Middle School Design Technology

**Middle School Design Technology / Computer Science**

**CAMPUS**: Johannesburg Campus | **SUPERVISOR**: MS Principal | **START DATE**: 27 July 2025 |
**POSTING DATE**12 February 2025 | **CLOSING DATE**: 30 April 2025

**Inspire Learning to Build Our Better World.** At the American International School of Johannesburg (AISJ), we are committed to providing an exceptional education that empowers global citizens to fulfill their future purpose. Our vision is to inspire learning to build a better world. We seek a dedicated and passionate professional who aligns with our commitment to excellence and believes in the transformative power of education. Every team member is crucial in creating a supportive and nurturing learning environment. At AISJ, we value every employee as a learner and expect them to embody and support the AISJ Portrait of Learner (**_Resilience_**_, _**_Mindful_**_, _**_Thinker_**_, _**_Globally Connected_**_, _**_Curious_**_, _**_Contributor_**) through their work. We are dedicated to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion within our school community.
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**Position Overview**

This position is a full-time assignment teaching Design Technology / Computer Science. The AISJ Middle School Design Technology program uses the **Common Core Curriculum Standards**. The Middle School operates on an 8-period rotating block schedule, and teachers are assigned to teach 5 of 8 blocks. Each Middle School Teacher is also responsible for an Advisory cohort, which is integral to the Middle School experience.

**Preferred Qualifications**:

- Secondary license or certification for teaching Design Technology and Robotics/Electronics programming
- Bachelor of Science or higher
- Bachelor of Education or higher

**Preferred Experience**:

- Successful experience designing and implementing curriculum using the **Educational Technology Standards**:

- Design Thinking and the Design Process
- Lego Mindstorm / SPIKE Prime / VEX Robotics
- Leading STEM Competitions
- Traditional wood working equipment, Lazer cutters, 3D printers
- Inquiry-Based Learning
- Concept-Based Curriculum Design
- Understanding and experience with MTSS
- CASEL - SEL Framework
- Assessment Design
- Adaptive Schools
- Integration of **ISTE Technology Standards**:

- First aid / CPR training
- Coaching, service learning, and club facilitation

**Teacher Competencies**

**Planning for Learning**
- **Curriculum Design**: Creates personalized, challenging learning sequences that build on prior knowledge while ensuring knowledge transfer and regular reflection opportunities.
- **Collaborative Planning**: Partners across disciplines and specialties to create cohesive learning experiences that connect global contexts while anticipating student needs.
- **Inquiry-Based Learning**:Designs flexible conceptual units that honor student choice, pace, and multiple pathways to demonstrate understanding.

**Maximizing Teacher Efficacy**
- **Student Agency & Critical Thinking** Creates self-directed learners who think critically, set goals, and drive their own learning journey.
- **Research-Based Instructional Excellence** Implements proven teaching strategies that adapt to individual student needs through continuous assessment and adjustment.
- **Collaborative Leadership** Builds a learning community where students develop leadership skills through structured collaboration and personalized engagement.

**Reflecting as Practitioners**
- **Student Agency**: Builds student capacity for self-assessment through modeling, tools, and targeted feedback that drives individual growth.
- **Data-Informed Practice**: Analyzes student achievement data to align curriculum, refine teaching strategies, and measure instructional effectiveness.
- **Professional Growth**: Engages in collaborative reflection and data analysis with colleagues to continuously improve teaching practices and student outcomes.

**Promoting Relationships, Community, & Culture**
- **Builds strong community-school partnerships** and actively participates in community initiatives to enrich the learning environment.
- **Adapts teaching practices** by staying informed of educational and societal changes while understanding each learner's unique cultural background, learning style, and needs.
- **Creates an inclusive learning environment** that embraces diversity, challenges stereotypes, and connects learning to students' real-world experiences and cultural contexts.
- **Fosters a growth mindset** by encouraging calculated risk-taking and developing students' autonomy, personal responsibility, and ownership of learning.

**All community members are expected to be committed to the AISJ Community Principles.**
- We are better when we act together.
- Our differences make us stronger.
- Every voice counts. Every voice matters.
- Every team needs individuals. Every individual needs a team.

**Work Hours**:Monday through Friday - 188 (one hundred and eighty-eight) days