The Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence plans to hire up to three postdoctoral associates to begin on or before July 1, 2013. Each will be assigned to work with an investigative team on a specific project to meet the team’s research objectives. The three projects include: 1) Emotion, Creativity, and the Arts, 2) Assessing Emotional Development in Schools, and 3) Emotionally Intelligent Parenting. All positions are one-year appointments with renewal contingent upon satisfactory performance and availability of funding.
Interested applicants should submit via email a cover letter and CV, one or more writing samples, and a minimum of two letters of reference to: Marina Ebert at marina.ebert@yale.edu. Applications will be reviewed upon receipt. Please make “2013 Postdoctoral Application” the subject line of your email and identify the project(s) for which you wish to be considered in your cover letter. Details and requirements of each project and position follow.
Applications will be reviewed upon receipt, and considered until the positions are filled.
Project 1: Emotion, Creativity, and the Arts
PIs: Zorana Ivcevic Pringle, PhD & Marc Brackett, PhD
This project will study the role of emotional skills (e.g., understanding emotions, managing emotions) in the creative process, examine how the arts can be used to develop emotional skills, and test the effects of art involvement and education on creativity in everyday and professional life. Results from the research, to be conducted in the US and in Spain, will inform art education programming for children and professional adults.
The postdoctoral associate will be responsible for: (1) designing and conducting studies examining how involvement in the arts can increase emotional skills, (2) designing and conducting studies testing the effects of participation in the arts on creativity in everyday and professional life, (3) creating activities and workshop materials to be used as art education for both children and adults, and (4) reporting the findings of the project in research publications and scholarly presentations.
The postdoctoral associate will contribute expertise on psychology and the arts. Ideal candidates will have a Ph.D. in psychology, education, or a related field, as well as training and expertise in emotion, creativity and the arts, and interest in working with different populations, from children to professional adults. Excellent written and oral communication skills and the ability to work on a team are essential. This position requires some travel to Spain. Fluency in speaking and writing in Spanish is a plus.
Project 2: Assessing Emotional Skill Development in Schools
PIs: Susan Rivers, PhD & Marc Brackett, PhD
The focus of this project will be to develop, test, and implement a formative and summative assessment protocol to evaluate the impact of a social and emotional learning program. The tool will be used in research and in practice (i.e., by educators) to inform how to better differentiate instruction and track progress over time.
Specific responsibilities for the postdoctoral associate on this project will include (1) developing and testing formative and summative assessments of a social and emotional learning curricula, (2) making recommendations about how assessment data can be used to inform teaching practices as well as social and emotional learning programming, (3) producing school-friendly data reports that help schools understand how students are progressing through their social and emotional skill development, and (4) showcasing the findings of the project in research publications and scholarly presentations.
This postdoctoral associate will contribute social and emotional development expertise while working with a team of experts in school-based assessments and social and emotional learning. Ideal candidates will have a Ph.D. in developmental psychology, or a related field, as well as training and expertise in children’s social and emotional development, and interests in social and emotional learning, education, and assessment. Superb written and oral communication skills, and ability to work on a team are essential.
Project 3: Emotionally Intelligent Parenting
PIs: Robin Stern, PhD, Susan Rivers, PhD, & Marc Brackett, PhD
The objective of this project is to create effective pathways and programs for schools to fully engage parents in the education of their children’s social and emotional skills. The project will expand our current school-based efforts by developing and implementing a comprehensive program to promote parental involvement. Projects goals will be to both enhance parents’ social and emotional skills and increase their involvement in their children’s social and emotional education.
Specific responsibilities of this position will include working with the project team to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of: (1) a parent-focused curriculum that is accessible through print and electronic resource guides, multimedia presentations, online parenting communities, blogs, and phone applications, and (2) a needs and resources assessment tool for schools to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of their current parental outreach, communication efforts, and programming as well as guide the creation of an effective action plan to ensure that the content and format of selected topics and strategies reflect family needs, interests, and characteristics.
The postdoctoral associate will serve as the project director, overseeing all pieces of the project and ensuring all project goals are met. This individual will work with the project team to (a) conduct interviews, focus groups, and surveys with parents and key school personnel, (b) compile and analyze this data to inform the content of the curriculum and assessment tool, (c) develop, disseminate, and evaluate the impact of the curriculum and tool, and (d) communicate the progress and findings of this work to schools, researchers, and scholars in papers and presentations. Ideal candidates will have a Ph.D. in psychology or a related field and experience working in educational settings with students and parents. This individual will be knowledgeable of parenting and parental involvement in learning and possess excellent written and oral communication skills.
About the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence
As psychologists and practitioners at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence (formerly the Health, Emotion, and Behavior Laboratory), we are dedicated to transforming education through programs that develop the social and emotional skills of children and adults. For over 25 years, Center researchers have developed and tested theories showing that the skills individuals have for recognizing, understanding and managing their emotions and behavior matter across the domains of their lives. Through our core activities of research and dissemination, program development, and educator training, we give students, teachers, school leaders, and family members a repertoire of social and emotional skills that enhance self- and social awareness, build empathy, and improve decision-making abilities in ways consistent with creating mutually supportive and compassionate relationships. Every day we teach people of all ages — from preschoolers to CEOs — the skills they need to build healthy relationships, make sound decisions, and perform at their best. This work provides a blueprint for schools to make emotions central to all aspects of learning in ways that help children to achieve more academically, establish supportive relationships, resolve conflict productively, adopt behaviors that promote their well-being, and thrive in an increasingly complex and competitive society. For more information on the Center, please visit www.yale-ei.org.
Postdoctoral associates at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence engage in a program of structured mentoring activities with the goal of developing the skills, knowledge, and experience to excel in their independent research and academic careers. The mentoring program includes an orientation and weekly one-on-one meetings with one or more of the Center’s directors to discuss mutual expectations; project-related questions, successes, and challenges; progress in relation to career goals; as well as career options and opportunities for networking with various colleagues, collaborators, and former students of the PI and co-PIs. Yale’s Psychology Department offers colloquia, seminars, and workshops on cutting-edge research, career paths in academia, identifying funding opportunities, writing competitive proposals, and other relevant topics. Postdocs have the opportunity to gain valuable scientific writing experience in the Center by contributing to and receiving guidance and training on preparing grant proposals, manuscripts to scientific journals, and presentations at conferences. Yale also offers several courses to faculty and staff in project management roles, covering topics such as conducting interviews, communicating clearly and assertively, and dealing with conflict and confrontation.