Virtual Arkansas Instructor of Social Studies

Arch Ford•Plumerville, AR

21h•Remote

About The Position

Virtual Arkansas’s (VA) mission is to equip, engage, and empower students through unique digital opportunities. As Arkansas’s fully accredited state virtual program, we partner with local schools to provide course opportunities that might not otherwise be available with local resources. Virtual Arkansas is not an online school or a diploma-granting institution, but serves as a resource for supplementing the education of local students. Virtual Arkansas’s program is implemented through a partnership between the Arkansas Department of Education and the Arkansas Education Service Cooperatives. Virtual Arkansas offers a variety of instructional services, and teachers may be assigned to different services based on organizational needs. These assigned areas include: Content + Teacher Supplemental, Dedicated/Emergency Use, Division of Youth Services, Alternative Learning Environment, and/or the Learn Anywhere Academy. Additionally, teachers are not able to make course requests but are instead assigned within their licensure area by organizational need. Virtual Arkansas maintains a comprehensive catalog of courses that were created to fully align to the Arkansas Curriculum Standards or other learning outcomes defined by credit-granting entities, such as Advanced Placement or Institutions of Higher Education offering concurrent course offerings in partnership with Virtual Arkansas. Because of the unique nature of our organization, Virtual Arkansas online teachers also serve as subject matter experts who engage in ongoing curriculum and assessment design tasks aimed at assuring the quality of Virtual Arkansas online courses and the alignment of content, assessments, and instructional practice. Expectations for Virtual Arkansas Teachers: Adopted in 2023, the Virtual Arkansas Online teacher is evaluated using a unique evaluation instrument, A Crosswalk of the NSQ Teaching Standards and the Danielson Framework. This crosswalk instrument was designed to better articulate the responsibilities of online instructors and to be used by evaluators for providing better support to teachers assigned in a variety of learning environments, including online, hybrid, and blended. While the majority of the standards and their components presented in the Crosswalk reflect traditional teacher responsibilities related to instruction, grading, communication, and professional practice, Standard H specifies expectations that are specific to online teachers and describes their unique responsibilities related to curriculum development and the curation of research-based instructional materials, tools, and strategies found to be effective in an online learning environment. Standard H: The online teacher curates and creates instructional materials, tools, strategies, and resources to engage all learners and to ensure achievement of academic goals. H1 The online teacher designs learning experiences that use technology to efficiently engage learners. H2 The online teacher uses a formative approach to lesson design. H3 The online teacher incorporates diverse media into online learning modules. H4 The online teacher is able to incorporate subject-specific and developmentally-appropriate digital learning resources into online learning modules. H5 The online teacher continuously reviews and aligns all course content with applicable course objectives and standards. H6 The online teacher creates, selects, and organizes appropriate assignments and assessments to align curricular content with associated standards-based learning goals. Virtual Arkansas Instructor Job Summary: Virtual Arkansas is seeking applications from Arkansas certified Social Studies instructors for the Core campus. The position could be assigned to any of the Arkansas 7-12th grade Social Studies Courses. Virtual Arkansas online teachers are responsible for following the established curriculum and for providing instruction to students in a virtual learning environment. The teacher leverages the capabilities of the digital tools, the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS), the Student Information System (SIS), and the course itself to effectively deliver lessons, assess student progress and learning, provide personalized feedback, and identify and intervene with students who are demonstrating difficulty in mastering the standards, learning objectives, and goals of the course. The Virtual Arkansas teacher must be adept at engaging students remotely while fostering a positive learning environment and adapting to the unique challenges of digital education. Virtual Arkansas teacher duties and responsibilities are described below and fall into three primary categories: Instructional/Traditional, Curriculum, and Assessment.

Requirements

Excellent time management skills with a proven ability to meet deadlines and prioritize tasks
Ability to function well in a high-paced and at times, stressful environment
Excellent verbal and written communication skills
Excellent interpersonal, teamwork, and customer service skills
Proficiency in using digital tools and platforms
Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
Ability to monitor, analyze, and interpret student data to then make informed decisions related to student progress and success
Desire and ability to learn and adapt to new and emerging technologies and teaching strategies
Arkansas licensure in assigned area(s) (7-12 Social Studies)
Teaching license must indicate Science of Reading awareness
Minimum of a B.A. or B.S. required
Employee must earn the 115/4051 licensure code, Online Teaching K-12, within two academic years of being hired, if applicable. Virtual Arkansas will provide the prescribed program of study and will pay the initial exam fee required to meet the DESE licensure requirements.

Responsibilities

Effectively utilize the Virtual Arkansas technology systems, programs, software, and platforms to perform duties and deliver instruction
Plan, prepare, and design live (synchronous) digital lessons and assignments
Learn and utilize effective synchronous and asynchronous student engagement strategies
Monitor and track student attendance to synchronous sessions
Implement intervention and enrichment strategies, based on assessment data and mastery of standards
Utilize effective and efficient student feedback tools and strategies
Monitor student progress and respond appropriately to the needs of the students
Implement effective/efficient communication strategies with students and local digital learning facilitators
Attend and participate in required professional development, department-level collaborative teams, intervention meetings, and other required meetings
Meet at least once weekly with the local facilitator(s) to coordinate upcoming lessons and strategies
Maintain availability for students throughout each school week
Deliver and respond to communications, including emails and messages, in a timely manner
Collaborate with all stakeholders (e.g. students, parents, colleagues, local school facilitators, supervisors, etc.) for the purpose of establishing and maintaining effective professional communication and positive relationships
Implement ELL, IEP, and 504 goals and accommodations into lessons and assessments
Maintain a professional home office
Make occasional site visits to schools to foster relationships with students and school staff
Complete other duties as assigned consistent with online, digital teaching
Monitor the digital curriculum and make recommendations for continuous curricular improvement through the established curriculum change/support process
Assist design team members with the implementation of requested curriculum changes
Make curriculum change recommendations based on standard revisions or misalignments between standards, content, and assessments
Create and enhance online content, including the creation of focus and micro-topic videos
Engage in bi-annual course blueprint maintenance initiatives
Update course syllabi and pacing guides, and complete course alignment matrices
Use various simple tools to create small, fun learning objects to improve the interactive aspect of courses (Learning Objects)
If enrollment numbers do not meet the desired enrollment threshold, engage in more extensive course enhancement projects
Utilize and/or design assessment items that are aligned to the Arkansas Curriculum Standards (or other learning outcomes) that reflect appropriate DOK levels for each course
Align assessment items to learning outcomes
Monitor assessment data and student mastery of standards to inform student learning, instruction, curriculum gaps, and assessment validity