2021 Poster – Collaborative Strategies Research: Promoting Engagement in Informal STEM Learning as a Path to Employment for Adolescents with ASD

The goal of our project is to develop strategies that effectively engage autistic adolescents in informal STEM learning opportunities that promote the self-efficacy and interest in STEM careers that will empower them to seek out career opportunities in STEM fields.

The research aims are to:

1. Identify evidence-based strategies to engage autistic youth in informal STEM learning opportunities that are well matched to their attentional profiles:

Hypothesis 1: Pedagogical strategies vary in how engaging they are for people with diverse attentional profiles; people with more focused attention prefer unimodal instruction and people with less focused attention prefer multimodal instruction;

2. Determine if engaging youth in informal STEM learning opportunities increases their STEM self- efficacy:

Hypothesis 2: Engagement with informal STEM learning opportunities promotes STEM self-efficacy;

3. Determine if engagement with STEM internship activities is associated with increased interest in STEM careers and career decision-making self-efficacy:

Hypothesis 3: Engagement with STEM internship activities promotes interest in STEM careers and career decision-making self-efficacy.

This poster was presented at the 2021 NSF AISL Awardee Meeting.