Social Justice and Human Rights  – Curriculum Development and Facilitation Opportunity

Overview:

UBC Office of Regional and International Community Engagement (ORICE) is working on developing a non-credit course for youth (highschool demographic) that will explore the topics of social justice and human rights through a systems-thinking lens, and examine how individuals interact with, and are a part of, these systems.  Through a series of experiential and interactive activities, participants will explore their own position and identity in society, and reflect on how these systems influence and reinforce their individual and collective identities and vice versa.  This course will also explore opportunities to disrupt and change the status quo working towards addressing systemic injustice. This course will involve participant discussion, media such as podcasts and videos, guest speakers from around the world and a facilitation team of staff and students from the University of British Columbia.

Student Opportunity:

What do you think are the key components to include in a course when discussing topics of social justice and how can experiential learning activities be integrated within a course on this topic? Students involved with this project will have the opportunity to answer these questions and more!  This ORICE engagement opportunity will provide a team of UBC students with the chance to collaboratively build an online course and design weekly sessions on pressing social justice issues. Examples of course themes and content include but are not limited to: racial injustice, climate justice, LGBTQ2S+, gender equity just to name a few. Youth have a powerful role in moving society towards a more just and sustainable future – as such we are seeking the engagement of UBC students as course designers and facilitators – in addition to providing the course to youth as participants.  Content developed through this engagement opportunity may be used in a future offering of the course in 2021 if it is well received.

Student Expectations:

Over a period of 8 weeks in October and November 2020, a team of 3-4 students will spend 4-6 hours each week to co-design an on-line non-credit course with ORICE. UBC Students will be asked to help develop the course content, and assist with delivery/facilitation. Youth taking the course will be enrolled from all across North America, and the United States primarily. The UBC student team  will be expected to participate in weekly scheduled calls to ensure collaboration and accountability goals are defined and met.  In addition, the UBC student team will participate in learning and reflection sessions to ensure they have the necessary orientation and resources to complete the task, and have the opportunity to make meaning of this experience in relation to your own discipline and interests.

The course will run for 5 consecutive weeks on Wednesday evenings at 4:40 pm beginning, Oct. 14

For UBC students this means:

  • September 28- October 12- UBC team formation, ORICE learning sessions, work – finalizing syllabus and designing lesson/facilitation plans for at least the first two weeks
  • Oct. 14-Nov. 12 ongoing team meetings and ORICE learning/reflective sessions – work – facilitate course with ORICE team, continue developing remaining lesson/facilitation plans; incorporate on-going feedback
  • Nov 15-30 – final course evaluation, incorporate feedback to materials and lesson plans, write final report for future UBC facilitation teams, final debrief and reflective sessions.

Key responsibilities:

  • Course syllabus – student team will assist in refining the syllabus that currently exists
  • Developing lesson plans, researching content for each class, preparing multimedia including ppt and videos.
  • Creating facilitation plans to maximize engagement in the online environment and co-facilitating activities /leading discussions throughout the sessions.
  • Identifying and integrating guest speakers and organizations pertinent to the class
  • Meetings with the UBC team to prep pre-session and debrief post-session
  • Create and manage course feedback throughout the program
  • Maintaining clear and consistent communication with youth participants throughout the course.

Project dates: September 28, 2020 – November 30th, 2020

–  Potential offerings of the class that the UBC team will facilitate is on Wednesdays from 4:30pm-5:45pm (mid Oct-mid Nov).  Applicants should be available for the time block.

Academic integration:

Please note this is a not-for-credit research opportunity. This is a 4 hr/ week unpaid volunteer opportunity with a team.

Ethics of Engagement:

UBC ORICE is committed to embedding anti-oppression and social justice in our daily work and ongoing projects. Students are encouraged and expected to consider how they can apply an anti-oppression and social justice lens when producing and or using the developed content through ORICE, as well as utilize connections between community-based organizations, academics, and government. This might include, but is not limited to, ensuring the incorporation of the ongoing and often unrecognized work of organizations advocating for justice for minorities, particularly during the pandemic; or engaging with the politics of citation in including and citing the work of non-white scholars and other researchers.

Eligibility

  • Open to all UBC undergraduate and graduate students (domestic or international)
  • Have access to a reliable internet connection and computer to collaborate with peers and attend all meetings remotely;
  • Demonstrate ability to think critically and creatively
  • Prior knowledge about or interest in social justice, and human rights concepts.
  • Prior experience or interest in delivering or facilitating workshops

Timeline

  • Deadline: September 20, 2020 @ 11.59pm PST
  • Successful short listed candidates contacted by: September 23rd, 2020
  • Short interviews by: September 24th, 2020
  • Project dates: September 28, 2020 – November 30th, 2020

How to apply

Thank you for your interest. We are no longer accepting applications.

The deadline is September 20, 2020 @ 11.59pm PST. 

Please reach out to us at ubc.orice@ubc.ca if you have any questions.