52 Journal of College Science TeachingThe partnership betw.docx

52 Journal of College Science Teaching
The partnership between science and the environment in
service-learning
projects helps students to make greater connections to the world
around
them. Service learning provides many benefits to students,
faculty, and
communities within the context of a college course. However, to
prevent
frustration, it is important for faculty members to make a clear
distinction
between service learning and volunteerism by connecting their
course
objectives to the service being provided. They also must
develop a framework
for planning, assessment, and reflection. Finally, a successful
partnership
must be developed. Clearly defining the community setting to
be used for the
service-learning project will ensure a more positive outcome.
Developing the
partnership framework through purposeful communication with
all partners
is the key to successful service-learning projects. A sequential
series of steps
are provided for the framework development. Actual examples
of classroom
projects are described, along with benefits to students, agencies,
and
community participants.

Developing University and
Community Partnerships: A Critical
Piece of Successful Service Learning
By James McDonald and Lynn A. Dominguez
S
cience instructors may often
ask themselves how they can
make the material in their
classes relevant to their stu-
dents. This is particularly important
now as the world faces a variety of
issues that are related to science such
as energy, climate, and environmen-
tal challenges of a global nature. To
comprehend the complexity of these
global issues, students must gain a
deeper understanding about science
and the environment. However, at
the same time, students must realize
their connectedness to a much larger
global community existing outside
of the physical university boundar-
ies. One teaching method that con-
nects students with the community
through the science content in their
classes is service learning. Many
people confuse community service
with service learning. At its core,
service learning provides a benefit
to both the student (related to their
classwork) and to the community
partner. The use of service learning
in service-learning experiences “stu-

dents are actively participating in the
process of understanding, integrating,
and applying knowledge” from the
subject area they are studying as they
work to improve their communities.
Making a clear distinction between a
volunteer activity and service learning
is critical to the success of any service-
learning project. At a number of
service-learning workshops, we have
assisted science faculty with problem
solving related to the implementa-
tion of service learning in a science
classroom. For example, a nutrition
department faculty member had her
students volunteer each semester
serving food at a local soup kitchen.
Students were required to donate 5
hours of their time, which they docu-
mented by having the soup kitchen
personnel sign off on their time logs.
However, the instructor and students
were questioning the value of this ex-
perience in relation to what they were
FIGURE 1
Service-learning benefits for
students (Furco & Root, 2010).
• Improved student engagement in
school and learning
• Positive effects on students’
perfromance on subject-matter
exams and assessments

• Increased motivation toward
school
• Enhanced civic responsibility and
citizenship
• Enhanced personal and social
skills including leadership capacity
• Retention of students’ character
assets as they mature
as a teaching method has the poten-
tial to provide many benefits to stu-
dent learning (Figure 1).
Unfortunately, not all service-
learning activities attempted by uni-
versity faculty are successful, which
leads to increasing frustration, espe-
cially after faculty have invested large
amounts of time and effort. Usually
unsatisfactory results occur because
of two reasons. First, a distinction is
not made between simply providing
volunteer community service versus
service learning. Second, many proj-
ects are missing one of three critical
components to make the experience
fit the definition of service learn-
ing. These include identification of
appropriate course objectives that
the service-learning experience will
fulfill; a framework for planning,
assessment, and reflection; and estab-

lishment of a successful partnership
within the community.
Service learning is not simply a
volunteer activity in the community;
instead, as explained by Kaye (2007),
53Vol. 44, No. 3, 2015
Developing University and Community Partnerships
learning in class.
On examination of the class syl-
labus and assignment, we were able
to determine that the volunteer experi-
ence was not tied to any of the course
objectives, the students were not in-
volved in either identifying a commu-
nity/agency need or the formulation of
an effective service-learning project,
and the soup kitchen had not been
consulted as to their agency or client
needs (although they did appreciate
the help). Once the instructor opened
a discussion with the soup kitchen,
the partners were able to generate a
list of needs the agency had includ-
ing nutritional classes for clients,
assessment of nutritional deficiencies
in the menus, and a comprehensive
list of potential food donors to fill
nutritional gaps. The instructor was
able to tie many of the agency needs

