STEM and Neurodiversity: A Capacity Building Institute for Faculty at Community and Technical Colleges (2022)

An interactive event called Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) and Neurodiversity: A Capacity Building Institute for Faculty at Community and Technical Colleges was conducted in two half-day online meetings April 20th and 22nd, 2022.

The event was a collaborative effort between a project called Neuroscience for Neurodiverse Learners (NNL) at the University of Washington’s (UW’s) Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology (DO-IT) Center and the West Coast Hub of the Auburn University-based Alliance of Students with Disabilities for Inclusion, Networking, and Transition Opportunities in STEM (TAPDINTO-STEM).

Training sessions included presentations on pedagogical and classroom management strategies for engaging neurodiverse students in on-site and online settings. Participants also engaged in two interactive panel sessions. During the first panel, neurodiverse students shared their experiences in the classroom and fielded questions about how educators might best meet the needs of neurodiverse learners. During the second panel, disability services professionals and faculty from community and technical colleges shared their experiences working with neurodiverse students and offered examples of effective and reasonable classroom accommodations. In numerous breakout discussions, participants interacted with each other and further built upon the topics covered.