SPRING 2006 INTERNSHIP/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY IN RESEARCH AND EVALUATION

The Institute for Learning Innovation, a not-for-profit learning research and development organization that works to describe, assess, and advance learning in free-choice settings such as museums, libraries, community-based programs, and websites, as well as in the formal education system, is offering a three-month, paid internship/professional development opportunity as a Research and Evaluation Assistant. The Spring 2006 Deborah A. Carey Internship begins in February or March 2006 and ends twelve weeks later in April or May 2006. Start and end dates can be tailored to accommodate the intern's schedule. The internship is three months long, and interns are paid $1200 per month.  Internships occur at our office in Annapolis, Maryland. 

The Research and Evaluation Assistant will work on a variety of projects including the evaluation of museum exhibitions and/or programs, as well as the evaluation of community-based and/or technology-based programs. Past interns have worked with projects such as a front-end evaluation of an exhibition at the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum, an audience research project at the American Philosophical Society to understand visitor’s attitudes about museums’ use of reproductions and original artifacts in exhibitions, a summative evaluation of a teacher development program, and a variety of other evaluations conducted at museums and with community and free-choice learning organizations.  Duties are specific to projects that are available at the time and will include some or all of the following tasks:

* Coordinating aspects of evaluation planning and design. The candidate may work with a project manager to formulate the initial design and conceptualization of an evaluation project.

* Collecting data in the field. Data collection may involve conducting interviews, observations, or tracking in a museum, community-based organization, or free-choice learning institution.

* Reducing and analyzing data. Candidates may code and then enter data into the appropriate software program.

* Writing technical reports that interpret and summarize data.

The ideal candidate has a keen interest in better understanding how, what, where and why people learn in all aspects of their lives, but especially related to experiences in free-choice learning organizations. Having some prior experience in research and evaluation and/or coursework in research and evaluation or statistics is recommended. The candidate should have strong analytical thinking skills, excellent written and oral communication skills, as well as sound interpersonal skills.  The candidate must also learn quickly, and should be able to work simultaneously on multiple, diverse tasks.  Successful interns are working toward, or have just completed, a graduate degree, and professionals in the field are encouraged to apply.  Unfortunately, we can accept only U. S. citizens for applicants at this time.  

Applications will be accepted through November 30, 2005.

Interested candidates should send a cv/resume, three letters of reference, and a cover letter to:

Institute for Learning Innovation,
166 West St.
Annapolis, MD 21401.
Attention: Dale Jones.

Please note that all materials can be sent by email if desired.

For further information, please contact:
Dale Jones
(410) 268-5149, 
(410) 268-2179 (fax)
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The Institute for Learning Innovation, a not-for-profit established in 1986, is committed to better understanding the nature of free-choice learning and its role in a Learning Society. We disseminate the results of our research, evaluation, and planning efforts through publications, presentations, workshops and professional trainings in order to provide educational policy makers, researchers and practitioners with up-to-date understandings of free-choice learning and to encourage a more encompassing and accurate understanding of where, when and how learning occurs.


Our efforts are focused in three areas:

• We investigate free-choice learning in multiple settings and across generations;
• We support and document efforts to create effective free-choice learning experiences; and,
• We help professionals develop and build their skills and capacities in free-choice learning.

For further information, visit the Institute's website located at www.ilinet.org

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