to specific class objectives such as
(a) assessing client nutritional needs
and (b) conducting nutritional classes
for a variety of clients. She then chal-
lenged her students in each class to
design a service-learning project that
would benefit both the agency and
the students’ learning needs. Student
reflection papers demonstrated that
the time students were volunteering
at the soup kitchen had become more
focused, and they were able to iden-
tify tangible benefits to all partners.
As the previous example dem-
onstrates, although the instructors’
original intentions were good, the
anticipated outcome of the first proj-
ect was not what was expected until
a service-learning model was fully
implemented. One important concept
for faculty to remember as they design
service-learning projects for their
classes is that we want our students to
view engagement with the community
as a partnership rather than something
the students have done for the partner
(London, 2000). The purpose of this
article will be to assist university
faculty in designing a framework for
defining, identifying, and creating
successful community partnerships in
their service-learning projects.
Defining community
Most universities are situated near or

in a greater community setting of a
local town or city. Students tend to
identify most strongly with the uni-
versity setting as their community
instead of the surrounding town or
city. For faculty members who are
implementing service learning for
the first time, a project that takes
place on campus can have several
benefits. These include proximity
to classrooms and labs, accessibil-
ity to student organizations and
residence halls, and easier planning
for the project. The following are
examples of potential on-campus,
service-learning projects: recycling
education programs, campus aware-
ness of environmental issues, youth
and child environmental education
programs, campus sustainability
programs, and campus “greening”
projects (i.e., planting trees, remov-
ing invasive species).
However, while on-campus proj-
ects can serve a need, university
students also must understand the
impact they have on the surround-
ing communities. Service-learning
activities provide many opportuni-
ties for students to positively interact
away from the university setting and
within the surrounding community.
Jacoby (2003) found that “service-
learning partnerships have served as
the catalyst for broader and deeper

engagement and civic responsibility
by colleges and universities” (p. 2)
within their communities.
The term community may actually
be defined in a number of ways for the
purposes of service-learning activi-
ties. Certainly, a city is an example of
a large diverse community. However,
individual agencies within that city
form their own types of communi-
ties. For example, nonprofit agencies,
youth groups, health agencies, and
schools are all smaller communities
within the context of a city. Each of
these community types has their own
missions, goals, and perspectives that
influence the type of interactions
and activities that take place within
them. In working with students, the
community partner should always
derive significant benefits from
a service-learning project (Kaye,
2004). For this to happen, it is im-
portant for university faculty to fully
understand the community partners’
perspective when initially designing
a service-learning project. Although
benefits to the students in the form
of real-life experiences and to the
faculty member through achievement
of course objectives are relatively
easy to identify, community partner
benefits may be more challenging.
According to Jones (2003), “great

care must be taken to design and
sustain partnerships with community
agencies that enable student-learning
objectives to be realized while ad-
vancing community agency goals
and activities” (p. 152). A strategy
for purposeful communication be-
tween the faculty member, students,
and community partner becomes the
vital link that sustains all successful
service-learning projects. The key
to the communication strategy is
development of a strong partnership
framework on which to imbed the
service-learning components.
Developing the partnership
framework
Once the focus for the course has
been determined, the instructor may
use two different ways to create a
project. The first step in the frame-
work is to clearly identify the class
objectives and outcomes that will be
met by the service-learning project
(Figure 2). In some cases, students
may be tasked with designing a proj-
ect on the basis of a specific assign-
ment or outcome. In other classes,
the instructor may first determine
what a classwide project will be,
with students designing portions of
the project.
The second step is to select a
few potential community partners

who may benefit from the project
outcomes. Contact can be made by
the faculty member or students to
determine the mission and goals of
the partner. In some instances, the
faculty member may be contacted
directly by an agency for assistance
with a specific project or need. What-
ever form the initial contact takes,
the instructor must develop a clear
picture of the agency and its needs,
the clientele they serve, their capacity
for student numbers, and their interest
in the project.
The third step is to clearly define
the project purpose; university, stu-
dent, and partner roles; the respon-
sibilities of each partner; and the
benefits for all involved. At many
universities, when students are re-
quired to go off campus as part of a
class, the faculty member will need
to complete an affiliation or service-
learning agreement with the partner
agency to protect the students, faculty,
university, and agency in the event
of an accident or mishap. Faculty
should check with their respective
risk management group on campus
to determine what their university

