Job description
The role:
- Newsela is looking for a Learning Experience Designer who is able to build high-quality curricula at scale.
- This role requires extensive knowledge of state framework-aligned curriculum creation, significant experience working at a respected core curriculum provider, and a proven ability to provide and implement their expert input on assessments, lesson plans, training, and documentation, all at scale.
- A bias for action and a judicious eye for quality are both key.
- Experience working on content aligned to the California ELA/ELD framework, creation of resources for MLLs and scaffolds for striving readers are also highly valued.
Why you’ll love this role:
- ELA Curriculum and Subject Matter Expertise:
- Serve as a primary subject matter expert on curriculum creation within Newsela
- Offer expertise on ELA curriculum and content, especially within middle school and high school.
- Provide guidance and collaborate on the integration of Newsela’s unique content, lessons and assessment, ensuring all materials are culturally responsive, equitable, and accessible for diverse learners.
- Curriculum Collaboration & Review:
- Collaborate closely with curriculum writing teams, instructional designers, content developers, and assessment writers, both internal and external, offering deep insights into state frameworks and pedagogical best practices.
- Create or update guidelines for vendors to use when creating lessons and units aligned to specific state frameworks and standards.
- Review and provide thorough feedback on various curriculum components, including units, lessons, activities, lesson plans, and instructional strategies, ensuring strong alignment with state standards and the Newsela approach.
- Creation and Feedback on Instructional Strategies:
- Creation and/or review of teacher-facing pacing guides, overviews and other instructional materials.
- Awareness of best practices for MLLs and ability to create and review scaffolds or materials to support teachers in reaching every student.
- Familiarity with accessibility standards and guidelines.
- Assessment Creation and Review:
- Create or update detailed guidelines to support the creation of formative and summative assessments that are aligned to state standards and to the relevant state frameworks as well as to general assessment best practices.
- Review and provide expert input on samples of formative and summative assessments (e.g., rubrics, quizzes, performance tasks, extended response questions) to ensure they accurately measure student mastery of state standards within the Newsela platform.
- Provide critical feedback on detailed lesson plans and engaging activities, ensuring they leverage, as appropriate, Newsela’s content effectively to facilitate instruction, foster student engagement, and provide clear learning objectives.
- Project Management and Organization:
- Propose and execute on innovative solutions for scaling the review of vendor-created lessons, assessments and activities.
- Create checklists for the larger project to ensure that work is moving along on time.
- Ensure all developed materials are fully compliant with state requirements and reflect the latest pedagogical best practices.
- Vendor Collaboration and Contributor Management:
- Collaborate with and provide expert input to internal teams managing external vendors for content development, review, or other curriculum-related services, ensuring high-quality deliverables that align with Newsela’s standards and project timelines.
- Hire, train and work with contributors to help scale the review of vendor-created activities, lessons and assessments.
Why you’re a great fit:
- Experience:
- 5-7 years of progressive experience in curriculum development or instructional design, specifically within a core curriculum provider.
- Demonstrated experience working on and contributing to core ELA curriculum specifically for middle school and high school, showcasing deep familiarity with different state ELA frameworks and standards.
- Extensive experience in reviewing and providing expert feedback on assessments, lessons, and activities for K-12 ELA.
- Proven experience in contributing to or reviewing training materials and comprehensive documentation for educational products.
- Experience collaborating with teams that manage external vendors for content development, localization, or related services.
- Deep understanding of pedagogical principles and instructional strategies for ELA and ELD, especially as applied in digital learning environments.
- Education:Bachelor’s degree in English, Education, Curriculum & Instruction, or a related field. Master’s degree preferred.
Preferred:
- Experience working specifically with California curriculum and standards.
- Prior experience creating resources or scaffolds for multilingual learners.
- Experience with specific curriculum development software or content management systems used in large-scale curriculum production.
Compensation:
- Base compensation range: $70,000 - $80,000 per year. This is non-negotiable.
- Total compensation for this role also includes incentive stock options and benefits.
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