Cristine Legare, Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, is seeking candidates for a postdoctoral position to begin Summer or Fall of 2015. The position is part of a NSF-funded project titled “Explaining, Exploring, and Scientific Reasoning in Museum Settings”. This collaborative project investigates how parents and children from diverse backgrounds engage in explanation and exploration of scientific concepts in three children’s museums across the U.S., including the Thinkery in Austin, Texas. In addition to uncovering patterns of family explanation and exploration, we intend to measure children’s causal understanding, and build on this knowledge base to develop and test interventions. The successful candidate will work closely on projects with Cristine Legare in collaboration with Maureen Callanan (UCSC) and David Sobel (Brown). The position is for two years.
Ideal candidates will have a Ph.D. in psychology, education, cognitive science, or a closely related field, with experience conducting research on the development of scientific reasoning, causal learning, and early science education. Candidates with experience working in museum settings and expertise in studying parent-child interaction will receive special consideration. Strong statistical skills are required.
More information about the PI and Cognition, Culture, and Development Lab can be found at:
More information about the Thinkery (The New Austin Children’s Museum) can be found at:
Interested applicants should submit a CV, cover letter with statement of research interests (2 pages), contact information for three potential references, and up to two publications. Reference letters will be requested from short-listed applicants. Applications received by March 1st will receive full consideration; review of applications will continue until the position is filled. Salary will be based on the NSF postdoctoral rates and the start date is negotiable.
Please send your application materials, as a single PDF document, to the CCD Lab manager, Alex Etz ccdlabmanager@gmail.com. Other inquiries can be directed to Cristine Legare at legare@austin.utexas.edu.