Business Communications Instructor
Just A Start
- Cambridge, MA
- $58.00 per hour
- Permanent
- Part-time
- Course dates: Fall semester 9/9/24-12/20/24; Spring semester 1/6/25-5/16/25
- Location: Hybrid remote/in-person
- Work Hours: Classes meet Monday-Friday 9am-2pm. The Business Communications course will fall within this timeframe, with the exact schedule to be determined based on instructor availability and program needs. Other hours for meetings, prep, tutoring, etc. will be outside of this timeframe and generally flexible.
- Compensation: $58/hour
- Teach four sections of Business Communications (18 students each); each section meets 3-4 hours per week in a combination of in-person and online.
- Maintain appropriate classroom management while utilizing a variety of teaching methods and strategies to meet the needs of diverse adult student learning styles.
- Maintain and document lesson plans and assessment tools (exams, quizzes, project/portfolio assignments, etc.) and submit as required.
- Assess students’ learning outcomes and prepare progress reports for all students.
- Recommend students in need of additional support services and tutoring.
- Collaborate closely with other teachers and Just A Start staff to ensure that students’ professional skills and communication abilities are aligned with the needs of employers.
- Participate in teaching staff and Workforce Development meetings as required.
- Participate in program development and evaluation activities.
- Collaboration: You have collaborated with other teachers across disciplines to establish a shared vision of student success. You are a team player who can adjust your curriculum to align class topics with students’ other course work when appropriate. (Note that familiarity with the IT and biotech industries is not necessary in this position; just an openness to incorporating vocabulary and concepts from those areas into your curriculum.)
- Adaptability: You tailor your curriculum and lesson planning to the particular needs of your students. You use various teaching modalities to help students master content. You creatively use differentiated instruction to keep students at different skill levels engaged and stimulated.
- Cultural awareness and building rapport: You have experience working with underrepresented populations, e.g. immigrants, people of color, and/or individuals with low to moderate income. You recognize systemic barriers related to race, class, gender, income, age, immigration status, and other identities. You understand how cultural values can shape experiences in the classroom and the workforce. You are skilled in making connections with students, other faculty, and staff, and you create a classroom environment where students can support and learn from each other.
- Step 1: Upload your resume and, in lieu of a cover letter*, please upload a 150–250-word statement responding to the following scenario. A maximum of 45 minutes is anticipated to complete this requirement.
- Scenario: You are teaching a lesson on oral presentation skills to a group of students whose fluency with English ranges from native speakers to recent immigrants with intermediate conversational skill. Briefly describe 2-3 classroom strategies you could employ to keep students at these various levels engaged and actively participating throughout the lesson.
- Step 2: Interview with the hiring manager (45-60 minutes, by phone)
- Step 3: Brief teaching demonstration and interview with Workforce Development staff (60 minutes, in-person) **
- 15-minute teaching demonstration on a communications topic (detailed instructions provided to candidates who reach this stage)
- In the interview, we’ll ask about the choices you made in your demonstration and your experience related to the role. We will leave time for you to ask questions as well.
- Step 4: Reference check
- Step 5: Background check via Checkr
- Please note that a cover letter is not required, though candidates may include one if they choose. A response to the above writing prompt is required for a complete application.
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in English, Education, or related field
- ESL certification preferred but not required
- Strong understanding of ESL teaching methodologies and best practices
- We expect that qualified candidates will have at least three years’ experience teaching adults, as well as a minimum of three years teaching ESL or communications to any age group. However, we encourage you to apply if you have developed the “Keys to Success” listed above in other ways. We especially encourage women, GLBTQIA+, BIPOC, or those with disabilities to consider how they may have developed the skills needed for success in ways other than direct years of experience.
- Trusting students as the experts in their own lives and supporting students in their version of success
- Each program participant is creative, resourceful, and whole
- Using a wraparound model of support
- Meeting students where they are at in their lives and academically
- Quality-focused- We develop and continuously adapt our programming, policies and practices using stakeholder input to align with industry needs and standards.
- Using economic mobility metrics to set ambitious program outcomes
- Industry-aligned curricula
- Creating and using internal and external feedback loops
- Using data from program participants, industry and community partners to guide program design
- Relationship-builders- We are committed to fostering meaningful impactful and reciprocal relationships with students, partners, and each other.
- Collaborating towards a shared vision of success
- Cultivating industry and community relationships that align with our values
- Recognizing and elevating the unique contributions of each individual
- Using generous assumptions to cultivate trust and connection
- Learning Community- We view continuous improvement as an essential component of our program model and success.
- Embracing discomfort and giving/receiving feedback to identify areas of growth in advancing our goals
- Cultivating a growth mindset to learn new skills and think about things from a different perspective for our program participants and ourselves
- Advancing team knowledge and skills through trainings, resources, and conversations to sustain best practices