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Meet Dr. Joshua Prieur, our Director of Educational Efficacy! Josh is a lifelong learner who served in public K-12 education for eight years in Florida. He has experience as both a classroom teacher and a school administrator and has been a long-standing employee at Prodigy since 2019! The purpose of his role is to support, coach, and consult on matters related to K-12 education in the United States.
Hey Josh! Tell us a bit about your journey with Prodigy so far! What made you decide to switch from working in a school district, to an EdTech company?
My role at Prodigy for the past 4 years has been to help the company better understand the nuances of the K-12 education system in the United States. My work has included building up our efficacy portfolio, and traveling to conduct public speaking engagements. My decision to leave the school system and switch to Prodigy was influenced by a few factors. The first was Prodigy's business model. I have seen firsthand the need for world-class tools that are available at no cost to educators, students, and parents. I love that every student in the world, regardless of where they are or their socioeconomic status, has access to all of the in-game educational content that Prodigy’s Math & English games provide. I didn’t personally have a great relationship with mathematics as a young learner and, today having a background in math can unlock the possibility for so many incredible STEM-related careers, so I hope that our games inspire a love of learning Math and English that lasts a lifetime for the students who play them. Lastly, the potential to impact millions of learners – with Prodigy’s user base, I felt that I could still be true to my “educator” self and help to improve learning for students, but do so on a larger scale through educational technology.
What is unique about your role at Prodigy?
My role at Prodigy is very dynamic. One aspect that makes my role unique is the work I get to do with both internal and external partners to develop efficacy research.This research helps to uncover the positive academic and attitudinal impact that our digital games have on students who use them. Moreover, I also received the opportunity to lead the research paper that anchors our company's Motivation First! philosophy of education. Finally, speaking publicly on behalf of our organization is another unique aspect of my role. This is something really close to my heart and a true privilege. During my time at Prodigy Education, I have spoken on television, radio, on podcasts, and at EdTech conferences. The most recent thought leadership panel I led was at SXSW EDU in Austin, Texas which was an incredible experience!
How has your work contributed to product evolution?
My role focuses heavily on staying user-obsessed, to me, that means paying close attention to what teachers and students need in the classroom and relaying this information to our team so we can ensure our product meets these needs. My time here has also given me the opportunity to support a variety of product features, including our co-teach function and focus mode. My role also focuses a lot on connecting with teachers and sharing their stories and case studies so that we can make better decisions about the services we provide.
What motivates you in your role and here at Prodigy?
Through my role at Prodigy, I have the opportunity to make an impact on millions of students. It is extremely motivating to be able to contribute to a platform that allows students to associate joy with learning Math and English. It will be exciting to see how many more students our platform will reach, and I look forward to continuing on this journey with Prodigy.
What is your most memorable moment here?
That's a tough one! While working here, I have experienced so many memorable moments. Doing school site visits across the US was for sure one of my most memorable experiences. We visited schools in Buffalo, Austin, Pittsburgh and Chicago. It was amazing to hear how much teachers and students enjoy Prodigy’s games. We were also happy to hear about how our games support teachers, providing them with a free resource in the classroom that allows them to enhance the learning and engagement of their students. Hearing about the positive impact we are having on students makes all the hard work here worthwhile.
Interested in a role here at Prodigy? Check out our open positions!