Applicants are invited to apply for a two year, full-time postdoctoral position at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development in Nashville, TN under the mentorship of Dr. Ilana Horn. The Postdoctoral Researcher will support a research-practice partnership project focusing on supporting experienced mathematics teachers’ learning about ambitious and equitable instruction through a video-based coaching intervention.
Teaching and Learning
Project TAU is a four-year study funded by the National Science Foundation focused on how experienced mathematics teachers develop their classroom monitoring practices. Teacher monitoring –– what teachers do as they observe and support the progress and quality of student-directed collaborative work –– features in most lesson models claiming to support mathematics teaching for understanding. Decades of mathematics education research emphasizes the importance of teachers allowing students to make their own sense of ideas. However, by decentralizing teachers in classroom conversations, monitoring also presents distinct challenges, such as how to ensure students’ talk is both mathematically meaningful and socially inclusive. Despite the importance of this practice, research offers contradictory advice on how teachers should approach monitoring, with some studies exhorting teachers to stand back to cultivate student autonomy and others urging them to scaffold student sensemaking.
In this research-practice partnership, we investigate teacher learning dimensions of monitoring while addressing the urgent question of how teachers should approach this task to support equitable and productive student-to-student talk. Our overarching question is: How do experienced secondary mathematics teachers learn about groupwork monitoring? Our sub-questions are: How do experienced secondary mathematics teachers make sense of monitoring? How do representations of practice shape teachers’ sensemaking about monitoring? How does their sensemaking about monitoring change over time? How do teachers’ monitoring moves support or hinder student groups’ mathematical talk?
The ideal Postdoctoral Researcher will have a specialization in mathematics education, teacher education, teacher learning, or a closely related field. The successful candidate will engage in one or more areas of research related to the project’s core questions and demonstrate capacity to initiate, design, and lead a research strand for the team. Project TAU partners include Dr. Brette Garner (University of Denver), Dr. Benjamin Rydal Shapiro (Georgia State University), and Dr. Darryl Yong (Harvey Mudd College). Responsibilities: The successful candidate will be required to work in Nashville, TN. The Postdoctoral Researcher will support all aspects of the research, with frequent school-based data collection and professional learning activities. Specifically, the postdoctoral researcher will: · Work collaboratively with research team and research partners · Co-design and co-facilitate professional learning activities · Take intellectual leadership on a line of analysis for the project · Serve as primary contact and teacher educator for a teacher team · Actively participate in scholarly communities through publication of research articles and presentation at professional conferences
In addition, within this role, the Postdoctoral Researcher will receive mentored professional development, research training, and support toward individual writing and research goals.
Minimum Qualifications: · Doctorate in mathematics education, learning sciences, teacher education, or a related field by start date of position · Experience working with secondary teachers in schools · Flexibility to travel every 1-2 months for data collection · Demonstrated ability to conduct and publish research
Desired Qualifications: · Experience in secondary math and/or computer science teaching; · Experience in teacher professional development or instructional coaching; · Experience with student collaborative learning; · Methodological training in comparative case studies, discourse/interaction analysis, ethnography, or video analysis
The position will begin Summer or Fall of 2022, depending on the availability of the applicant. Salary will start at between $53,000 and $55,000 and includes benefits.
Please send your (a) cover letter describing your relevant background, as well as your interest in and potential contribution to the project, (b) curriculum vitae, (c) a sample research paper, and (d) a list of three professional references and their contact information (please do not solicit letters).
Materials should be sent to 4ProjectTAU@gmail.com. Application review will begin January 15, 2022 and will continue until the position is filled.