Director of Design Thinking/Technology Teacher

Job Level
Senior position
Job Category
Director, Teacher / Instructor
Sector
  • Technology
  • Applied Tech (STEAM / Maker / CS / Design)
Job Status
Areas of Responsibility
  • Instructional Technology
  • Innovation / Design

The Independent Day School is a unique place and seeks someone with equally unique skills: someone who can lead our Design Thinking effort with both students and adults; someone who is creative and can implement existing curriculum to make it come to life in new and innovative ways; someone who is passionate about the process of Design Thinking and can help us continue to be a thought-leader both within and outside of our community.

This is a full-time position, and, while having explicit teaching responsibilities in the Middle School, this teacher is a member of our entire school community who facilitates Design Thinking that permeates all areas of our school and all ages of our students. 

Ideally, the candidate will also have a working knowledge of current technology trends, practices and standards.  Potentially, this individual will be able to teach some programming courses and interdisciplinary project-based courses. Knowledge of Processing, HTML, CSS, Java, Scratch, Garageband, iAdobe Suite, iMovie and is preferred.

General Responsibilities:

  • Collaborate with colleagues in all three divisions (Early Childhood, Lower and Middle School, ages 3 – Grade 8) to design, structure and implement design-thinking initiatives.
  • Work with grade-level teaching teams to design projects-based learning units that highlight the process of design thinking.
  • Instruct and develop the 6th-8th grade curriculum for Maker Lab classes as well as a variety of Enrichment classes offered after school.
  • Communicate and demonstrate the value of Design Thinking within the educational process to the parent body and the general outside community.
  • Collaborate with our Tech Director and Lower School Tech Coordinator in both a support and team member capacity.
  • Integrate 21st century technology skills into design thinking projects (3D Printing, Coding, etc.)
  • Supporte the use of technology to enhance the middle school curricula, either by teaching specific technology classes or lending technology support for certain projects.

Personal Qualifications:

  • Helps cultivate a sense of resilience and hard work as students work through the design thinking process.
  • Understands the value of hands-on, collaborative work and builds teams through empathy, passion and respect.
  • Has the ability to help guide students from their initial idea to completion, while leaving focus of control in the students’ hands.
  • Engenders enthusiasm and skill at helping students build their engineering skills over time.
  • Is technology savvy.
  • Displays experience and confidence teaching the use of a variety of machinery and hand tools.
  • Manages and maintains the school’s well-stocked Design Lab.

Qualifications include:

  • Advanced degree preferred
  • Demonstrated success working with elementary and/or middle school-aged students.
  • Experience working in an innovation-oriented setting/non-profit setting strongly preferred
  • Flexibility to be present at specifically scheduled weekend and evening events
  • Experience in teaching design thinking/strategic design and management, and project based learning
  • A sense of humor and love of students
  • Hard-working, organized and reliable with a focus on safety

To apply:

Please email a cover letter, resume and contact information of three references.