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Teacher of Physics and Science

Teacher of Physics and Science

UWC South East Asia

Singapore

Job type:
Full Time, Permanent
Apply by:
18 February 2019

Job overview

The Post

UWCSEA has a vacancy for August 2019 at its Dover Campus for a Teacher of High School Physics and Science. The appointee will teach IB Diploma Physics and IGCSE Coordinated Science.

The Science Department is composed of enthusiastic and dynamic teachers who work in a very well-resourced environment for learning. Teaching takes place in dedicated Science classrooms that are part of a large, vibrant languages faculty at UWCSEA.

The Context

UWCSEA welcomes applications from all qualified candidates. We are committed to safeguarding our students and protecting them from harm. In keeping with the expectation that all staff and volunteers share this commitment, those applying for a position at the College must be willing to undergo employment background checks and screening appropriate to the post.

If you have a strong sense of adventure and an exceptional level of commitment to teaching and learning, UWCSEA might be the perfect next step for you. Here are some reasons why:

  • Learn with and from leaders in international education. We provide a professional learning programme that brings international experts to the school and ensures our teachers learn and grow as practitioners and leaders in their time with us
  • Work with exceptional students. Our students are a remarkable community of young people with diverse backgrounds and experiences who are united in a common purpose. In addition, as a non-profit organisation, we invest a percentage of income into scholarships for approximately 100 students each year. These scholars come from a wide variety of cultural and socio-economic backgrounds.
  • Immerse yourself in a holistic education. Our academic results are outstanding, but our focus on holistic education means teachers are involved in all aspects of the programme. At UWCSEA you can take students trekking in the Himalayas or kayaking in Thailand, building houses in Cambodia or skiing in Switzerland. Equally, you can support them in making real connections with the local community, working with children with multiple disabilities or teaching life skills to domestic workers who have been the victims of violence. All our students and teachers, from Kindergarten 1 to Grade 12 are involved in our activities, outdoor education and service programmes.
  • Commit to a mission that guides everything we do. UWCSEA is a member of the UWC Movement, whose mission is to make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future. At UWCSEA, all our students from K1 to Grade 12 are developing the ethical dispositions that will empower them to embrace challenge and take responsibility for shaping a better world.

Person specification

  • A good degree in Physics or a closely related discipline and a recognized teaching qualification or certification are expected.
  • Teachers should be willing and eager to participate in the five key elements of a UWCSEA education: Academics; Activities; Outdoor Education; Personal and Social Education and Service
  • Academic expectations include enthusiastic participation in Professional Learning
  • Pastoral expectations include the leadership of a tutor group, unless the teacher is exempted due to other responsibilities.
  • On average the College expects a yearly contribution of two sessions per week in each season to Activities and/or Service.
  • The College expects that teachers will participate enthusiastically in the curricular Outdoor Education experiences which are relevant to their students and will also occasionally volunteer for holiday Outdoor Education trips.
  • A commitment to diversity and inclusion is essential alongside a willingness to adapt and develop pedagogy to meet the needs of our learners

Main Responsibilities

  • Teachers should be willing to contribute positively to the collaborative culture of the Science and broader High School teams.
  • Teachers should construct learning experiences that challenge students, support the diversity of learners in each classroom and demonstrate a strong commitment to concept-based teaching and learning.
  • Teachers should ensure assessments support ongoing learning and provide timely, relevant and appropriate feedback to students on formative and summative assessments.
  • Teachers should demonstrate effective classroom management that shows an understanding of the academic, social and emotional dimensions of learning.
  • Teachers should keep parents informed about the learning of their children, and be proactive in communication with parents.

About UWC South East Asia

About UWC South East Asia

The pursuit of the UWC Mission to unite people nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future is at the heart of the College. As the largest of the 18 UWC Schools and Colleges worldwide, UWCSEA in Singapore has over 5,600 day and boarding students enrolled across two campuses, aged 4 to 18 years. Our concept-based K-12 curriculum leads to the IB Diploma in the final two years of schooling.

The College’s vision is to be a leader in international education, with a worldwide reputation for providing a challenging, holistic values-based education with an emphasis upon academic achievement, service to others, teamwork and leadership.

In the pursuit of this vision, UWCSEA provides teachers with a dynamic and challenging a professional life based upon our values. Our staff are innovative, experienced and deeply committed to student learning. The learning at UWCSEA extends throughout the College community as our staff are active and collaborative learners themselves.

UWCSEA guiding statements

We are a mission-driven organisation with a strong commitment to the educational principles of Kurt Hahn, our founder, and a passionate belief in the importance of education as a force for good in the world.

We believe that learning is a life-long process in which learners engage with and reflect upon information and experiences to construct new or modify existing understanding as well as develop and apply skills and qualities.

This definition of learning and our learning principles guide our educational practice across all five elements of the UWCSEA learning programme. Our commitment to a holistic education results in the provision of an extensive range of experiential and service-based programmes across five elements of this learning programmes: academics, activities, outdoor education, personal and social education and service.

