Description
Description
Title: Kinyarwanda Teaching Assistant
Reports to: Head, Humanities and Social Sciences
Program: MBBS/MGHD
Duration: 1 year (renewable), October 1st, 2024 to September 31st, 2025
Location: UGHE Campus, Butaro, Burera district, with occasional travel to clinical clerkship sites of medical students
Background
Effective communication is a cornerstone of medical practice, making it an essential skill for physicians. At UGHE, we recognize that the ability to engage in meaningful conversations with patients and community members is not just importantโit is imperative. The model of education at UGHE emphasizes hands-on, real-world learning, taking students outside of the classroom into the community. Here, students learn directly from community health workers, health facility staff as well as community members through household visits and other community activities.
Throughout their time in the community, students are encouraged to identify social determinants of health and engage deeply with community members to learn from their lived experiences. During their clinical training, UGHE medical students spend considerable time with hospital personnel and most importantly, with patients.
This daily interaction requires them to hone their communication skills, ensuring they can effectively collaborate with patients and the broader community. Developing strong communication skills is critical in building trust and fostering successful community partnerships, ultimately shaping our students into compassionate and competent physicians.
Role Overview
The primary role of the Teaching Assistant (TA) will be to assist the Kinyarwanda Teacher in the instruction of Kinyarwanda to international MBBS/MGHD students who are pursuing their medical education at UGHE from their first to their last year of study. The TA has a specialized role focused on teaching conversational Kinyarwanda and supporting the main teacher in creating an immersive, practical language learning experience for medical students. The TAโs main role is to bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world application, providing medical students with the language skills and cultural understanding they need to communicate effectively in Rwandan communities. This involves curriculum development, development of self-teaching materials, one-on-one tutoring, small group teaching, organizing community-based experiences, and collaborating closely with the Kinyarwanda Teacher to achieve these goals.
The Teaching Assistant will work closely with the Kinyarwanda Teacher to ensure that all international MBBS/MGHD students become conversant in Kinyarwanda before they start their clinical clerkships and support their progress during the clinical part of their studies.
Responsibilities
The Teaching Assistant will be responsible for the following:
1. Intensive Support to International Students for Kinyarwanda learning
- Conversational practice: The TA will facilitate small group sessions where international medical students practice conversational Kinyarwanda, focusing on language relevant to medical contexts.
- Interactive language exercises: The TA will create and lead activities such as role-playing scenarios, dialogues, and language games that encourage international medical students to use Kinyarwanda in real-life situations.
- Cultural context: The TA will integrate cultural education into language learning, helping students understand the nuances of communicating effectively in Rwandan society.
- Individualized support: The TA will provide one-on-one tutoring sessions to international medical students, especially to those who are slow language learners, and according to their needs and specific requests.
2. Curriculum Development
- Designing a practical language curriculum: The TA will collaborate with the Kinyarwanda Teacher to develop a curriculum tailored to the needs of international medical students. This curriculum will emphasize rapid language acquisition and practical use in medical settings.
- Incorporating community-based learning and immersive experiences
- Designing a practical language curriculum: The TA will collaborate with the Kinyarwanda Teacher to develop a curriculum tailored to the needs of international medical students. This curriculum will emphasize rapid language acquisition and practical use in medical settings.