Part-time position (5-15 hrs/wk) available at The Dalton School (an independent Manhattan K-12 school), to mentor 7th and 8th graders in its after school Engineering & Design Workshop during the 2013/2014 academic school year. The program allows students an opportunity to pursue innovative independent projects using engineering and design. It is anticipated that many of the projects will have a robotics, mechatronics or physical computing component. For instance, one project involves designing a soccer-playing robot to compete in the 2014 US Robocup Junior competition.
The mentor will work with a team of three full-time Dalton teachers to help guide and teach approximately 24 students. The mentor will be expected to assist the faculty in all aspects of teaching, including helping the students design possible solutions, understand and implement new technologies, and troubleshoot problems. The mentor should also be willing to run workshops for Dalton teachers on topics relevant to the Workshop in order to increase the overall knowledge base of the faculty.
EDUCATION
Graduate degree (or candidate) in engineering, computer science or related field of study preferred.
EXPERTISE
Expertise in robotics, mechatronic systems or physical computing. The school is looking for a mentor who has significant experience working with these types of systems, including knowledge of a wide range of components (e.g., controllers, motors, sensors) and their use. Expertise could have been acquired as an area of graduate study or as an enthusiastic hobbyist. Experience with Arduino, the students’ development platform of choice, would be beneficial.
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