UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES INTRODUCTORY INSTRUCTOR : MATH FOR LIFE SCIENCE STUDENTS
The Life Sciences Core Curriculum seeks an Academic Administrator III. The position is full time and the Salary range is between $64,920-$90,168. The position will provide curriculum development and instruction for LS 20, LS30A, and LS30B in the Life Sciences Core Curriculum on quarterly basis including summer sessions. Overview of the Position: Provide curriculum development and instruction for two-quarter, introductory math series (LS30A and LS30B) called Mathematics for Life Scientists, and for a one-quarter course (LS20) called Quantitative Concepts for Life Sciences. Responsibilities for each course include preparing and giving student-centered, inclusive lectures, overseeing the computational laboratory components and connecting modeling applications to concepts covered in lectures, offering office hours, giving students regular feedback as well as preparing and submitting student grades, and supervising/mentoring the graduate student teaching assistants (TAs). This position also entails administering the undergraduate Learning Assistants (LA) program associated with each course, with responsibilities that include coordinating the recruitment and hiring of undergraduate LAs, co-facilitating the LA pedagogy training course (LS192), and mentoring the undergraduate LAs in LS20, LS30A, and LS30B. This position involves interactions with the Program for Excellence in Education and Research in the Sciences (PEERS), with responsibilities that include helping to recruit effective graduate student collaborative learning workshop facilitators and co-developing worksheets used by PEERS students in the workshops. Instruction and Curriculum Development The Academic Administrator will provide curriculum development in the LS Core and when necessary instruction as directed by the Chair of the Life Sciences Core Curriculum, a cross-divisional instructional program. Duties include the following: • Develop course materials for LS20, LS30A, and LS30B to support the ongoing improvement and implementation of these interdisciplinary courses. New course materials could include pre-class quizzes, note-taking guides, in-class activities, discussion and computational laboratory section activities, and homework assignments. Development of these materials will be guided by the biology education literature, faculty feedback, and evidence-based best practices for promoting learning, diversity, and inclusivity in large enrollment mathematics courses. • Prepare and deliver student-centered, inclusive lectures in LS20, LS30A, and LS30B that incorporate evidence-based teaching practices; oversee the computational laboratory components of each course, make clear to students the connections to the modeling applications of concepts covered in lectures; supervise through weekly meetings the graduate student teaching assistants (TAs) for each course, and ensure that they incorporate effective teaching practices in laboratories and discussion sections; offer a minimum of 2 office hours per course per week; provide students regular and timely feedback on all assignments, ensuring TAs do the same; and submit student grades in accordance with university policy. • Facilitate the transition to student-centered teaching in these interdisciplinary courses. Provide additional support for other LS20, LS30A, and LS30B instructors, such as: technical support with clickers, CCLE, and video lectures. Assist instructors and TAs in creating custom activities for class meetings and discussion sections (e.g., clicker questions, worksheets, computational problem sets, exam questions). Promote discussion of pedagogy and teaching philosophy to support student success, diversity, and inclusion. • Work effectively with LS Core staff to coordinate scheduling. • Solicit feedback from faculty, instructors, graduate student TAs, undergraduate LAs, and enrolled undergraduate students on the effectiveness of the LS20, LS30A, and LS30B courses. • Administer the undergraduate Learning Assistants (LA) program associated with LS20, LS30A, and LS30B in coordination with UCLA’s LA Program Director for the Sciences in the Center for Education Innovation and Learning in the Sciences (CEILS); Responsibilities include recruiting and hiring qualified undergraduate LAs, co-facilitating the LA pedagogy training course (LS192), and mentoring the undergraduate LAs in LS20, LS30A, and LS30B through weekly meetings focused on course content. • Coordinate the recruitment of qualified graduate students to serve as facilitators for the collaborative learning workshops offered through the PEERS program. Responsibilities include assisting with the recruitment of effective graduate student collaborative learning workshop facilitators, and co-developing and/or approving worksheets provided to PEERS students by the facilitators during the workshops. Activities The Academic Administrator will participate in scholarly activities to support the educational experiences of undergraduates in the LS Core Curriculum. Activities fall into, but are not limited to, these two categories: (1) assessment of the LS20, LS30A, and LS30B interdisciplinary courses and (2) advancing their personal scholarship of teaching and learning to