction
Not just the right content,
but independent study
Not just the right content, but knowing how international programmes assess ability.
At Times Edu, Mr Hieu aims to help students not only learn the right content but also understand how international programmes assess ability, building academic thinking, exam technique and long-term independent learning.
Mentoring aims not just to improve short-term grades but to help students understand what the IBDP requires, organise their own study and keep their results steady throughout.
Long-term Academic Mentoring
IBDP Year 1 & Year 2
Book a lesson
Lessons & mentoring
with Mr Hieu
Contact Times Edu to plan lessons and mentoring with Mr Hieu around the student’s programme, current level and goals.
