The Zuckerman Institute seeks an Assistant Program Facilitator for our new Neuroethics Institute program for middle school teachers. This program aims to equip middle school teachers with engaging tools, resources, and evidence-based lessons to use with their students in order to approach the discussion of current events and controversial topics at the intersection of neuroscience, ethics, and society. Examples in the upcoming Neuroethics Institutes include neuroscience-inspired classroom design for neurodiverse students, the neuroethics of AI in education, and the impact of screen time on the developing brain. The program will encompass several coordinated activities within a 4-day workshop. Using a “train the trainer” framework, these efforts will be tailored to engage middle school teachers in the same interactive learning experiences they will then practice with their students — promoting critical thinking, ethical considerations, and the application of neuroscience principles in real-world contexts, as well as an appreciation for neuroscience research. The workshops will also provide teachers with dedicated time, space, and access to experts in order to prepare themselves and their students for informed and thoughtful discourse. Deliverables include the development of middle-school appropriate pedagogy and open-source online resources, and post-workshop retrospectives to review teachers’ experiences and outcomes.

Reporting to the Associate Director of Education & Training Initiatives, the Assistant Program Facilitator will collaborate closely with the Associate Director and be responsible for helping develop workshop material for 2 months prior to the workshops and help implement the workshops. During workshop development, the Assistant Program Facilitator will help coordinate with guest scientists who will visit the workshops to deliver guest lectures or conduct scientist Q&As. The Assistant Program Facilitator will also attend all workshop days.

In the 6-month period after the workshops, the Assistant Program Facilitator will maintain and manage an open database of educational materials developed during the workshop, plus any additional resources they curate. Finally, the Assistant Program Facilitator will assist with the planning of the program Summit, a one-day conference 6-12 months after the workshop.

The Variable Hours Officer will work in a part-time ~5-10 hours per week capacity or as needed.

Responsibilities

• Attends and assists with facilitation during all 4 workshop days

  • Assist the Associate Director with facilitation during seminars, including designing content to maximize the impact of workshops, helping the participants learn the materials and create their onsite lesson plan development, implementing activities, and facilitating a peer-to-peer model of learning.

  • Familiarize themself with program content.

  • Assist with setup 1 hour prior to seminar and cleanup 1 hour after seminar.

• Advises the Associate Director on best practices for middle-school teacher professional development.

• Manages the open-source database, archive lesson plan ideas generated by participants, and collects additional resources during the 6-month evaluation period.

• Ensures all seminar activities and lesson plans are aligned with national and state-level education standards.

• Assists in the planning and execution of the program Summit, a one-day conference 6-12 months after the workshop.

Provides additional scientific and educational resources as relevant.
 

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required.

• Minimum two (2) years teaching science at the middle school level or equivalent experience.

• Excellent editing and organizational skills.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.