How to Apply:

Please indicate your interest by submitting a cover letter and resume. Please be sure to explain very clearly your qualifications for this position in your cover letter. Optionally include a portfolio or sample of your curriculum design work.

Submit your application to CTWHiring@umich.edu by Feb. 28, 2025

Job Summary:

Overview:

Our team is seeking a student Curriculum Designer to join the Community Tech Worker (CTW) Program, an initiative dedicated to building digital capacity among under-resourced small businesses in Detroit. The CTW program leverages a train-the-trainer model to empower local youth and University of Michigan students to deliver technology solutions to small businesses. This role is essential to developing a culturally-informed, scalable training curriculum that combines technical skills with cultural awareness and humility. 

This is a unique opportunity for a curriculum design expert, particularly one with a background in education, learning sciences, or instructional design, to contribute to the social and economic empowerment of small businesses. The curriculum designer will work closely with an interdisciplinary faculty and staff team that includes Julie Hui (Information), Tawanna Dillahunt (Information), Kristin Seedfeldt (Ford/Social Work), Lutalo Sanifu (Center for Innovation), and Christie Baer (Ross).

Responsibilities:

Curriculum development

• Assess existing training materials and pedagogical frameworks to identify gaps

• Identify areas to streamline training

• Collaborate with faculty and other project stakeholders to refine learning objectives and ensure alignment with business stakeholder needs

• Design and develop a hybrid curriculum (combining synchronous and asynchronous components) that integrates technical training with cultural awareness and humility

• Leveraging your expertise, select, adapt, or create instructional resources such as case studies, online videos, reflective writing prompts, interactive activities, and more

Stakeholder engagement

• Gather insights from past and prospective clients of Jefferson East, Incorporated and Live6—two neighborhood-based community planning and development organizations working to advance economic business strategies in Detroit—to assess whether the curriculum meets real-world needs

• Incorporate feedback from all stakeholders, including university faculty, staff, and community experts, into the training framework

Evaluation and assessment

• Design and implement an assessment strategy to evaluate trainee learning outcomes and curriculum effectiveness

• Develop scalable training approaches for communities with limited resources

Cultural Awareness Integration

• Use tools like implicit bias tests, reflective writing assignments, and other culturally-informed methods to foster self-awareness and multicultural competence

• Ensure the curriculum aligns with research-backed frameworks such as culturally responsive teaching (Ladson-Billings, 2023) and culturally relevant education in computing (Morales-Chicas et al., 2019).

Hours and Duration: 

This person will work 8-12 hours per week from February 2025 - April 30, 2025 with the possibility of continuing similar work into Summer 2025.

Minimum qualifications include:

• Prior experience designing and implementing hybrid or online learning curricula;

• Expertise in integrating culturally responsive pedagogy into educational or training programs;

• Strong project management skills and ability to collaborate across diverse teams;

• Graduate student in good standing;

Desired qualifications include:

• Working towards a Master’s degree or higher in Curriculum and Instruction, Educational Technology, Learning Sciences, or related field at the University of Michigan;

• Formal teaching experience;

• Curriculum design experience