JEFFREY ARAUJO
TEACHER - RESEARCHER - GUIDE

Thanks for visiting my E-portfolio!  

I teach History, Geography, and English as a Second Language (ESL) during the academic year. During the summer months I give walking and cycling tours of Montreal. My pedagogical and historical research projects are numerous and ongoing.  

I have a Master’s degree from McGill University in History (2018) and will soon have another in Teaching & Learning (2021). I completed a certificate from Cambridge University in Teaching English as a Second Language (2015) and recently received my official Montreal tour-guiding license from ITHQ (2020).

I am grateful that I have transformed my ‘Montreal history dork’ label into a career. My teaching, research, and tours are guided by my enthusiasm for the past, my abilities as a storyteller, and the fulfillment that I get from connecting with other people.

You can access my curriculum vitae and virtual contact card below. Please do not hesitate to email or call me to book a tour. Teaching and research opportunities are also welcome.

I began my teaching career in Istanbul working with refugee children from Syria and Iraq. Since then, l have mostly taught History of Quebec & Canada for Secondary III and IV in Montreal.

Teaching at Kells Academy (2018-Present) has been a rewarding experience. I work closely with language learners whose English abilities are obstacles to success and adapt the provincial History curriculum to their unique needs throughout the academic year. Seeing them overcome language barriers and excel on difficult ministry exams is a tremendous source of pride for me.

As somebody who is not neurotypical myself, I believe strongly that all students can succeed with a growth mindset and appropriate levels of support and feedback.

I believe that subjects such as History need to be made accessible through cultural relevancy, enthusiastic storytelling, scaffolded slide shows, interactive technology, creative assignments, and an overall communicative approach to teaching and learning. Projects should always be paired with clear expectations in the form of rubrics.

My ESL teaching style is influenced by Cambridge English and their emphasis on MRP (Meaning-Form-Pronunciation) and CCQs (Concept-Checking Questions).

Below you can view a selection of my teaching materials and student work:

My current research in education focuses on historical literacy in Quebec secondary classrooms. I look at how teachers can effectively walk the tightrope between respecting the government’s high-stakes final exam while also complicating historical truth claims. I believe it is important to show students how a multiplicity of narratives can exist at once and how our official and authoritative ones change over time.  

I am also engaged in various historical research projects. I wrote a paper in 2017 which explored the early years of Mission de la Montagne/Kanesatake on Montreal Island (1667-1702), and am currently writing another which explores  campus life and culture at McGill University during the 1918-1919 academic year. This year coincided with the end of the First World War, Canadian women receiving the right to vote, international education reforms, and the Spanish influenza pandemic.

Right now I am collaborating with a Quebec media company on their television series Touriste dans ma ville. I will present an episode focused on Montreal’s Petit Portugal neighbourhood. It will be filmed in June 2021 and available in September.

I have long been fascinated by a forgotten American travel writer named Harry A. Franck (1881-1962). His reputation as the country’s prince of vagabonds during the early twentieth century led me to the University of Michigan archives and to dozens of boxes of his personal papers.

I wrote a paper in 2018 that explored the relationship between Franck’s travel writing and United States imperialism in the Caribbean between 1919 and 1921. I am now working on another paper which compares Franck’s visits to Middle Eastern countries during the Ottoman period (1904) and under French and British colonial rule (1926). His perspective as an American "vagabond" is unique for the region and allows for a  comparative study of colonial systems and change over time.