Dr. Julie Stanton and Dr. Emily Rosenzweig are seeking applications for a postdoctoral scholar to collaborate on research focused on metacognition and motivation at the University of Georgia (UGA). The scholar will be a part of an NSF-funded cohort program with other biology education research postdocs at UGA.
The scholar will work on a project focused on metacognition and motivation in biology education. Even when undergraduate science students have developed metacognitive skills, they do not always use their metacognition to take the actions needed for learning. For example, some students are aware of concepts they don’t understand and the best learning strategies for obtaining the understanding they lack, yet they avoid acting on this knowledge due to discomfort. In addition, students may choose not to use effective study strategies because of concerns about how they will be perceived, or concerns about whether a particular study strategy is worth the time and effort. This project will leverage in-the-moment and interview data to examine students’ metacognitive development and use of metacognitive strategies, with a focus on how motivational beliefs influence these processes. Using a motivational lens, this project will involve two parts: (1) analysis of an ongoing longitudinal study of metacognitive development using a motivational lens, and (2) development of a new metacognition study focused on how students weigh the costs and values of using learning approaches that are helpful but require more time and effort.
Dr. Stanton, a biology education researcher, will serve as primary mentor for the postdoctoral scholar with additional mentorship provided by Dr. Emily Rosenzweig, an educational psychologist. The salary for the position is $70,000. More information about our project, the program, and the application process are provided below.
Link to application website: https://www.ugajobsearch.com/