Resources

Resources

The TAPDINTO-STEM Alliance is committed to increasing the success of students with disabilities in post-secondary education and their transition to the STEM workforce.

Below, you will find resources to increase your knowledge and support for our alliance’s mission and SWD in STEM!

Faculty Mentor Manual

TAPDINTO-STEM Mentoring Model

The primary intervention of TAPDINTO-STEM is Bridge Peer Mentoring for students with disabilities by peers and STEM faculty and professionals. Additionally, National electronic mentoring will complement the Bridge Peer Mentoring Model.

Learn more from the Faculty Mentor Cluster Manual

Students

Internship and Research Opportunities

The University of Connecticut’s Center for Neurodiversity and Employment Innovation is hosting an internship initiative through their Neuro-Inclusive Candidate Network (NCN) for the summer of 2024.

NCN helps neurodivergent and autistic college students and recent graduates attain full-time careers by providing educational content to help with job search and making connections to inclusive employers through internship and job postings.

This initiative has partnered with highly rated, national companies looking for 30-35 neurodivergent students to fill internships this summer!

Applications are now live! Click here to join the NCN to be considered for this opportunity!

View the Recruitment Flyer

Students engaging in conversation

Educators and Mentors

TAPDINTOSTEM Webinars

Webinars

The TAPDINTO-STEM Alliance, in partnership with University of Washington’s DO-IT Center, hosted a nationwide panel and discussion regarding best practices and helpful tips for mentoring postsecondary students with disabilities.

View the Mentoring Webinar on YouTube

Visit DO-IT’s YouTube page for additional media or their website for more information.

Hosted by TAPDINTO-STEM’s West Coast Hub Lead Scott Bellman with presentations from Mountain Hub Student and Faculty Coordinator Dr. Jade Metzger with an overview of the Transparency in Teaching and Learning (TILT) method and Northeast Hub Lead Dr. Andrew Buck with a discussion on tips for engaging Neurodivergent learners.

View the Webinar on YouTube

Learn About Working with STEM Faculty on Increasing Accessibility and Universal Design

Informal results of the “Accessibility Cafe” pilot project indicate that interactive sessions can be a promising tool for building faculty skills for enhancing the accessibility of their course materials. Learn how to host these guided, department-focused events, where faculty gather with colleagues to learn about and fix low-level accessibility issues in their course materials. Faculty leave with the know-how to continue making incremental progress and feel more confident in continuing to make fixes on their own. The Accessibility Cafe framework can be easily adapted for multiple focal topics in accessibility, universal design, and other inclusive teaching practices.

Presented by Mary-Colleen Jenkins, Instruction Accessibility Specialist, University of Washington Accessible Technologies.

View the Webinar on YouTube

Transparency in Teaching and Learning, or TILT, is a national project that aims to advance equitable teaching and learning practices to promotes college students’ success by reducing systemic inequities in higher ed. In this presentation, you will gain a better understanding of the disconnection between students and faculty, explore components for success in assignment and course creation, be introduced to the TILT framework, and learn how these methods can improve learning outcomes.

Co-hosted by TAPDINTO-STEM and AiiCE INCLUDES Alliances. Presentation by Dr. Jade Metzger.

View the PowerPoint Presentation here.

Hear from Ashley Shew, author of Against Technoableism: Rethinking Who Needs Improvement in this Q&A session.

The book Against Technoableism explores what we think about disability and technology, and how we can change the discourse surrounding technology. Please join us for a discussion with author Ashley Shew, Associate Professor of science, technology, and society at Virginia Tech, and specializes in disability studies and technology ethics.

In a warm, feisty voice and vibrant prose, Ashley Shew shows how we can create better narratives and more accessible futures by drawing from the insights of the cross-disability community. To forge a more equitable world, Shew argues that we must eliminate “technoableism”—the harmful belief that technology is a “solution” for disability; that the disabled simply await being “fixed” by technological wizardry; that making society more accessible and equitable is somehow a lesser priority. This badly needed introduction to disability expertise considers mobility devices, medical infrastructure, neurodivergence, and the crucial relationship between disability and race.

Presenter: Ashley Shew – Virginia Tech; Moderator: Kayla Brown (UW DO-IT)

View the Webinar on YouTube

Students in STEM fields need to have a method for independently interacting and engaging with information, which means it’s important to make STEM materials accessible to students with disabilities and to help them find usable methods for engaging with those materials and demonstrating their understanding of the information. This session will discuss how processes were developed for an engineering student to independently complete homework, labs, and assessments and how they can be applied more broadly.
Presenters: David Schwarte and Alex Mason, Assistive Technology Specialists at Purdue University; Moderator: Eric Trekell (UW DO-IT)

View the Webinar on YouTube

Publications

In partnership with University of Washington’s DO-IT Center, TAPDINTO-STEM’s West Coast Hub Lead Scott Bellman led a group of alliance students to design an activity that examines the accessibility of laboratory spaces. By better understanding and implementing Universal Design in lab spaces, students with disabilities can have an equal opportunity to gain and demonstrate knowledge, access equipment safely, and fully participate in activities.

Click to view the Checklist for Making Science Labs Accessible to Students with Disabilities.

Visit DO-IT’s Website for more information about Universal Design.

In partnership with the University of Washington’s DO-IT Center and the Alliance for Identity-Inclusive Computing Education (AiiCE), TAPDINTO-STEM has created an informational checklist to support the U.S. National Science Foundation’s 2022-26 strategic plan for “assuring accessibility and inclusivity” in NSF-funded projects. This publication offers guidance on creating accessible and inclusive programming through Universal Design.

Click to view the Universal Design checklist Equal Access: UD for Your INCLUDES Project.

Visit DO-IT’s Website for more information about Universal Design.

Advocacy and Disability Rights

Association on Higher Education and Disabilities Logo

The Association on Higher Education and Disability is the leading professional membership association for individuals committed to equity for persons with disabilities in higher ed.

ADA.gov U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division with DOJ Seal

The Americans with Disabilities Act protects People with Disabilities from Discrimination.

NDC logo

The National Council on Disability is an independent federal agency committed to disability policy leadership.

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