Abstract

The West Coast Hub is collecting and analyzing student data and preparing submission of a peer-reviewed paper, utilizing data collected on the work experiences from students in the TAPDINTO-STEM Alliance, as well as data collected over many years through past NSF-funded projects at the University of Washington’s DO-IT Center.

Description

The West Coast Hub will invite TAPDINTO-STEM students to complete a brief survey about work experiences they have had in the recent past. These data will be added to a data set that has been collected over many years from past participants of the University of Washington’s DO-IT Center’s NSF-funded projects including AccessSTEM, AccessComputing, and DO-IT Longitudinal Transition Study (ALTS).

The purpose of the paper is to review responses overall, as well as compare responses among different demographic groups (e.g., high school vs college, disability type, race/ethnicity). A summary of the survey tool follows:

Summary of Data Collection Tool

Work Experience Description:

Dates of Experience:

Location:

Demographic information: (e.g. race, ethnicity, level in school, disability, etc.)

Help us know what you have learned as a result of this work experience. Please indicate your response to these statements where 1= Strongly Disagree and 5=Strongly Agree. Mark N/A = Not Applicable if the item was not addressed in your work experience.

• I am more motivated to study and work toward a career.
• My knowledge of my career interests has increased.
• I have learned the skills I need to succeed in specific job tasks.
• I have learned skills I need to effectively work with co-workers.
• I have learned the skills I need to effectively work with supervisors.
• I learned about the disability-related accommodations I may need at work.

Open ended questions include:

• List two skills learned from this experience.
• List accommodations (if any) you needed for this position.
• Describe what you gained most from this experience.

Timeline

Data from TAPDINTO-STEM students will be solicited by the end of 2024 calendar year. The Evaluators will then analyze the data, with the peer reviewed article to be finalized and submitted to a journal(s) in 2025, starting with WORK: A journal of prevention, assessment, and rehabilitation, in which TAPDINTO-STEM (NSF #2119902) will be acknowledged.