This student position will produce online Canvas modules on foundational, prerequisite concepts and skills for a variety of Middlebury STEM courses. These materials will provide course instructors with high-quality, self-contained, ready-made, generalized study resources designed to help students refresh and review the foundational skills needed for success in their courses. The student hire will receive training in evidence-based principles of instructional design and college pedagogy and will then apply that knowledge to develop online Canvas modules in foundational STEM technical skills. The student hire will gain experience in evidence-based teaching practices, curriculum design, and technical communication while producing original, portfolio-quality instructional materials.

Is this Job for You?
This position is best suited for a rising junior or senior, though qualified rising sophomores who have completed at least two semesters of relevant coursework will also be considered. The ideal candidate will have interest in several of the following:

• Pursuing a career in STEM education at a secondary or post-secondary level

• Pursuing graduate study in a STEM or education field, or a career in public or nonprofit STEM education (museums, aquaria, education centers, etc.)

• Improving STEM education and student learning at Middlebury through the development of evidence-based instructional materials

• Developing technical communication skills for scientific and quantitative topics

• Working independently on structured projects

This is a Middlebury student Level C position paying $15.40 per hour.

This will be an in-person position as a summer employee at Middlebury for 30 hours/week for 8 weeks, Monday-Friday. Start and end dates can be flexible between June 15th and August 28th.

Applicants are not expected to meet every criterion listed below. Motivation, curiosity, independence, and willingness to learn are strongly valued! However, because the student hire will develop instructional materials in areas where they already have some foundational knowledge, experience in two or more of the following subject areas is expected.

The ideal candidate will have basic to intermediate experience in at least one of the following software tools/coding languages:

• Excel (basic to intermediate formulas, sorting/filtering, data cleaning, charts)

• R and RStudio (building a dataset, basic calculations, importing, cleaning, and visualizing data with tidyverse, basic statistics)

• Python (e.g., working with data in pandas, simple visualizations)

• MATLAB (e.g., basic scripting, numerical analysis, plotting)

• ArcGIS (e.g., basic map visualization, spatial data exploration)

• Other commonly used STEM software tools and/or coding languages not listed above

The ideal candidate will also have basic to intermediate experience in at least one of the following quantitative STEM subjects:

• Foundational topics in mathematical reasoning, calculation, and algebra

• Foundational topics in calculus I

• Introductory statistics for analysis of scientific data

• Applied math skills for introductory biology, chemistry, environmental/earth sciences, or physics (as covered in two semesters of introductory courses at Middlebury)

Application Instructions and Required Materials:

Applicants should submit a cover letter and resume. Additionally, applicants are required to obtain a letter of recommendation from a Middlebury STEM professor or other relevant recommender.

The cover letter should include the following:

• Your interest in this position and how it relates to your academic and career goals

• Any prior experience in STEM teaching, tutoring, or other educational roles

• Two or three specific STEM skills and subjects for which you would be interested in developing instructional materials (see descriptions above), and your prior coursework and experience with those topics

Complete applications (including letters of recommendation) are due by 11:59PM on Sunday, April 5th. Applicants selected for interviews will be contacted to schedule in-person interviews in early April.

Student Employment Eligibility:

Unless restricted by certain visa status, all students with an active status for the semester are eligible for jobs on campus.

Students on leave or withdrawn are not eligible to work in student employment positions until the semester in which they return. If you are currently withdrawn or on leave you are eligible to be employed in staff positions.

Some may be restricted due to financial aid status. International students (non-resident aliens) may not work off campus unless they have applied for and received work authorization from the United States government. (An F-1 visa does not give work authorization.) Off campus work study positions are available only to U.S. citizens on financial aid with a federal work study component.

Student are not eligible to work remotely from International locations.

Hour Limitations:

All student employees are limited to working no more than 20 hours per week in on campus jobs during the academic year (this includes exam periods). The only exception is when there is a full week when school is not in session. Specifically: February recess, Spring recess, and full weeks of December or summer recess. During these time periods only, students can work up to 40 hours per week. International Students: Visa restrictions prohibit international students from exceeding 20 hours of work per academic calendar week.