Feedback on Jake's application materials

Research statement

  • I found your research statement very impressive: substantial, interesting, comprehensible to a non-expert. The research focus section is particularly well-crafted.
  • This may be me reading across disciplines, but I see you emphasizing keywords like “trustworthy” and “explainable algorithms” that have been part of the public discourse on the ethics of technology, despite the amoral framing of your research. I’d want to avoid a situation where a search committee has at least one member deeply concerned about cultivating a department of ethical research, and uses this as a filter. I’m sure you have thought a lot about the ethics of your field, how ethics get discussed in your field, and where you want to position yourself within that discourse; I’m just noting a slight dissonance here.
  • Your research statement is very substantial and impressive; I’d think about letting your kindness, humility, and sense of wonder shine through too. You’re already going to stand out, but part of getting from finalist to a job offer is people seeing you as a future colleague. Consider de-emphasizing “Me” and put the focus into your work. This could be as simple as changing the subheadings “My vision” -> “Vision.” I’d consider an alternative to “research thrusts.” And “grow to rival the richness of Nature” could come across as hubristic, but you’ll know your field and its community better than me.
  • Style:
    • Using bold and italic styles within normal text, in addition to color and multiple levels of headings, is distracting to me. Especially when the you don’t follow the emerging convention of italicizing constructs (“computational efficiency”) and fields (“geometric mechanics”), using italics for emphasis (“body-fixed”, “why”).
    • Something about the vertical rhythm at the bottom of the first page is off. Maybe the line heights around the lists? I don’t know, ask a designer :)
    • Ensure that your colored headings look OK when desaturated; some application systems will strip out color, or people will print them out.
    • Personally, I don’t love the justaposition of Arial and something like Computer Modern (and also something monospaced for “aGAS”). I’d consider a single typeface for the body text, maybe just using a second for the title.
  • Do you need the “Current work” subheading in each of the research thrusts? For example, you could end the intro paragraph with “Current work:” and then bump the third-level headings up to second-level.
  • Typos:
    • they have less fewer actuators than degrees of freedom

Teaching statement

  • Your teaching statement is compelling: it shows that you’re an effective teacher, structurally and interpersonally. You’re specific about your teaching practices and the effects they have on your students’ learning. I particularly appreciate how you weave in the voices of your students: it’s about their learning, not about your teaching.
  • Your engagement with educational theory is spotty. I don’t think you need references to educational theory at all, but it might be better not to use references here than having just one reference. Or maybe it’s fine… the ref you have feels like a solid summary. In case it’s of interest, here are some constructs related to learning and identity which I see you talking about without naming. I’m not necessarily suggesting a deep-dive here; maybe just potentially-useful concepts to be aware of.
    • In the section “Structured Learning and Gradual Independence,” you are talking about Vygotsky’s Zone of proximal development (skills which students can’t yet do on their own, but which they can do with support) and the related pedagogical principle of scaffolding, providing temporary support to make it possible for students to do things students they can’t yet do on their own, then gradually removing the support.
    • In “Cultivating Spaces Where Brave Curiosity is Socially Safe,” I think you’re also supporting students in constructing disciplinary identities, learning how to think and talk like engineers.
    • Your description of hands-on, authentic learning experiences is very close to “situated cognition and cognitive apprenticeship [1].
  • I think you’re wise to leave space to align your teaching statement with whatever you can learn about departmental needs–my sense is that in some cases, one priority for hiring committees is finding someone qualified and willing to fill a specific teaching need. When this is noted in the posting, it’s a good idea to be responsive. (I also think your expressed interest in innovating new courses will be welcome in many departments.)
  • Your sincerity, generosity, and reciprocal understanding of teaching and learning are evident in “Mentorship of students.” One question that’s been part of all the hiring interviews I’ve been part of (as applicant and as committee member) is: “What is your experience with mentoring doctoral students who are nonwhite, first-generation or international? What strategies do you plan to use as an advisor?” You directly address this in your diversity statement; I suggest you point readers there from your teaching statement, in case they don’t read the diversity statement.

Diversity statement

This is nicely-written. I like the organization and the specificity; I don’t have any suggestions for revision.

References

Brown, J. S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated Cognition and the Culture of Learning. Educational Researcher, 18(1), 32. https://doi.org/10.2307/1176008