Postdoctoral Research Associate in Curiosity Research

The Center for the Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning (CASTL) in the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia seeks applicants for a full-time postdoctoral research associate. The incumbent will become part of a vibrant team of faculty, students, and staff conducting research on the development of curiosity and its role in learning.

This postdoctoral position will prepare the incumbent with knowledge and skills to conduct high-quality, scientifically sound, and scalable research on curiosity in education that is relevant and accessible to researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. The incumbent will further develop skills in collecting data in a range of school settings, analyzing and disseminating findings about curiosity in education, and translating research to practice and developing research, practice, policy partnerships.

This postdoctoral associate will work across several active research projects including a school-based study of the development of children's character virtues and lab-based and online studies of different intellectual virtues (curiosity, creativity, intellectual humility, and related skills). Projects explore how school contexts influence children's curiosity, and how these virtues change over time and in response to specific instructional practices. Projects involve exploring classroom processes and supporting teachers to develop student academic curiosity with complementary experimental studies to explore mechanisms of development and learning.

Incumbents will disseminate research findings at professional and practitioner-oriented conferences, in scholarly journals, and practitioner-oriented products working in collaboration with Principal Investigators, other faculty and staff, and graduate students. The individual selected for this postdoctoral research associate will receive mentoring on ways to prepare grant proposals, improve teaching and mentoring skills, conduct rigorous research, develop SoTL skills, broadly disseminate research, move research into practice, and form partnerships with educators. They will have the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills through attendance in research meetings, talks, and workshops within the University and externally as appropriate.

The postdoctoral research associate will join active projects and with their time split between developing active project tasks including data collection and management, review of research literature, writing reports, and project management and dissemination activities to both research and practitioner audiences including presentations, reports, and manuscripts.

Role and Responsibilities

• Research Development and Execution: Design and conduct research studies on curiosity and intellectual virtues (e.g., curiosity, creativity, intellectual humility) in educational contexts.

• Project Management: Work with research specialist and PI to oversee active research projects, ensuring timely completion of tasks such as data collection, literature reviews, and report writing.

• Dissemination of Findings including co-authoring research manuscripts for submission to peer-reviewed journals, presenting findings at academic and practitioner-oriented conferences, and developing practitioner-oriented products, such as reports or instructional materials, to communicate research findings to educators and policymakers.

• Grant Writing and Funding Development: Assist in the preparation of grant proposals to secure funding for research projects to gain experience in drafting and submitting competitive grant applications.

• Collaboration and Mentorship: Mentor graduate and undergraduate students involved in research projects, collaborate with interdisciplinary teams, both within the University and with external stakeholders, including educators and policymakers.

• Ethical Research Practices: Ensure all research is conducted in compliance with ethical standards and institutional policies, particularly when working with children in educational settings and maintain confidentiality and integrity in data collection, analysis, and reporting.

Minimum Requirement
Education: Doctoral degree

Preferred Skills:

• Doctorate in Psychology, Education, or related field with expertise and interests in further developing research strengths in studying curiosity in education and conducting applied education research in related areas, as well as developing and evaluating professional development to support children's curiosity

• Commitment to diversity and equity through their scholarship and/or service

• Prior experience conducting independent research with children and in schools

• Demonstrated experience studying intellectual character virtues and curiosity specifically

• A strong record of dissemination of research findings

• Understanding of both quantitative and qualitative analysis methods, or an interest in further developing these skills

• Strong mentoring skills working with student researchers from different backgrounds and experience levels

• Outstanding interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills

Physical Demands
This is primarily a sedentary job involving extensive use of desktop computers. The job does occasionally require traveling some distance to attend meetings, and programs.

Compensation Information: This is full-time position with an anticipated range of $60-67,000 commensurate with education and experience, includes UVA benefits.

Application Instructions: Apply Now. Internal applicants must apply through their UVA Workday profile, search Find Jobs and then R0065932. Complete an application online and include the following documents:

• A CV/resume

• A cover letter is optional but strongly encouraged

All documents can be loaded into the resume submission field, multiple documents can be submitted into this one field. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

As part of the application process, applicants may be asked to describe how they intend to contribute to the University of Virginia's mission.

The position will remain open until filled. This is a non-exempt level, benefitted position. This position will not sponsor applicants for work visas. This restricted position is a 12-month appointment, and continuation is dependent upon project need, availability of funding, and performance. The University will perform background checks on all new hires prior to employment.

For additional information about the position, please contact Jamie Jirout at jirout@virginia.edu. For questions about the application process, please contact Margaret Weeks.

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In alignment with President Ryan's UVA strategic plan, CASTL is committed to:

• Recruiting talented and diverse doctoral students, post-doctoral fellows, faculty, and staff;

• Recruitment and retention of a diverse workforce and providing an inclusive and supportive environment in which staff and faculty are recognized as integral to the success of our work; and

• Promoting a culture of integrity, mutual respect, excellence, collaboration, and innovation.

The University of Virginia, including the UVA Health System which represents the UVA Medical Center, Schools of Medicine and Nursing, UVA Physician's Group and the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, are fundamentally committed to the diversity of our faculty and staff. We believe diversity is excellence expressing itself through every person's perspectives and lived experiences. We are equal opportunity and affirmative action employers. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, veteran or military status, and family medical or genetic information.