Project Overview:

The primary goal of this project is to refine and validate Emma’s Dream, a 7-week curriculum designed to help children ages 6–10 discover their natural talents and dreams through a structured blend of social-emotional learning (SEL), games, and experiential activities. The program is currently in a product development phase and will be piloted across schools in Chicago, with future scalability in mind.

This initiative represents an intersection of curriculum innovation, developmental psychology, and human-centered design. As the program is implemented in real-time classroom settings, researchers will observe, evaluate, and iterate on the content weekly, guided by child developmental benchmarks and feedback from students, educators, and caregivers.

Role Description – Child Psychologist / Research Consultant:

You will join the early-stage development team of Emma’s Dream to serve as a key evaluator and co-creator of evidence-based revisions. Your role will combine developmental insight with practical application, ensuring that the curriculum is psychologically sound, engaging, and inclusive for a range of learning profiles—including neurodiverse children.

What You’ll Do:

• Conduct a comprehensive review of the 7-week curriculum from a developmental psychology and SEL perspective.
• Validate a series of play-based activities and reflective prompts aimed at helping children identify their passions, natural strengths, and emotional needs.
• Provide ongoing feedback on weekly classroom trials during the pilot, noting behavioral patterns, age-appropriateness, and developmental engagement.
• Offer age-appropriate modifications and culturally responsive recommendations to enhance inclusivity and emotional safety.
• Collaborate with the lead team to design a scalable curriculum improvement framework informed by both empirical research and live classroom observation.

Expected Project Outcomes and Deliverables:

• A curriculum evaluation report, with detailed commentary on content relevance, psychological soundness, and age-group suitability.
• A validation summary or short presentation indicating which activities align with core developmental and emotional learning benchmarks.
• A set of actionable curriculum revision recommendations, informed by frameworks such as Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, CASEL’s SEL competencies, and self-determination theory.
• Optional: Participation in 1–2 feedback sessions with parents and/or educators to gather additional insights and collaboratively refine the implementation strategy.

Ideal for Individuals Interested In:

• Product Management in Education
• Developmental Psychology
• Social Impact Entrepreneurship
• Behavioral Design & Innovation
• Curriculum Development & Assessment