The School of Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill invites applications for a postdoctoral position in Learning Analytics and Educational Data Science. This is a full-time research position supported by an NSF Award.
The successful candidate would join a team intent on developing a program of data-driven student success interventions that leverage the data students product when they engage with digital platforms for learning.
The postdoctoral researcher will coordinate efforts between researchers in Learning Sciences and Psychology, subject matter experts who instruct Biology courses, and IT professionals who manage institutional and activity data. The candidate will play a central role in the collection of structured and unstructured data from existing digital platforms (for learning and higher education service provision), and the development of data models that afford coordination of disparate data into a central repository and subsequent mining of these data to produce algorithms that identify likelihood of learning outcomes.
Examples of potential areas for scholarship include research on the utility of institutional and activity data in higher education contexts, methods for predicting student success, and implementation science studies examining the robustness of prediction algorithms over time and across student populations. Additional details on the project scope of work can be found at NSF DUE 1821594.
The term of appointment is negotiable, however an ideal initial term would extend through June 30, 2020.
Context: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Carolina), established in 1793 as the first public university in the nation, is a doctoral-granting institution situated in the beautiful college town of Chapel Hill, NC. Ranked fifth among public institutions by US News & World Report, and one of the original public ivy schools, Carolina has earned a reputation as one of the best universities in the world, and the School of Education is among the best in the nation. The School of Education prides itself on its strong, diverse student body, unparalleled academic opportunities, and a value unmatched by any public university in the nation.
Responsibilities: Candidates will contribute to an established scope of work related to NSF Award DUE 1821594 including the coordination of learning analytics and educational data science activities between researchers in the School of Education and Department of Psychology with professionals from Information Technology Services. Candidates will (a) lead educational data mining efforts using learning analytics data derived from multiple digital platforms for learning (b) coordinate collection and curation of data models in a platform that supports coordination of structured and unstructured data and affords analysis via machine learning and AI methods (c) contribute to scholarly publications and products (d) collaboratively supervise graduate and undergraduate students on project activities; (d) support strategic initiatives across research sites; and (e) contribute to dissemination of project output to academic, higher education, and industry audiences. Opportunities to pursue or continue related academic activities are negotiable.
Those interested will find the full post—and application instructions—here.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, race, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or status as a protected veteran.