His teaching interests center on growth mindset, intrinsic/extrinsic motivation, curriculum development and design, and learner assessment in the classroom. He believes the classroom is a place where students should be encouraged to be risk-takers, develop strategies that lead to autonomous learning and become empowered in their individual pursuits toward achieving success.
He started his teaching career in schools in Canada and Japan, and spent nearly 20 years in South Korea, where he lectured at Korea University, Masan University and Changwon University. During this time, he contributed to the development of teaching programs and the curriculum for teacher training and English language learners.
Wergin has a B.Ed. in elementary education from the University of Victoria and an M.A. in teaching with a focus on teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) from the School for International Training, a Cambridge University CELTA qualification. Before joining Duke Kunshan, as head of English, he helped guide the academic program at Shanghai United International School. He also taught Pre AP, AP Literature and the AP Capstone program.