policy requires. During the project
the instructor should make regular
contact with the agency to determine
the project’s progress. All partners
should be invited to the final student
presentations of their project.
Service learning as a teaching
methodology in a university science,
education, or any other subject-matter
course provides an opportunity for
students to experience knowledge
in the real world. The following two
examples are taken from real service-
learning projects conducted in an
Environmental Interpretation class
and an Elementary Science Methods
class. In each of these examples the
instructor, the university students,
and the partner all derive benefits
from a service learning experience
(Figure 3).
For the Environmental Interpre-
tation class example, the instructor
formed a partnership with both the
city and county parks and recreation
departments. Although there are many
parks managed by each department,
there are very few environmental
education opportunities available for
the public within those parks. The
county parks director brainstormed a
list of potential service-learning proj-
ects that students in the class could

engage in to benefit the students,
parks, and community. During the
spring semester, students worked in
teams to research, plan, develop, and
produce a self-guided interpretive
trail for one of the county parks. The
parks director met with student teams,
provided updated trail maps, and
clarified what her goals for the proj-
ect would be. The director attended
the final class presentations for the
project and selected two that would
be implemented along the trails. Since
that time, this class has worked on a
number of environmental education
projects for the parks and schools in
the community. Students consistently
mention in their project reflections the
value of working with professionals
in the field and the pride they have in
their finished products.
The Family Science example
provides a chance for elementary pre-
service teachers to put their science
lessons into practice with elementary
students and their parents from a local
school. They get the opportunity to
give back to the local community, to
reflect on their own science teaching,
and to learn from the mistakes made
in teaching an inquiry-based science
lesson during a service-learning
project. As future elementary sci-
ence teachers, the students need to

“develop an appropriate philosophical
mind-set to complement inquiry as a
prerequisite to becoming an inquiry-
based teacher” (Llewellyn, 2007, p.
53). Family Science provides this op-
portunity for the preservice teachers.
All of the course objectives and out-
comes are met through several class
assignments, an event held during
class time, and a chance to gain prac-
tical experience in science teaching.
The partner, in this case a local
elementary school, also benefits
from the Family Science service-
learning experience. When the course
instructor was supervising student
teachers at the school, the principal
commented on how the students had
not done well on the critical thinking
and problem-solving portions of the
state achievement test. The instructor
began a dialogue with the principal
about how Family Science could meet
some of these curricular objectives for
the elementary students. The princi-
FIGURE 2
Course objectives for two classes with service-learning projects.
Course objectives from an Environmental Interpretation course
Students will be able to:
• describe and conceptualize the components of a quality
interpretive program;
• critically evaluate resources used for interpretive program

development;
• conceptualize, design, and implement an interpretive program;
and
• conceptualize and create a self-guided interpretive trail and
brochure.
Course objectives and outcomes from an Elementary Science
Methods course
Students will be able to:
• learn, practice, and reflect on teaching strategies
commensurate with their
beliefs and knowledge about how children learn science;
• clarify and refine their beliefs about teaching and learning
science;
• present and defend their beliefs about elementary science
teaching and
learning;
• become aware of a variety of resources for teaching science,
such as informal
science education, the World Wide Web, science education
software, published
curriculum projects, and local resources; and
• reflect on their teaching, noting areas of strength as needed.
55Vol. 44, No. 3, 2015
pal also related to the instructor that
Family Science earns the school high

grades for community involvement
and collaborative partnerships on the
report card to the state Department of
Education. The teachers of the school
also benefit because they receive more
examples for teaching physical sci-
ence lessons of which they were not
previously aware.
Most important, the elementary
students learn about the process and
content of science. “In contrast to the
commonly held and outmoded view
that young children are concrete and
simplistic thinkers . . . children enter-
ing school already have substantial
knowledge of the natural world,
which can be built on to their under-
standing of scientific concepts” (Na-
tional Research Council, 2007, p. 53).
Family Science provides elementary
students the chance to try out their
science ideas in a nonthreatening,
engaging, and hands-on situation.
Conclusion
Research has demonstrated that ser-
vice learning is an excellent teaching
method to increase student engage-
ment in learning. However, accord-
ing to Furco and Root, 2010, “future
investigations must incorporate. . .
research design[s] that can raise the
status of service-learning as an evi-
dence based practice” (p. 16). On the
basis of practical experience through

