Undergraduate Research Assistant - Quality Talk

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Approval of remote and hybrid work is not guaranteed regardless of work location. For additional information on remote work at Penn State, see Notice to Out of State Applicants.

JOB DESCRIPTION AND POSITION REQUIREMENTS The Quality Talk research team is seeking an undergraduate research assistant to work on our federally funded research project housed in the College of Education. This employee will provide support for various research activities, including literature searches, data management, and processing and analyzing data.

The project is funded by the National Science Foundation and is aimed at enhancing mathematics teacher educators’ capacity to support preservice teachers developing pedagogical knowledge and skills through reasoning-intensive mathematics discussions. The model and professional development approach used in the project, Quality Talk, has been shown in previous studies to increase teachers’ discussion-based pedagogical content knowledge and efficacy as well as students’ critical-analytic thinking and reasoning.

Responsibilities include deidentifying and processing video discourse data, as well as data management tasks such as scanning, scoring, and ensuring data integrity. Other research tasks may also be assigned. Training for these skills will be provided as needed.

Compensation for this part-time position starts at $15/hr

Required Applicant Prerequisites:

• Enrollment in a relevant undergraduate program (e.g., Education, Human Development, Psychology, Mathematics, or Statistics)
• Successful completion of CITI Training
• Commitment to working 30 hours/per week
• In-person work on the UP campus of Penn State in a group setting

Preferred Applicant Qualities:

• Knowledge and/or prior experience with elementary and/or high school mathematics, science, and English language arts teaching and learning
• Prior research experience in any of the following: web design and development; online engagement; video coding and analysis; curriculum development; instrument and scoring rubric development; data management; and/or qualitative data analysis

Applicants must apply online. Questions regarding this position can be directed to Emilee Herman ([email protected]). Applicants should express interest by May 12, 2025, but materials will be accepted until the position is filled.

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