Assistant or Associate Professor in Learning Sciences
Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy (SESP) seeks to recruit
a tenure-track assistant or associate professor to contribute to research and teaching in the
Learning Sciences Program. Northwestern’s Learning Sciences program, founded in 1992, was
the first graduate program in learning sciences, and has played a leadership role in graduate
training and research in the field. We now seek a new faculty member who can help our program
continue to chart new directions in the learning sciences including, but not limited to:
• Learning across contexts. We believe that research and design in the learning sciences
will increasingly be conducted across contexts, both inside and outside of school. Also,
education reform requires substantial understanding of multiple levels of the education
system from classrooms to schools, districts, and the state and national levels.
• Innovations in learning of subject matter. Disciplinary issues in learning are central to
advances in the learning sciences. Open questions include investigations of learning
progressions, learning of disciplinary practices, how everyday and disciplinary
knowledge interrelate, and how technology can restructure subject matter.
Learning and new media. We expect that research and design will focus increasingly on
•
new media, including, but not limited to, emerging interactive digital technology.
• Emotion and motivation. Researchers in the learning sciences have always acknowledged
the importance of emotion and motivation. But we believe that the field needs new
research in which emotion and motivation are investigated systematically, both in the
study of learning and in the design of learning environments.
Successful applicants should demonstrate competence with multiple research methods, including
some combination of qualitative, quantitative, and computational methods. Applicants from
learning sciences, education, computer science, media studies, cognitive science, psychology,
and other relevant disciplines are encouraged to apply. Teaching and advising responsibilities
will include doctoral and masters students in Learning Sciences, as well as teaching courses
in areas related to design, innovation, and learning in the SESP’s undergraduate and teacher
preparation programs.
Applicants should submit electronically a letter outlining their research program and teaching
experience, a current CV, representative reprints, and three letters of reference, to Professor
Bruce Sherin, Search Committee Chair, c/o Laura Salus at l-salus@northwestern.edu. Review
of materials will begin on October 14, 2011 and applicants are strongly encouraged to submit
their materials before that date. Minorities and women are strongly urged to apply. Northwestern
University is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action employer. Hiring is contingent upon
eligibility to work in the United States. Northwestern University is located in an attractive
lakefront community adjacent to Chicago. For more information about the School of Education
and Social Policy, please visit http://www.sesp.northwestern.edu/.