UWCSEA's learning programme and curriculum

Our UWCSEA learning programme is based around five interlinking elements. The rigorous academics, combined with a unique outdoor education programme, extensive activities and meaningful service, are underpinned by a supportive pastoral care programme. Students participate in all five elements of the programme throughout their time at the College, and the elements will have varying importance at different times in their journey through UWCSEA.

The learning programme delivers UWCSEA's unique, concept-based curriculum which has been articulated for each element of the learning programme across K-12. This means that from K1 to Grade 12, each curriculum area (or subject) has standards, which identify key concepts that underpin that curriculum area. These standards are applied at all grade levels and build naturally in complexity through the Infant, Junior, Middle and High Schools, culminating in the IB Diploma in Grades 11 and 12.

In turn, each standard has conceptual understandings that describe what a student should understand as a result of studying a particular content area. They are statements of understanding that are appropriate to a student’s developmental stage, and build towards the standard.

Benchmarks are then attached to each conceptual understanding. The benchmarks describe what a student should know, understand or be able to do at each stage of their learning in each subject. These benchmarks are what our teachers assess to ensure that students are reaching the conceptual understanding and are working towards the standards.

In the High School, the standards, conceptual understandings and benchmarks specifically take into account the requirements of external examining bodies that set the (I)GCSE and IB Diploma examinations that students sit at the end of Grade 10 and Grade 12.

Educating for a better world

The academic curriculum aims to develop the specific conceptual understandings necessary to build Peace and a Sustainable Future. These are derived from UNESCO’s Education for Sustainable Development Goals for and through a collaboration with our educational partners the Ellen Macarthur Foundation. Along with the skills and qualities of our Learner Profile many of these concepts are reinforced through linkages to the other four elements of our Leaning Programme. You can find out more here.

Results

UWCSEA has outstanding IB Diploma results. In May 2019, our cohort of 561 students achieved an average IB Diploma score of 36.6—the worldwide average was 29.8 (May 2018). Each year a number of our students are admitted to highly selective universities in the US, the UK and many other countries. For further information please see the results section of our website.

Staff and structure

Each campus has its own Campus Leadership team and academic and administrative staff to support the delivery of UWCSEA’s world-class education. Each campus is divided into Schools (Primary, Middle and High). Each School is managed by a Principal, assisted by Vice Principals and Heads of Grade or Department.

The College President oversees the work of both campuses in partnership with the senior leadership team, the learning leadership team and their teams of senior managers on each campus. The campuses have the same Board of Governors.

The Dover Campus has 3,000 day and boarding students (K-12) and employs 300 teaching and 200 support staff. The East Campus has 2,550 day and boarding students (K-12) and  employs 240 teaching staff and 160 support staff.

The boarding houses on both campuses are supported by live-in teaching staff and offer a unique opportunity for a city-based residential boarding programme to students aged 14-18 years - 190 students on Dover and 160 students on East.

Our expectations

We welcome applications from educators who share our vision and values, and are willing to contribute to UWCSEA's unique learning community and to the UWC mission.

Teachers are expected to contribute wholeheartedly to the provision of all elements of this programme both inside and outside the formal academic curriculum. All teachers run activities or service projects in addition to their teaching, which can include supporting the College's range of sporting, dramatic and musical performances, as well as providing support for the extensive expeditions programme.

Safeguarding children

UWCSEA is committed to safeguarding our students and protecting them from harm. In keeping with the expectation that all staff and volunteers share this commitment, those applying for a position at the College must be willing to undergo employment background checks and screening appropriate to the post.

Professional life and development opportunities

UWCSEA aims to provide an exceptional professional experience to its teachers and to be an Employer of Choice. The UWCSEA benefits package includes a competitive salary, contribution towards housing, medical insurance, a service gratuity (set at 20 percent of gross salary at the end of each year), recruitment and repatriation flights and biennial leave passages.

We offer a wide range of professional development opportunities. Teachers are expected to commit to three professional development days scheduled each year, and are provided many additional opportunities for professional learning through our the extensive Professional Development Programme.

We have a highly experienced teaching faculty who provide excellent opportunities for peer-to-peer learning. Among the full-time teaching staff, we have large numbers of IB PYP Trainers, IB MYP workshop leaders, IB DP workshop leaders and IB DP Examiners or Moderators, allowing us to run in-house workshops and seminars.

Teachers attend workshops or seminars in the region, and at the College’s Centre for Professional Learning. This in-house Centre allows UWCSEA teachers to attend a range of educational conferences and other events that draw teachers from across the region, providing extensive opportunities for peer learning and networking. In the past, external experts who have visited to provide workshops or seminars on campus include Bambi Betts, Kath Murdoch, Dylan Wiliam, Lyn Sharratt and Sarah White.

Our teachers also regularly act as lecturers, seminar leaders and facilitators at educational conferences and workshops run by organisations such as EARCOS and ECIS.

Engage with us and learn more

UWCSEA Perspectives - the newsroom of UWCSEA

LinkedIn

UWCSEA East Twitter

UWCSEA Dover Twitter

Dover Campus Video

East Campus Video

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Applications closed