Dear VIPEr friends,

The PhET Project at CU-Boulder (http://phet.colorado.edu) is seeking applicants for a chemistry education post-doc position focusing on the design, integration, and study of PhET simulations for College Chemistry at the introductory / general chemistry level.  I've been working on this project for the last year and a half, and it's really cool!  

Please share this announcement with colleagues and students, and note that applicants don't need a PhD in CER specifically--any area of chemistry + a passion for teaching and interest in education research is fine.

Thanks very much!

Julia and the PhET Team

Postdoctoral Research Position in Chemistry Education Research to design, integrate, and study PhET Simulations for Introductory College Chemistry

Jobs@CU Listing Posted here: http://www.jobsatcu.com/applicants/Central?quickFind=71142 
Job Posting Number: 819846

The PhET Interactive Simulations Project at the University of Colorado Boulder has an opening for a Research Associate (postdoctoral researcher) position focusing on developing and studying interactive simulations (sims) for learning introductory college chemistry content. The PhET Team develops interactive sims for teaching and learning science and math, creates activities that couple with the sims, and makes all of these resources freely available to educators and students on the web. Research is a major component of the PhET Project, and focuses on understanding aspects of design and use that lead to increases in student learning and student engagement.

With funding from NSF, PhET is engaged in development and research on interactive simulations for use in teaching and learning introductory college chemistry. In addition, this grant involves a significant focus on partnering with a working group of approximately 6 college faculty to better understand effective ways of integrating PhET sims into college teaching across different environments from a community college to a research university. Research questions will center around effective sim design and sim classroom use for these population as well as measures of the impact on student learning, and could also include the study of faculty adoption of PhET sims and supports needed for effective adoption and adaption.

The primary responsibilities of the successful applicant will be to 1) carry out and publish research on sim design, sim use, or faculty adoption of sim use with college chemistry students and teachers; and 2) to develop new simulations with an expectation to lead or coordinate the development of about 4 simulations per year. (No programming experience needed - PhET hires professional software developers). Other responsibilities include training faculty on use of PhET sims through PhET workshops at local and national meetings, and supporting other PhET-related work where needed.

The successful candidate will work at the University of Colorado Boulder which is a national leader in STEM education with over 50 campus programs addressing STEM education and a new Center for Science Learning launched in 2012. The candidate will join the PhET Interactive Simulation project’s growing chemistry education team, including 2 chemistry education post-docs and a chemistry faculty researcher, and will leverage our established collaboration with instructors and faculty teaching introductory chemistry at CU. In addition, the candidate will also have an opportunity to participate and interact with the Physics Education Research group – one of the largest PER groups in the country – as well as the cross-disciplinary STEM Discipline-based Education Research Group.

More information on PhET can be found at: http://phet.colorado.edu 
More information about the PER group @ Colorado is at: http://per.colorado.edu 

Eligibility: We will consider graduates with a PhD in chemistry education or in other areas of chemistry research who are interested in shifting their focus to chemistry education. Prior experience teaching or working with students or teachers is a plus, along with knowledge of the chemistry education literature.

Start Date: There is considerable flexibility in the start date. We will consider start dates as early as February 1, 2013 and as late as August 15, 2013.

The University of Colorado is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to building a diverse workforce. We encourage applications from women, racial and ethnic minorities, individuals with disabilities and veterans. Alternative formats of this ad can be provided upon request for individuals with disabilities by contacting the ADA Coordinator at hr-ada@colorado.edu.

The University of Colorado conducts background checks on all final applicants being considered for employment.

To apply:
Applicants must complete the Faculty/Exempt Professional and EEO Data (application) form, upload a cover letter, a statement on their perspectives on teaching and learning 'Statement of Teaching Philosophy', a 1-2 page statement discussing potential research questions around chemistry simulations and/or faculty adoption of simulations in teaching that the applicant finds interesting 'Research/creative work/artist statement', and a resume/curriculum vitae. A proof of degree (unofficial transcript) must be uploaded as 'Document 1', and three letters of recommendation must be uploaded to the Letters of Recommendation panel for this posting (note the applicant should enter the contact information for letters, and then we contact them to upload their letter).

Please also email Oliver.Nix@colorado.edu with notice of your application or your intent to apply. You may also send a copy of the application information to him, but the official application process will not be complete until you upload your documents online.

Review of application will begin on December 10, and continue until the position is filled. 

To apply online, go to: http://www.jobsatcu.com/applicants/Central?quickFind=71142