Xigui Yang
Career Goals
My career goals for the next 5 years are to graduate as planned and become a faculty member at a university to continue to work on instructional design and educational technology. The best situation, I hope, could be landing a tenure-track position at a research university either in the US or in China. I'm also open to teaching positions in higher education. Below are some sample positions that I would like to consider if I were to graduate this year.
1. University of Florida
Technology, Learning & Education Assistant/Associate Professors
Job description: The University of Florida seeks four scholars in advanced and emerging learning technologies, learning and cognitive sciences, learning analytics, and/or adaptive learning technologies. These positions will also be part of the newly forming Institute for Advanced Learning Technologies (IALT), an organization charged with facilitating interdisciplinary collaborative endeavors that will advance scholarship and practices in technology-supported learning. Specifically, we are searching for four assistant/associate rank tenure-track faculty in this cluster hire. IALT will be a multidisciplinary institute within the College of Education. These faculty will join a productive and collegial community of scholars committed to high-quality teaching, research, and service and to developing a culturally diverse faculty and student body.
Why this is interesting to me: There might be many challenges because the IALT is still new, but this position seems to promise many interdisciplinary collaborative research opportunities, which I think is important for the success of early-career scholars.
2. University of Wyoming
Assistant Professor - Instructional Technology
Job description: This is a tenure-track faculty position in the discipline area of Instructional Technology. The department is currently filling two vacancies. The faculty member will provide leadership for a graduate program by teaching master's and doctoral level courses and working with those students. In addition, the faculty member will maintain a scholarly publication agenda and provide service to the program, school, college, university, and profession. The faculty member will be expected to teach distance graduate-level courses in Instructional Technology. Additionally, the faculty member will provide committee leadership for graduate students in the program as well as service on other graduate student committees in the college. In the area of research, the faculty member will be expected to develop and maintain an active research agenda to include publications such as peer-reviewed journal articles, books, book chapters, and/or presentations at conference venues that support the profession. Service expectations include but are not limited to participation on faculty governance committees; coordination with resources offices involving distance learning; and active collaboration with the profession in Wyoming and beyond.
Why this is interesting to me: This looks like majorly a teaching position and research might be secondary. Although I might prefer a research-oriented faculty job, I don't mind starting with teaching more graduate-level courses. I have always needed practical experiences to inspire my research.
3. North Carolina State University
Assistant/Associate Professor of Learning Design and Technology
Job description: The Department of Teacher Education and Learning Sciences (TELS) in the College of Education at NC State invites applications for an Assistant / Associate Professor of Learning Design and Technology with an expressed interest in and skills related to analyzing and addressing pressing P-16 education problems (e.g. reducing the digital divide, digital learning, diversifying student experiences, globalization, changing job markets, and accessibility) through innovative and entrepreneurial technology and instructional design solutions. We are seeking a researcher who can address the long-term effectiveness of innovative technology practices at the state and national levels as well in district-level educational systems and entrepreneurial settings. Additionally, the candidate would have expertise in learning sciences and work at the intersection of learning, design, and technology with additional expertise in entrepreneurship and non-traditional learning environments. The applicant would have a demonstrated capacity to obtain external funding and if hired at the Associate level would already have a sustained funded research program in place.
Why this is interesting to me: Although the position is in the Department of Teacher Education and Learning Sciences, the P-16 education problems they are addressing are typical LDT research issues. The research contexts they outlined cover all P-16 and I think my prior teaching k-12 teaching experience in both China and the US would be a plus.