Who are we?
Prisma is a new kind of education company driven by a singular mission: to create a next generation capable of solving the world's biggest problems. The world is changing faster than ever, yet our current education system is not designed for rapid change. At Prisma we have designed a new kind of K-12 education company, which is built from the ground up to not only prepare kids in the core competencies they’ll need for the 21st century (things like applied curiosity, innovator’s mindset, communication & collaboration, and initiative & follow through to name a few) but to instill in them a desire to make a large, positive impact on the world. Prisma combines the flexibility of home-based learning, the socialization of a close-knit peer group that meets daily, the support of an inspiring learning coach, and the personalization of an interests-based, adaptable curriculum. We believe that every student deserves to love school, to be able to progress at their own pace, to pursue what interests them, to have a supportive peer group, and to reach their full potential. If you believe this too and you dream of a job where you can truly have an impact on the world, read on!
What the role is
Do you dream of reimagining the way kids learn? Are you bursting with creative ideas for bringing learning to life? Are you a lifelong learner with boundless curiosity, eager to spark that same curiosity in young people? This could be the job for you!
We are turning the typical school experience on its head, so this is not your average curriculum development role. You’ll be working alongside our distributed team to develop an online curriculum that enables flexible, self-paced learning, has a strong component of project-based and experiential learning and leverages existing best-in-class online educational programs and tools.
This position will begin as a contractor role with the opportunity to transition into full-time.
What you will do
- Work with our Head of Curriculum & curriculum designers to brainstorm, plan and design content for synchronous and asynchronous learning activities for kids in grades 4-8.
- Work with the team to ideate, outline, and execute interdisciplinary themes, our 6-week long learning cycles based on real-world topics that integrate multiple learning outcomes across subject areas and allow kids the opportunity to choose from a range of related hands-on learning experiences. Past themes include Cites of the Future, Inventor’s Studio, Uncharted Territories, Build a Business, United Nations, and Food Lab. Our ideal candidate is capable of coming up with amazing theme ideas that get kids excited.
- Design interactive, dynamic live virtual workshops that are facilitated by our learning coaches via Zoom. Past workshops have invited kids to do everything from participate in a Shark Tank style simulation where they invested in businesses, to debate the Syrian refugee crisis, to re-home endangered species based on analysis of the local ecosystem.
- Design assessment & feedback materials focused on the holistic development of each child (we don't give traditional grades or scores)
- Help us source, curate & adapt the best online learning resources, games, and apps available and incorporate them into our writing curriculum
- Incorporate feedback from the curriculum team & coaching staff on your designs
- Think outside the box & contribute to the curriculum team's vision for a learning experience that sparks more engagement than any other on Earth
Who the ideal candidate is
- Experienced curriculum designer with a portfolio of creative, engaging, and challenging lessons and/or experiences you have created for kids in grades 4-8. Experience designing curricula for a virtual environment is preferred. You do not need to have worked in traditional school environments; experience creating dynamic out-of-school time experiences for kids also works here.
- Innovative educator with proven experience ****working in areas such as project-based learning, interdisciplinary learning, game-based learning, or alternative schooling models. If you’ve only worked in traditional schools, we want to see evidence of how you’ve gone above and beyond to make learning engaging for your students.
- Exceptional writer and communicator who knows how to explain concepts and procedures clearly in writing & through engaging visuals for kids at all levels. Since our kids are virtual, they rely on written & visual explanations for tasks much more than in regular school.