support curriculum development in these courses. Specific responsibilities include the following: • Lead the ongoing assessment of LS20, LS30A, and LS30B interdisciplinary courses. Under guidance of the Chair, collect data that will provide formative feedback for their continual improvement. • Identify and form partnerships with other education researchers on campus (e.g., researchers in the Center for Educational Assessment and the Graduate School of Education) to collaborate on research projects serving the LS Core and the broader campus community. • Author and serve as Principal Investigator for intramural and extramural funding applications to support curriculum development as well as research projects described here and divisional initiatives related to biology education reform, retention of students in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), and the promotion of diversity and inclusivity in STEM courses. • Engage in the scholarship of teaching and learning by collecting data to aid in the creation and refinement of course materials. • Disseminate the work of the LS Core and the outcomes of the research activities described here by publishing in respected education research journals, submitting course materials to peer-reviewed lesson plan repositories, and presenting regularly at local and national STEM education conferences. Academic Service Under the guidance of the Chair, the Academic Administrator will serve both the campus community and the broader education research community. Specific examples of academic service include the following: • As a member of the Core group, represent the Division to coordinate with other University initiatives regarding the success of Life Science students, the use of active learning strategies, and the promotion of diversity and inclusivity. • Participate in faculty committees responsible for LS Core oversight and course development. • Mentor undergraduate and graduate students, particularly those interested in science education careers and the scholarship of teaching and learning. As appropriate, the Academic Administrator will engage students in education research projects aligned with the research activities outlined above. • Actively participate in Core and Division efforts to promote best-practices in teaching. This will include participating in professional development workshops and institutes, leading or helping to organize and facilitate faculty or TA workshops about effective pedagogy or assessment, participating in professional learning community activities such as weekly journal clubs supported by our Center for Education Innovation and Learning in the Sciences (CEILS). • Attend national conferences and workshops to represent UCLA as a change agent for teaching and learning in higher education. Qualifications and Application Instructions: Qualifications include a Ph.D. degree in a mathematical discipline (e.g., Mathematics, Biomathematics) or a Ph.D. in a life science discipline (Biology, Microbiology, Ecology, Physiology, Biochemistry, Neuroscience, Genetics or other related field) with strong mathematical skills; experience in undergraduate teaching at a university level; substantial knowledge of student-centered, inclusive pedagogy and evidence-based best practices as related to college instruction; demonstrated interpersonal and communication skills; demonstrated ability to collaborate with other faculty and academic staff in teaching and course development work; and a commitment to promoting diversity and inclusivity in the classrooms. Prefer candidates with experience in formative and summative assessment methods used to inform curriculum development efforts as well as to design, implement, and analyze education research projects. Strong preference for candidates with demonstrated ability to talk about mathematical concepts to non-mathematicians. The position will be under the supervision of Dr. Frank Laski, Chair of the Life Sciences Core Education Department. To apply, candidates should submit a cover letter expressing their interest in the position, a curriculum vitae, a two-page teaching statement summarizing experience in undergraduate teaching at the university level that includes a description of pedagogical approaches used, and the names and contact information for three references online to: https://recruit.apo.ucla.edu/apply/JPF02769 If available, candidates also should submit copies of student evaluations and any other instructional or assessment materials candidates feel would assist the search committee with an evaluation of their application. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age or protected veteran status. For the complete University of California nondiscrimination and affirmative action policy see: UC Nondiscrimination and Affirmative Action Policy (http://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4000376/NondiscrimAffirmAct). -- ------------- Jane Shevtsov, Ph.D. Mathematical Biology Curriculum Writer, UCLA co-founder, www.worldbeyondborders.org "Muad'Dib learned rapidly because his first training was in how to learn. And the first lesson of all was the basic trust that he *could* learn. It's shocking to find how many people do not believe they can learn, and how many more believe learning to be difficult." --Frank Herbert, *Dune*
