Job Description:

Position Title: Technology & Engineering Design Teacher – Middle School

Location: Heritage Middle School

Department: Curriculum & Instruction

Reports To: Building-level Principal

Term: 188-renewing contract beginning with the 2024-2025 academic year

Schedule: M-F Full-time following the academic hours of operation

Date of last review: March 2024

SUMMARY: The Technology & Engineering Design Teacher, working in the Career & Technical Education field, creates an engaging, nurturing, and safe learning environment that allows learners to develop their physical, social, and emotional wellbeing; providing instruction in technology-driven fields, future ready skills, knowledge, and dispositions to be compassionate, lifelong-learners, and contributing citizens in a rapidly changing world.

The Technology & Engineering Design Teacher provides learners with skills and practical hands-on STEM experiences which includes career awareness, emerging technologies, design and layout principles, image capture and editing, engineering tools and technology, coding, keyboarding, robotics, energy and power, control systems, architecture, and aerospace. Course content may lead to marketable job skills or post-secondary training in a related career field. The program of studies includes classroom and lab instruction grades with courses in Intro to Technology & Engineering, Design and Modeling, Exploring Technology, Automations and Robotics.

The Technology & Engineering Design Teacher would also operate as the Career & Technical Student Organization (CTSO) Advisor. Technology Student Association (TSA) is a co-curricular CTSO aligned with the Technology & Engineering Education program. CTSOs extend teaching and learning through innovative programs, business and community partnerships and leadership experiences at the school, state and national levels. The Technology & Engineering Education teacher may serve as a TSA CTSO Advisor and\or work with colleagues to implement the leadership program.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:  To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty and requirement satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities required for the role. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: (Other duties may be assigned)

Collaboration:

Develops positive, effective working relationships with learners and staff.

Collaborates with industries in the field seeking program input through and formal advisory committee meetings and classroom activities.

Engages with other district staff in the professional learning community process.

Communication:

Connects and shares ideas through appropriate/applicable formats to express thoughts and ideas with integrity.

Utilizes effective communication skills to facilitate connection and sharing of thoughts and ideas in multiple formats with diverse audiences.

Establishes and clearly articulate procedures and routines that promote efficiency and appropriate use of time.

Clearly communicates the instructional purpose of each lesson and make connections to prior learning.

Engages learners in meaningful direct instruction, guided practice, and independent practice.

Utilizes questions, discussions, and dialogue that promote critical thinking about diverse perspectives, viewpoints, and experiences.

Compassion:

Empowers learners to be critical thinkers, enthusiastic learners, skillful researchers, and ethical users of information.

Understands the complexities of cultural and global issues and how they relate to employee and learners’ experiences.

Partners with others to resolve potential controversy and conflict through respectful discussion.

Proactively seeks to understand the ideas, opinions, and skills of others.

Creativity:

Connects with team members and shares ideas in an effort to improve the overall learner and employee experience.

Utilizes creative, critical thinking skills when faced with challenges.

Design assessments that are aligned to the standards and learning targets, provide frequent opportunities for authentic and meaningful assessments.

Establishes a classroom culture that values high expectations, work ethic, and a growth mindset.

Critical Thinking:

Demonstrates knowledge of content and pedagogy in language arts; explicitly connecting key concepts to develop learner communication skills in speaking and listening, reading, and writing for a variety of purposes.

Reasons, interprets, and analyzes information to generate new knowledge and understanding.

Reflection:

Demonstrates understanding of the diverse social, emotional and developmental learning needs of middle school learners.

Participates in career and technical education professional learning conferences or trainings to maintain credentials and relevant curriculum knowledge related to state standards, work-based learning, and career ready practices.

Maintains communication with supervisor and director regarding general feedback, career advancement opportunities, and areas of growth opportunities.

Resilience:

Maintains composure while dealing with stressful situations.

Proactively seeks out resolutions and takes initiative to resolve knowledge gaps.

Responsibility:

Utilizes district guaranteed and viable curriculum including the scope & sequence of academic and social emotional learning targets along with the defined proficiency scales.

Plans a program of study that meets the individual needs, interests, and abilities of the learners.

Utilizes district behavioral plans as a backbone to promote positive learner behavior.

Fosters a safe and equitable classroom environment.

Utilizes the district protocol for maintaining information on learner progress.

Utilizes knowledge of applicable federal and state laws regarding education and learners.

Creates a classroom environment that is conducive to learning and appropriate to the maturity and interests of the learners.

Guides the learning process toward the achievement of curriculum goals and in harmony with the goals establishes clear objectives for all lessons, units, projects and the like to communicate these objectives to learners.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT: The physical demands and work environment described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the essential duties and responsibilities of this role, the employee is regularly required to reach with hands and arms.

While performing the essential duties and responsibilities of this role, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, bend, talk, and hear.

The position requires the employee to be able to have continuous hand/grip strength.

Continuous manual and finger dexterity is required to perform the duties of this job.

The employee may be required to lift up to ~30 pounds. 

The employee is directly responsible for the safety, well-being, or work output of other people.

The specific vision abilities required for this role include close and peripheral vision – to read handwritten or typed material and the ability to tell differences among colors and good depth perception.

The employee needs to be able to tell where a sound is coming from and hear in a noisy environment.

There is the potential for the employee to be exposed to bloodborne pathogens.

The employee usually works indoors and may work outdoors based on projects.

If outdoors, employee would be exposed to the applicable elements.

The employee must work with the public and various WFPS staff while simultaneously managing several competing demands.

The employee will work in an environment that has a quiet to loud noise level.

Education and/or Experience:

North Dakota Teaching License.

Bachelor’s Degree in one of the following areas: Major/Minor in Technology & Engineering Education. Alternate teacher licensing options are available for this position through the Department of Career & Technical Education. See Technology & Engineering Education for a list of options. Mathematics, science education, agriculture, and business education.

Applicants seeking alternate licensing options are best suited for this position with an employment background or experiences in the following related areas: process thinking, engineering design process, project management, aptitude for science and math applications, awareness and use of technology tools, creativity, 3D design and digital creation, robotics, basic coding, and flexibility with emerging technologies.

Prior teaching experience is preferred.

Prior experience working in a middle school setting preferred.

Language Skills:

Ability to read, write, and comprehend simple instructions and short correspondences in the English language.

Ability to communicate effectively verbally, expressively, and reactively.

Other Skills and Abilities:

Exercise confidentiality, discretion, and good judgement.

Adhere to the assigned work schedule by maintaining regular and punctual attendance.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES: None.

Salary: Position follows the Teacher Salary Schedule 2023-2025