Job Opportunity - Research Assistant, Institute for the Study of Teaching & Learning in the Disciplines

Research Assistant

Group exams: Does Gender Influence Student Choices and Success? 

The Simon Fraser University Institute for the Study of Teaching and Learning in the Disciplines and the Faculty of Science invites applications for a short-term research assistant position.   

 In some introductory courses, students write tests in the group format (also called two-stage, or twophase): they complete the test individually, then join a group to complete same test again, deciding on shared answers (e.g. Gilley & Clarkston, JCST 2014).  Several studies have been published on this teaching approach as a way to boost learning, retention, and inclusivity/equity. We are interested to see any evidence of gender dynamics at work in the groups, and have data from at least one semester in a high-enrollment course. This project may relate to biology courses, or possibly a comparison of data between biology and physics courses.   

 Timeline and expectations of applicant experience: 

We are intending this to be a short-term contract, with reasonably intense data analysis/writing work focussed towards submitting your first-author manuscripts by end-of-December 2020 (ideally). All data has been collected, and we are excited to build a team this semester to analyze, interpret, and publish the findings. Thus, we are looking for self-directed applicants experienced with data science / statistical analysis and academic writing in the Discipline-Based Education Research (DBER) or Learning Analytics (LA) fields. This may be through a formal program (e.g., graduate training, postdoctoral fellowship, etc.) or it may be through other equivalent experiences.   

 Required qualifications and skills:

• Data science: Ability to select and implement meaningful analyses, including appropriate statistical treatment, and effectively communicate the work to a DBER or LA audience (who are not necessarily data scientists themselves). 

• Writing & publishing: Academic research and manuscript- writing skills, as demonstrated by prior publication(s).  (In other words, have published at least one science education paper in DBER, learning analytics, or similar field.)

• Communication: Excellent interpersonal skills, including reliable and effective communication with the team and project lead.

• Initiative and experience: Self-directed, independent project completion skills, in consultation with the project lead and research team.  Note that the project lead has reasonable DBER, education, and academic writing experience, but is not a data scientist.

• An interest in evidence-based teaching and learning, and science education.  Personal experience with undergraduate science courses is an asset, but not required. 

 Research assistant responsibilities:

• Analysis of large- or moderate-scale datasets (selecting & implementing analysis approach; documenting workflow, drawing conclusions, data visualization);

• Writing a full draft of a (first-author) paper for publication in the DBER or LA field.  including short literature review for the introduction and context.   

• Meeting remotely each week with project team, during PDT daytime hours, from contract start until papers are submitted (ideally end of December 2020).   

• Available intermittently in 2021 to discuss and handle journal revision requests.

• Optional: Presentation at a conference.  (e.g. at SABER or LAK or similar); conference registration costs may be eligible to be covered, depending on cost. 

Rate of pay: $25-30/hr (Canadian dollar; incl. vacation and statutory holiday pay, no medical or dental benefits) - based on experience & qualifications. Minimum 120 hours with the possibility of additional hours. 

 To Apply:

Applicants must be eligible to work in Canada (with a valid Canadian SIN and bank account). Applicants should submit: (1) a 1-page cover letter structured to address the interest, skills, and role responsibilities as listed above; and (2) a 1-2 page resumé that highlights relevant qualifications, experience, and dissemination of prior projects. These two items should be organized as one PDF attachment addressed to Megan Barker, and emailed to megan.barker@sfu.ca, with the subject line: “RA position: Group Exams”. Short-listed applicants will be provided with a mock, smallscale dataset, and then invited to interview (via Zoom).   Application deadline: Friday, October 23, 2020. We appreciate all replies to this posting, however, we will only contact short-listed applicants.