Change Lab
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences

Indiana University Bloomington

Overview:

In the Change Lab (PI: Benjamin Motz) at Indiana University Bloomington, we study learning in context. Our research examines mechanisms of human learning, the conceptual structure of human knowledge, how people communicate expertise, and effective strategies when trying to build new knowledge. Our work emphasizes real-world learning materials, learning situations, and learning influences, and we explore innovative ways to bring rigorous experimental research methods and analyses to education environments. One such innovation is Terracotta (https://terracotta.education), a plugin to the learning management system that makes it easy to conduct experimental research studies in real course sites. This research involves close collaboration with teachers and schools.

This is a one-year appointment, and it will support ongoing research in the Change Lab, including studies being conducted locally, as well as large-scale distributed research conducted in Terracotta. The research associate’s responsibilities will include training collaborating teachers on experiment setup in Terracotta, supervising undergraduate research assistants, and helping to run behavioral studies online and in the lab. The research associate will have opportunities to earn authorship on publications and present posters at scientific meetings.

Qualifications:

The anticipated start date is August 10, 2026, but this is flexible.

Interested individuals should apply at https://indiana.peopleadmin.com/postings/33741 by submitting a cover letter, CV, and contact information for at least 3 references.

Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis until the position is filled. For best consideration, apply by July 24, 2026. Please contact Benjamin Motz at bmotz@iu.edu if you have any questions.

Benjamin Motz at bmotz@iu.edu