Assistant Project Scientist - Facciotti

NATURE AND PURPOSE

The Assistant Project Scientist (APS) makes significant and creative contributions to a research or creative project in his/her academic discipline. The appointee possesses the subject matter expertise and the creative energy necessary to function at a high level of competence. The appointee will participate in activities to increase, improve, or upgrade competency. Appointees with Project (e.g., Scientist) titles may engage in University and public service. Although the APS is expected to work independently under the general guidance of an academic member with an independent research program (i.e., Professor, Professional Researcher, Specialist in Cooperative Extension, etc.), he/she is not required to develop an independent research program or reputation. He/she will carry out research or creative programs with supervision by an individual in an academic title that carries with it automatic Principal Investigator status. The APS does not usually serve as a Principal Investigator but may do so by exception.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES

RESEARCH (90%)

Working for faculty member Marc Tancredi Facciotti (MTF), the APS will participate in design, prepare for, and execute educational research experiments, analyze data and draft/revise manuscripts and grant applications. The APS will lead and participate in research studies assessing the role, development, use of, and impact of novel technologies in the context of teaching and learning in higher education. The APS will also work on issues related to enhancing diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education.

The APS will design and execute research projects that involve the development and testing of educational interventions, the collection of diverse student performance data, the design of analytical workflows for the integration and analysis of experimental data, and the development and maintenance of database(s) for the proper storage and archiving of experimental data.

The APS will also interact with other members of the MTF laboratory and with MTF laboratory collaborators on various collaborative projects. The candidate will prepare draft of all manuscripts that relate to his/her research project(s), and is expected to help in the mentoring and training of undergraduate and graduate students and other members of the MTF laboratory who may be working on educational research projects. The candidate will perform management and leadership tasks, including but not limited to, managing regular meetings with collaborators, writing, managing, and updating drafts of relevant project IRB document(s), interfacing with the campus IRB office, and the development and maintenance of the educational portion of the MTF laboratory web page.

PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE AND ACTIVITY (5%)

The candidate will participate in professional societies and conferences appropriate to their specific field. The candidate will attend seminars to present research results and may give oral presentations to public and professional interest groups. The candidate may coordinate and/or give presentations at seminars, laboratory meetings or educational functions.

UNIVERSITY AND PUBLIC SERVICE (5%)

The candidate will engage in public outreach activities that include presenting scientific research results to the general public. The candidate may engage in University service activities such as guest lecturing, committee service, voting on peer committees.

* Ph.D in molecular or biophysical science

* Extensive experience as both a practicing biologist and educational researcher.

* Deep knowledge of the theoretical frameworks of educational research

* Experience with qualitative means of textual data collection (such as interviews, open-ended surveys, and open-ended student assessments) and analysis (such as definitions of units of analysis, adoption of appropriate theoretical lenses, and development of codebooks and themes)

* Familiarity with quantitative methods of text analysis (such as text mining and machine-learning-related applications)

* Skillset in network analysis and its applications to the construction of semantic knowledge networks.

* Working knowledge of appropriate coding languages (e.g., R, Python, etc.)

* Strong publication record, preferably in journals across their area of scientific specialty, journals in their specialized area of discipline-based education research, and journals/venues at the interface of education and technology

* Experience applying for extramural funding

* An interest and experience in projects focusing on student experiences (such as experiential learning, student identities and affects, etc.)

* An interest in broadening knowledge of technological applications in education (such as natural language processing and social network analysis)

* Experience and interest in mentoring undergraduate and graduate students

* Familiarity with the regulations and administrative requirements for conducting educational involving human subjects.

• 3-5 required (contact information only)

As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct, are currently being investigated for misconduct, left a position during an investigation for alleged misconduct, or have filed an appeal with a previous employer.

• "Misconduct" means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, discrimination, dishonesty, or unethical conduct, as defined by the employer.
• UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
• UC Anti-Discrimination Policy for Employees, Students and Third Parties
• APM - 035: Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment

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