PhD in Developmental Psychology focus development of metacognitive skills

PhD in Developmental Psychology with a focus on the development of metacognitive skills

University of Basel ranks among the world’s one hundred best universities and boast a top-ten place among German-speaking universities.

The Faculty of Psychology is one of seven faculties of the oldest university in Switzerland. With our core focus on Society & Choice and Health & Interventions, we are successful both nationally and internationally in our research and study programs.
The PhD candidate will join the Human Development group at the Faculty of Psychology, University of Basel and contribute to a research program investigating the development of metacognitive skills across childhood and adolescence. Metacognitive skills play a central role in successful learning because they enable learners to monitor their own understanding, recognize uncertainty, detect errors, and regulate their behavior accordingly.
The PhD project will examine how metacognitive monitoring and regulation develop across different age groups and within individuals over time. A particular focus will be on complex learning activities, such as text comprehension and reasoning. The project will investigate questions such as whether children can accurately evaluate their own performance, recognize misunderstandings and errors, and adapt their learning strategies when difficulties arise.

To address contemporary challenges in the control of learning, the project will further investigate how children and adolescents use AI-based tools in situations of uncertainty, with a particular focus on age-related developmental differences in recognizing when external support is needed.
The research combines cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches to understand developmental changes in metacognitive skills from childhood through adolescence. Data collection will primarily take place in schools, where children and adolescent research participants will complete computer-based learning tasks designed to capture metacognitive monitoring and regulation during task performance.
The successful candidate will work in a collaborative and interdisciplinary research environment and will have opportunities to develop expertise in developmental research methods, educational research, longitudinal designs and advanced statistical analyses.

• Coordinate and conduct research on the development of metacognitive monitoring and control across childhood and adolescence.
• Design research tasks to investigate metacognitive monitoring and control.
• Contribute to research coordination, and organizational tasks within the research group.
• Collect data in schools, including establishing and maintaining collaborative relationships with schools and teachers.
• Manage and analyze cross-sectional and longitudinal data using advanced statistical methods.
• Disseminate research findings through peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations and reports.
• Communicate scientific findings to schools, teachers, educational practitioners, and the broader public, and contribute to science communication and knowledge transfer.
• Contribute to teaching activities (e.g., seminars, supervision of bachelor's and master's students).
• Contribute to research coordination, and organizational tasks within the research group.

• You have a very good master's degree in Psychology.
• You are interested in cognitive and developmental processes underlying learning.
• You enjoy working with children and adolescents and are motivated to engage with schools, teachers, and other educational stakeholders.
• You have excellent knowledge of research methods and statistics and are interested in learning new methodological and statistical approaches. Experience with longitudinal, developmental, or school-based research is an asset.
• You are proficient in data analysis using R.
• You have programming skills or are willing to learn programming for developing and implementing computerized research tasks.
• You are proficient in both English and German and can communicate effectively with researchers, students, teachers and other stakeholders.
• You are organized, proactive, and able to work independently and reliably.
• You enjoy working…