the use of service learning as a teach-
ing and learning method, we have
found extensive benefits to accrue
for all participants. Certainly our stu-
dents have gained valuable learning
experiences outside of the university
walls that are directly related to their
chosen career paths. In addition, the
university and community partner
ties are strengthened through each
successful service-learning project.
The use of a step-by-step strategy
for developing, planning, and ini-
tiating community partnerships by
faculty serves to ensure a successful
service-learning project for students,
the community, and the university.
FIGURE 3
Student, community partner, instructor, and university benefits
from
two service-learning projects.
Benefits from Environmental Interpretation service-learning
project
University students receive:
• opportunity to work directly with a parks and recreation
agency in their
community,
• opportunity to create a self-guided interpretive brochure that
integrates the
concepts learned in class in a purposeful project, and

• opportunity to experience the real-world application of theory
and concepts.
Agency receives:
• influx of new ideas for programs,
• template for the self-guided interpretative trail
brochure/materials, and
• opportunity to maintain open communication with the
university department
for other potential projects.
Community participants receive:
• up-to-date nature information about their local environment
when hiking the
trail, and
• enhancement of their experience hiking the trail.
Benefits from Family Science night service-learning project
University students receive:
• a sense of what it is like to work in the community and
provide a needed service
to a partner,
• practice working with students and their parents,
• opportunity to teach a science lesson of their own creation to a
group of real
students and learn from their mistakes,
• opportunity to reflect on their own practice and see how they
could improve
their teaching, and
• opportunity of teaching science as inquiry.

Partner (elementary school) receives:
• assistance to address gaps in their curriculum and teaching
practice, such as
critical thinking, problem solving, and hands-on inquiry-based
science;
• involvement with the community and with parents that brings
them to school to
see what their child is learning;
• opportunity to share with teachers how to do physical science
activities; and
• needed components for their annual school report to the state
Department of
Education.
Elementary science students receive:
• opportunity to learn the process of science,
• opportunity to learn about physical science concepts,
• opportunity to build on their existing knowledge of science,
and
• a chance to do science with their parents in a fun and engaging
setting.
Benefits to the instructor for service-learning projects
• more engaged, enthusiastic students for the content area,
• strengthened ties to community partners, and
• increased opportunities for practical application of course
objectives and
content.
Faculty should carefully consider
their course objectives when design-
ing a project and make early, regular

contact with their community partners
throughout the project timespan.
Identifying student and community
benefits early in the planning process
will assist to ensure successful project
partnerships that can be maintained
over time. Consistent communica-
tions with project partners will al-
low for the successful resolution of
any problems that occur early in the
project. Although service-learning
projects require a significant amount
of faculty time to be successful, the
benefits realized by both students and
community partners are worth the
time and effort expended. ■
Acknowledgments
We thank Jeanie Mishler at Clare
Primary School for her partnership with
the Family Science program at their
school and her involvement as a com-
munity partner. We also thank SueAnn
Kopmeyer, director of the Isabella
County Parks, for partnering with our
interpretative students and providing
funds for trail development.

References
Furco, A., & Root, S. (2010). Research
demonstrates the value of service
learning. Phi Delta Kappan, 91(5),
16–20.
Jacoby, B. (2003). Fundamentals of
service-learning partnerships. In
B. Jacoby and Associates (Eds.),
Building partnerships for service-
learning (pp. 1–19). San Francisco,
CA: Jossey-Bass.
Jones, S. R. (2003). Principles and
profiles of exemplary partnerships
with community agencies. In B.
Jacoby and Associates (Eds.),
Building partnerships for service-
learning (pp. 151–173). San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Kaye, C. B. (2004). The complete guide
to service learning: Proven, practical
ways to engage students in civic
responsibility, academic curriculum,
& social action. Minneapolis, MN:
Free Spirit.
Kaye, C. B. (2007). Reach, teach,
and engage with service-learning.
Retrieved from http://www.nassp.org/
Content.aspx?topic=56295
Llewellyn, D. (2007). Inquire within:

