Senior Research Associate

Brown University•Fall River, MA

8d•Remote

About The Position

The Senior Research Associate will support a large-scale evaluation of the Massachusetts Literacy Launch Initiative, a statewide effort to improve literacy instruction from pre-K to grade 3. The incumbent will join a large team supporting this evaluation to help explore the implementation and impact of several state early literacy policies on teacher and student outcomes. The incumbent will help develop and lead key research analysis projects as part of the evaluation. The incumbent will be part of the Annenberg Institute’s Research Partnership for Professional Learning (RPPL) research team, led by Annenberg faculty John Papay and Nathaniel Schwartz. RPPL is a partnership that brings together professional learning (PL) organizations, district and state education systems, and researchers from the Annenberg Institute to strengthen how the field learns about and improves teacher professional learning. RPPL’s central goal is to rethink how we learn about teacher PL, shifting from studies that explore whether a specific program works to a broader learning agenda designed to identify how PL design features and the enabling conditions of PL improve teachers’ instructional practice and, as a result, students’ classroom experiences, well-being, and academic growth. RPPL focuses on supporting the learning of teachers who work with students from historically marginalized groups.

Requirements

Master's degree in related field (PhD or EdD preferred) with 5-7 years of research experience or the equivalent combination of education and experience.
Ability to work independently or as a member of a team
Experience working on large-scale research studies
A strong quantitative background.
Strong background in education research.
Strong analytical and writing skills.
Training and expertise in utilizing quantitative research methods, including experience working with complex data sets.
Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
Strong ability to explain methods to research staff and provide guidance on models and interpretation of output.
Experience reviewing code and ensuring data best practices are being followed by the research team.
Experience distilling and translating substantive takeaways from analyses to policy/practitioner audience.

Responsibilities

Drives all aspects of project planning for multiple research projects for this research team in a dynamic, layered team setting.
Takes a lead role in designing studies.
Leads data collection and analysis efforts.
Develops project models.
Engages practitioners and PL organizations as partners in research work.
Writes academic papers, reports, presentations, and grant reports.
Has a strong understanding of early literacy policy and practice.
Has extensive expertise in quantitative and/or qualitative research methods.
Demonstrated experience using research to inform policy and practice.