Instructional Designer Learning Innovation Hilary Ballon Center Teaching

The Instructional Designer (Teaching & Learning Innovation) works in close partnership with the Teaching and Learning Specialist and faculty and academic staff to design, implement, and evaluate innovative teaching and assessment practices. The role supports the thoughtful integration of AI and other emerging technologies as part of a broader effort to enhance student learning and advance discipline‑specific thinking. Central to the role is ensuring that technology is used in ways that complement and augment, rather than replace, student learning, motivation, and intellectual effort.

Grounded in evidence‑based teaching and learning principles, this position focuses on translating pedagogical strategies into practical course designs, assignments, and assessments that strengthen foundational skills, critical thinking, and student engagement. The role emphasizes hands‑on collaboration with faculty to pilot new approaches, adapt assignments and assessments in response to evolving learning contexts, and develop scalable models of instructional innovation.

Hilary Ballon Center for Teaching and Learning (HBCTL) partners with faculty, academic staff, and collaborators across NYU Abu Dhabi to advance inclusive, innovative, and evidence‑informed teaching that supports student learning, belonging, and success. Through support for faculty innovation in the classroom, interdisciplinary exchange, teaching communities, and the scholarship of teaching and learning, HBCTL fosters reflective teaching practice and advances pedagogical approaches that respond to evolving educational challenges and emerging technologies within a global liberal arts context.

• 1. Instructional Design & Faculty Collaboration
  • Partner with faculty to redesign courses, assignments, and assessments that integrate AI and other learning technologies
  • Translate teaching and learning theory into practical, discipline‑specific instructional strategies
  • Support faculty in aligning learning outcomes, activities, and assessments in technology‑enhanced environments
• 2. AI Integration & Assessment Transformation
  • Help faculty adapt and redesign assessments in response to AI‑enabled student practices
  • Develop AI‑integrated, AI‑cognizant, and AI‑resistant assignment strategies
  • Support ethical and pedagogically meaningful uses of AI in coursework
• 3. Pilot Projects & Innovation
  • Co‑design and implement pilot initiatives exploring new models of teaching and learning with AI and emerging technologies
  • Iterate on designs based on feedback, student performance, and faculty input
  • Contribute to scaling successful innovations across programs
• 4. Learning Science & Student Experience
  • Apply principles from the learning sciences, including motivation, cognitive load, and skill development, to instructional design
  • Ensure that course designs promote deep learning, critical thinking, and sustained student engagement
  • Evaluate how technology impacts student effort, persistence, and learning behaviors
• 5. Evaluation, Metrics & Impact
  • Develop and apply metrics to assess the effectiveness of instructional and technological interventions
  • Analyze student learning data and feedback to inform continuous improvement
  • Contribute to evidence‑based decision‑making around teaching innovation
• 6. Tools, Resources & Capacity Building
  • Develop practical guides, templates, and examples for faculty integrating AI and technology into teaching
  • Support workshops and training sessions focused on instructional design and AI in education
  • Stay current with emerging technologies and evaluate their relevance for teaching and learning

Education: Master’s degree in Instructional Design, Learning Sciences, Educational Technology, Education, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience

Experience & Expertise:

• Minimum of 3–5 years of experience in instructional design, educational technology, or teaching and learning support in higher education
• Demonstrated experience designing or redesigning courses, assignments, and assessments in collaboration with faculty
• Strong understanding of learning sciences, including motivation, cognitive processes, and development of…