Implementing inquiry-based science
standards in grades 3–8. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
London, S. (2000). Seminar on
higher education and public
life. Washington, DC: Kettering
Foundation.
National Research Council. (2007).
Taking science to school: Learning
and teaching science in grades K–8.
Washington, DC: National Academies
Press.
James McDonald ([email protected]
edu) is a professor of science education
in the Department of Teacher Education
and Professional Development at Central
Michigan University in Mount Pleasant.
Lynn A. Dominguez is a professor in the
Department of Recreation, Parks, and
Leisure Services Administration at Cen-
tral Michigan University.
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Begin it Now: Critical Service Learning in the First Year of
College
J. R. "Jones" Estes, Chris Carey, Debra Tavares, David Peterson
Del Mar
The Journal of General Education, Volume 67, Numbers 3-4,
2018, pp. 178-193
(Article)
Published by Penn State University Press
For additional information about this article
[ This content has been declared free to read by the pubisher
during the COVID-19 pandemic. ]
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/742715

https://muse.jhu.edu/article/742715
“JGE_67_3-4_02_Estes_proof ” — 2019/11/16 — 6:05 — page
178 — #1
Begin it Now: Critical Service
Learning in the First Year of College
J. R. “JONES” ESTES, CHRIS CAREY, DEBRA TAVARES,
AND DAVID PETERSON DEL MAR
ABSTRACT | While
ID:p0090
there is a rich array of community-based learning
activities and approaches across the Portland State University
campus,
the authors assert that integrating a critical service learning
(CSL),
rather than traditional service learning (TSL), model in the
first-year
curriculum benefits both students and community partners. They
advocate for scaffolding CSL throughout the college curriculum
beginning in the first year so that as students move through
their
courses they repeatedly practice the dynamic skill set CSL
develops. To
that end, they utilize a CSL Process Framework of five essential
steps to
consider when scaffolding it within the first year: The Plan,
Etiquette of
Collaboration, Critical Reflection, Engaging Student Agency,
and Civic
Professionalism (Estes, 2018). The authors describe how each

element
manifests in three very different examples of CSL within their
respective Freshman Inquiry courses. Although this article
focuses
upon CSL in the first year of college, the CSL Process
Framework is
applicable across course levels. After presenting examples of
how each
element manifests as they integrate CSL into their courses and
careers,
the authors discuss the challenges and implications of this work
within
their courses, University Studies, and general education.
KEYWORDS | critical
ID:p0095
-
service learning (CSL)
Process Framework,
scaffolding
As
ID:p0100
a high-impact practice, an increasing number of colleges and
universities
are developing community-based learning (CBL) course
opportunities (Hart
Research Associates, 2016). Estes, Gerwing, and Fitzmaurice
(2016) contend
that CBL opportunities should begin in the first year and be
plentiful through-
out the undergraduate experience. Specifically, that when

scaffolded from
the beginning, CBL opportunities facilitate student
understanding of complexPdf_Folio:178
DOI: 10.5325/jgeneeduc.67.3–4.0178
Journal of General Education: A Curricular Commons of the
Humanities and Sciences, Vol. 67, Nos. 3–4, 2018
Copyright © 2019 The Pennsylvania State University,
University Park, PA
179 — #2
course content and their ability to generalize and transfer that
knowledge to
new contexts. While there is a rich array of CBL activities and
approaches across
the Portland State University campus, we assert that integrating
a critical ser-
vice learning (CSL), rather than traditional service learning
(TSL), model in the
first-year curriculum benefits both students and community
partners. Here we
provide a CSL Process Framework for effectively scaffolding it
within the first
year and suggest that it is a useful framework for integrating
CSL into courses
across a variety of contexts.
Our
ID:p0105
perspective on CSL is informed by the context of working in

