Social Sciences teaching opportunity in Lashio, Myanmar

Social Sciences teaching opportunity in Lashio, Myanmar

Looking for a rewarding and unique career development opportunity that welcomes and shares your skills while adding tangible value to local communities?

We are currently accepting applications for Social Sciences teaching volunteers at the DevelopEd Education Centre in Lashio, Myanmar.

• Expected Start Date: Monday, 1st of February 2016.
• Length of Contract: Minimum teaching commitment of 10 weeks. We welcome extensions of contract for interested and suitable applicants. Our preferred commitment is a 20 or 30-week period with a DevelopEd stipend for the terms worked after the initial 10-weeks.
• Position: Volunteer Social Sciences Teacher.

If you enjoy having a laugh and thrive on imparting your knowledge and love of learning to students aged 18-30 years, then we’d love it if you could bring your good humour and teaching skills to the DevelopEd classroom.

A bit about DevelopEd:

Our guiding vision is to promote community development via quality education. Working closely with local community members, we design and provide quality adult education courses, and facilitate student-led community projects. Our education centre is currently in Lashio, a small yet bustling town in Northern Shan State, Myanmar. Our passion is working side-by-side with rural communities to assist in promoting community development at the grass-roots level.

Specifically, our Lashio project provides (1) English language education, (2) Social Science education, and (3) practical community development projects with local Lashio and rural youth. All of our activities are designed to be context-relevant, sustainable and directed by the target communities.

Why do we do this? Because local community members here in Lashio have expressed a strong interest in learning the English language and Social Sciences. One of the virtues of such education is that by improving our skills we increase our opportunities, and DevelopEd is all about creating new opportunities for our students and their communities.

We are currently implementing plans for growth and expansion. To ensure this growth is a success for DevelopEd and all of our local stakeholders, we are seeking staff who are passionate about education, community, and development, and who aspire to be leading professionals in their field. DevelopEd is proud to provide training as appropriate.

About this role:

This is a front-line teaching role in a unique environment. Myanmar is a developing country, and our school is located in a rural trading town that has diverse ethnolinguistic demographics. You will be responsible for motivating students, teaching core curricula in professional and innovative ways, and creating a learning space that strives for excellence.

Teachers report to the Head Teacher.

• Class sizes are between 10 and 16 students (maximum).
• Textbooks (both physical and digital) are available and provided for use in class.
• Your own creativity and energy would be a wonderful addition to the texts.
• Great opportunity for an in-depth and immersive experience with Myanmar youth and community.
• A motorbike is available for your use (at your own risk. Please check with your insurance provider if you are able to ride a motorbike in-country).All teachers report to the Head Teacher.

Responsibilities:

Programme and Curriculum Delivery

• Hold and manage a minimum of five 2-hour classes per week (one class per day, Monday to Friday)
• Review programme outcomes and curricula objectives.
• Prepare and record lesson plans that target curricula objectives.
• Create innovative ways in which to deliver the target curricula to ensure that student outcomes are achieved.
• Provide periodical term reports regarding individual student and class progress.

Staff Collaboration

• Work with fellow teachers when possible in order to foster a team environment for both staff and students.
• Share experience and assist fellow teachers regarding classroom performance.
• Attend regular staff meetings (off-site and yes, they usually include the world's best pork buns. We also know where to find the best Shan noodles. Or club sandwiches if you're that way inclined. In any case, there'salwayseating involved.).
• Undergo relevant training sessions where appropriate.

Classroom Management

• Nurture a classroom environment that reflects DevelopEd’s core values of integrity, collaboration, and excellence.
• Foster study skills in addition to English language skills, including out-of-class conversations with students who board at the DevelopEd house.
• Engage with programme curricula and material with a view to achieving relevant programme and curricula objectives.
• Provide feedback and develop the programme curricula to continuously improve professional standards and service delivery.
• Conduct regular and comprehensive student assessments.
• Examine and record student assessment results in a professional and timely manner.

Qualifications and Experience required:

• A university degree.
• 1-4 years of teaching experience.
• Proficiency in the use of the Microsoft Office suite, namely Word, Outlook, Excel (simple accounting, databases, and spreadsheets).
• Strong English language skills. Burmese language skills will also be an advantage.

Preferred Skills and Experience:

• Previous experience teaching or ability to teach Social Science topics will be a significant advantage. Topics include (1) Introduction to Social Science, (2) Business Studies, (3) Citizenship, (4) Politics, (5) Environment, (6) Gender Studies, and (7) Critical Thinking.
• Collaboration with community organisations.
• Work or volunteer experience in Myanmar or the Southeast Asia region.
• Enthusiasm and adaptability are the key attributes we are looking for in any teaching volunteer. If you think that you have the right character and attitude, we’d love to have a chat with you.

Suitably qualified and experienced Myanmar nationals are encouraged to apply for this position.

HOW TO APPLY:

To apply for this position, please email a brief cover letter addressing how you meet the role criteria together with your current CV to our DevelopEd team:

• Mark Brown (Programmes Director): mark@developed.org.au
• Chris Nguyen (Operations Director): chris@developed.org.au
• Subject: Application for Volunteer Social Sciences Teacher | DevelopEd (Lashio).

Please note:
The DevelopEd team will not be available to respond to any queries until after Wednesday, 11th of November. Also, for this position, we regret that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Thanks in advance for your interest in working with DevelopEd and for your patience.