Teaching Assistant
Volunteers
Teaching assistant
volunteers on the Andean Bear Project help out in local schools which
are mostly very understaffed. Volunteer teachers might be
teaching English, environmental education, sports or art.
Those with better Spanish language skills can potentially
help to teach other topics as well.
Teaching helps build
relationships
with local communities and where possible we aim to include
environmental topics in lessons, with special emphasis on the plight of
the Andean bears. The children in the local schools will, in the
future, be
the ones sharing their land with the bears and it is vital that they
grow up with an appreciation for them and an understanding of the need
to conserve them. Malnutrition and poor dental health are
common in the area, so teaching basic nutrition and dental hygiene can
also make a big difference to children´s lives here.
Teaching assistants might
be living in
the Bear House with the bear tracking volunteers, or
perhaps on
the school grounds in a self contained flat or with a local family,
depending on the local situation at the time. There are
teaching opportunities in several local primary schools and the one
college in the area.
Volunteers aged 18 or
over who speak basic Spanish can apply to be teaching assistants with
the Andean Bear Project. No teaching experience is necessary.
In this case volunteers will focus on teaching the
children English, primarily through games and arts and crafts.
(Talented artists might like to consider the Mural Artist volunteer opportunities). Generally, teaching assistant volunteers will be supervised
by a
local professional teacher. Volunteers with a little teaching
experience or training may be able to take on more responsibilities in
the classroom.
Qualified and experienced teachers
are especially welcome and will be able to teach more subjects, take
more responsibility and develop lesson plans for local
teachers or less-experienced volunteers to implement in the future.
Volunteer teachers need a good grasp of Spanish, at least
intermediate level, to be able to make the most impact here. Environmental educators
are needed to develop and implement a modular environmental education
curriculum relevant to the situation here. For more
information, contact us at the email address in the Volunteer Teaching
Assistant Information Pack (link below).
For teaching assistant
volunteers we require a minimum four-week commitment, as this
allows you to get to know the children and make a significant teaching
contribution. Teaching placements are available for a
maximum of
12 weeks.
For more information
about
volunteering as a teaching assistant or teacher with the Andean Bear
Conservation Project, download the Volunteer
Teaching Assistant Information Pack
PDF.
Andean
Bear Conservation Project: Teaching Assistant Volunteers
Volunteer opportunities for teaching assistants, qualified
teachers
and environmental educators in Ecuador, teaching environmental
education & other topics
