Position Summary

The Zuckerman Institute at Columbia University seeks a Variable Hours Officer to serve as a Curriculum Developer. The Curriculum Developer will create lesson plans for the BrainSTEM Resources portion of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Teacher-Scholar Program and assist with facilitating seminars for the SNF Teacher-Scholar Program. The SNF Teacher-Scholar Program is a brain science-focused professional development program for high school science teachers. Run by Columbia University’s Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, this competitive program combines public lectures about the brain with seminars focusing on neuroscience content and the science practices of the Next Generation Science Standards. The content focus of the program originates with the SNF Brain Insight Lectures, which examine the myriad ways that brain science intersects with everyday life. Each lecture features a pair of eminent researchers, typically Columbia faculty, with different yet overlapping areas of expertise that approach the science of brain and mind in a way that resonates with a public audience. BrainSTEM Resources serve as a platform for disseminating two lesson plans per year with accompanying multimedia assets drawn from the SNF Brain Insight Lectures as well as new materials.

Reporting to the Associate Director of Education & Training Initiatives, the Curriculum Developer will work closely with the Public Programs Manager and be responsible for developing lesson plans in a format that is maximally useful to teachers. The Curriculum Developer will retroactively convert a minimum of 2 existing lesson plans from past SNF Teacher-Scholar participants each year and archive all accumulated past SNF Teacher-Scholar lessons to a centralized database. The Curriculum Developer will also attend all SNF Teacher-Scholar seminars and SNF Brain Insight Lectures to aid teachers with brainstorming and generating lesson plan ideas for eventual development and dissemination through BrainSTEM Resources.

The Variable Hours Officer will work in a part-time ~5-10 hours per week capacity or as needed.

Responsibilities

• Create at least 2 fully developed lesson plans per year based on ideas generated by the Teacher Scholars in response to SNF Brain Insight Lecture topics.
• Ensure all lesson plans are aligned with national and state-level education standards.
• Archive all accumulated past SNF Teacher-Scholar lesson ideas in a centralized database.
• Attend all lectures and seminars. There are four lectures per year on weekdays at 6:30 pm, and eight seminars per year, from 4:30-6:30 pm. For each seminar:
  1. Assist the Public Programs Manager with facilitation during seminar, including designing content to maximize the impact of the SNF Brain Insight Lectures, assisting the Teacher Scholars in learning the materials, and facilitating a peer-to-peer model of learning.
  2. Advise the Public Programs Manager on best practices for teacher professional development
  3. Familiarize themselves with program content
  4. Collaborate with currently enrolled teachers
  5. Assist with setup 1 hour prior to seminar and cleanup 1 hour after seminar.
• Provide additional scientific and educational resources as relevant.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Minimum two (2) years teaching science at the high school level.
• Excellent editing and organizational skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior participation in the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Teacher-Scholar Program.
• Exemplary experience in lesson plan development and curriculum design.
• Strong knowledge of curriculum standards, including Next Generation Science Standards, New York State Content Specific Curriculum Standards, and Common Core Standards).
• Record of neuroscience content knowledge (e.g. teaching of high school courses in related fields, professional development related to neuroscience).
• Experience in communicating science to a wide audience.
• Familiarity with high school education and/or teacher training a plus.

Other Requirements

Commitment:

• Late afternoon/early evening availability on select weekdays is essential. Curriculum Developer will be expected to attend the four SNF Brain Insight lectures on varying weekdays (6:30 pm; two in the fall semester, two in the spring semester) and the eight SNF Teacher-Scholar Seminars (4:30 pm; four in the fall, four in the spring semester). All events are held at the Zuckerman Institute.

To apply, submit C.V. or resume, cover letter, and two references with contact information.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.