Open Position: PD Designer
MIT is developing an inclusive AI literacy curriculum for middle school in collaboration with schools in the U.S., the UAE and other countries worldwide, ensuring that it supports a diversity of learner interests and needs. We also focus on preparing these students to learn to take control of AI technologies and become ethical designers and conscientious users. The project is a collaboration between several research labs working at the confluence of AI, computer science, and education at MIT: The Media Lab Personal Robots group, The MIT Education Arcade, and The MIT App Inventor Team. The person in this role will be a member of the Scheller Teacher Education Program (STEP), a group of educators, designers, and researchers passionate about creating playful, powerful learning experiences using the affordances of new educational technologies.
This position will take the lead on conceptualizing, developing and piloting the professional development offering that will support teachers using the RAICA (Responsible AI for Computational Action) curriculum. The professional development will need to go deep in cultivating a Project Based Learning (PBL) and design thinking mindset and building a foundation in AI and CS for teachers, rooted in best practices for equity and inclusion. The Professional Development (PD) Designer will start by determining specifics about the PD model that may best fit the curriculum, continue on to develop the program, and lead the PD offering during the pilot phase. The person in this role will work with an interdisciplinary team including learning designers, developers, and researchers; and faculty, staff, and students. In addition to leading the PD effort, they will also be involved in curriculum design efforts, which aim to center the voices of marginalized learners often underrepresented in STEM. This work will entail building internal capacity around the PBL approach, and engaging with our teacher community and student co-designers in various ways.
Key Responsibilities
- Conceptualize PD - assess needs of teachers and of curriculum designers to determine a promising PD model
- Develop PD - work collaboratively with curriculum designers to iteratively develop a comprehensive PD program
- Lead PD offering for a cohort of pilot teachers, both in the US and internationally
Additional Responsibilities
- Contribute to curriculum design and activity design
- Coordinate and facilitate playtesting and piloting of modules
- Manage a community of teachers excited about AI & CS
- Engage with teacher co-designers
- Support research efforts around curriculum and PD
- Flexibility to help out with other areas of the project as needed
Preferred Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree or higher
Degree in a STEM field with substantial teaching experience, or a degree in education with strong background in STEM - Experience working with educators as learners, developing and facilitating workshops or other professional learning experiences
- Experience as a classroom teacher using project-based approaches that support student agency
- Experience in both online and in-person learning environments
- Comfort teaching computational thinking and programming in Scratch/App Inventor
- Familiarity with AI and machine learning concepts, or excitement to learn about them
The position is full time in the MIT STEP Lab (Education Arcade) for one year with potential to renew depending on project needs. The salary range is $75,000 to $85,000 depending on experience, and you must be authorized to work in the US. Once it is safe to return to campus, in-person work is preferred but hybrid or remote situations can be considered. Review of applications will begin on May 1, 2021 and the position will remain open until filled. The position reports to the RAICA Curriculum Lead, Louisa Rosenheck. For additional information about the position, she can be contacted at louisa@mit.edu. Applications should be submitted online with job ID #19491 (listed as "Instructional Designer").
We value diversity, inclusion, collaboration and learning from multiple perspectives, and we encourage people to bring their most authentic selves to work. In addition, if you’re not sure whether you meet all the criteria, we'd still love to hear from you. Nobody checks every box, and we are looking for someone excited to learn and grow while you make a difference in AI education.
