Introducing The Roaming Scientist
Hello internet world! I thought it'd be wise to start my blog with a bit of an introduction and a description of what you can expect to find here at TheRoamingScientist.com . My name is Carly Thomas and I am a Canadian, millennial (although I do rock a center part) & an international secondary science teacher. This is somehow my 12th year teaching in my fourth country and when looking through old photos recently I decided to make this blog to share insights into the #international teacher life (not only for science teachers) and to share ideas, strategies and resources for teaching middle and high school Science anywhere in the world.
12 Years of Teaching & 4 Countries... so far!
I started my teaching career in Oakville, Ontario, Canada at a well established public high school known as T.A. Blakelock High School. Like many first year teachers I was overwhelmed and just trying to get through the year doing the best I could. I was in the interesting position of being in three different departments during my four years at TAB, the Science, Math & Modern Languages departments...and I taught classes in all three. From G9 Applied Math to G11 Biology, G10 French Immersion Science & G10 French Immersion Language Arts I was running across campus all the time.
During my 4th year teaching I decided to look into teaching #abroad, I wanted some more adventure & to see what a couple of years in a totally different country would feel like. I took a leave of absence from my job in Canada & signed a contract to teach in Guangzhou, China for two years at Nansha College Preparatory Academy. I very quickly fell in love with the international teacher life, the travel, the learning, the class sizes, the technology and quit my job in Canada. Since that day I have spent a total of 8 years teaching abroad, four in China, one in Venezuela at Colegio Internacional de Caracas & three at my current school: Rabat American School in Rabat, Morocco. It's been quite the adventure and I look forward to sharing my international teacher life with you here!
A Snapshot of my #Teacherlife
In my lab/classroom you will see a lot of hands-on learning, language learning tools & use of #technology, those are the kinds of ideas and resources I plan to share here on my Blog. Having taught in four different countries with a variety of curricula: Canadian (Ontario), American (NGSS & AP) and International Baccalaureate (MYP & DP) I have learned that certain things are important no matter where you are in the world. First: the scientific method, inquiry/investigation skills & general lab skills important, secondly: technology use, including information literacy is key and third: all learners are language learners & all teachers are language teachers, even native speakers need direct language instruction & we can all help our students to learn in these ways.
See you next time teachers, travelers & curious souls of all kinds.
The Roaming Scientist
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