Portland
State University’s Studies program. As Dillon, Bluehorse
Skelton, and Reite-
nauer (2019) note, Portland State University intentionally
placed the Senior
Capstone within University Studies and the Program’s four
learning goals. Two
of which: Diversity, Equity, and Social Justice and Ethics and
Social Respon-
sibility, foster CSL in the curriculum. Mitchell describes the
distinction as
“working to redistribute power among all participants in the
service-learning
relationship, developing authentic relationships in the classroom
and in the
community, and working from a social change perspective”
(2008, p. 50).
However, a critique of CSL is that students are underprepared
for the com-
plexity, nuance, and self-awareness required of such work
(Cipolle, 2004).
This is a fair criticism. As Mitchell noted, “Social justice will
never be achieved
in a single semester nor systems dismantled in the two-to-four
hour weekly
commitment representative of many traditional models of
service learning”
(2008, p. 54). We agree that the transformation required for
effective social
justice will not occur for most students because courses are too
often a “one
and done” requirement. Expecting a student to engage with the
structural
causes of the community need, themselves, their classmates, and
a community
partner on the multiple levels required for effective self—or

social change—is
disingenuous. Consequently, we advocate for scaffolding CSL
throughout the
college curriculum beginning in the first year so that as students
move through
their courses they repeatedly practice the dynamic skill set CSL
develops.
Moreover, although this paper focuses upon CSL in the first
year of college,
the CSL Process Framework can be adapted across course
levels.
Development
ID:ti0020
of the Critical-Service Learning
Process Framework
Knowing
ID:p0110
that the authors approach CBL in their courses differently, Estes
developed ten questions for the authors to answer individually
(Appendix).
Compiling the responses, Estes conducted a content analysis to
identify themes
and shared practices. At this stage she identified the student-
centered themes of
collaboration, process, engagement, and choice. The
correlations ended there.
Pdf_Folio:179
Begin it Now | 179

180 — #3
Her analysis revealed that each author employed dramatically
different tools
and methods, as well as learning outcomes, to integrate CBL in
their courses.
Simultaneously, while the authors had planned to situate their
work in the lit-
erature on scaffolding of CSL, a review found a rich literature
(e.g., Cohen,
McDaniels, and Qualters, 2005; Grossman, 2008; Maree
McNaughton, 2016;
Mitchell, 2008; Ryan, 2013) that lacked a piece bridging
scaffolded course
design, CSL, and critical reflective practice. This led Estes to
revisit the author
reflections with a new research question: How do we scaffold
CSL into our
courses? This second round of content analysis was the most
immersive and
reiterative stage of the methodology. Out of which, the common
variables
among the faculty processes were identified.
At
ID:p0115
this point, Estes began to conceptualize the faculty process
variables as a
possible framework for other faculty to utilize. The final phase
of developing the
CSL Process Framework was determining the number, name,
and description

of elements to be applicable across academic disciplines. The
result is the CSL
Process Framework’s five essential elements to consider when
integrating CSL
into your course or program (Estes, 2018):
1. The
ID:p0120
Plan: refers to what you are doing, how you are doing it, and
why you are doing it that way. Not having a plan is also a
plan—this
information should be shared with students.
2. Etiquette
ID:p0125
of Collaboration: refers to how you will explain, scaffold,
facilitate, and practice how to work well in community. In
contrast to
“rules of collaboration,” an Etiquette of Collaboration focuses
on how
to be in relation to others and includes everyone involved, from
community partners to small groups to the class as a whole.
3. Critical
ID:p0130
Reflection: refers to the intellectual work required to create
the vital link between a service experience and a transformative
experience.
4. Engaging

ID:p0135
Student Agency: refers to when and how you plan to draw
students into the project as well as when, and how, you are
going to
decide to turn the project over to them.
5. Civic
ID:p0140
Professionalism: refers to grounding and growing CSL into
the work you already do and the resources you already have as
well
as the ways CSL contributes to professional fulfillment.
Beginning
ID:p0145
with a CSL project without a formal community partner,
followed
by a CSL hybrid, and concluding with a deeply integrated
community partner-
ship, what follows are three very different examples of CSL
within the Fresh-
man Inquiry (FRINQ) courses of Estes, Carey, and Peterson del
Mar. After
presenting examples of how each element manifests as we
integrate CSL intoPdf_Folio:180
180 | Journal of General Education

181 — #4
our courses and careers, we discuss the challenges and
implications of this work
within our courses, University Studies, and general education.
Anarchy
ID:ti0025
in the Classroom (CSL without a Community Partner?)
—J
ID:p0150
. R. “Jones” Estes, Portland State University
The
ID:ti0030
Plan
My
ID:p0160
process framework; Site-Service-Action, developed from 10
years of a
messy, nonlinear mixture of trial and error. When I began
teaching in Univer-
sity Studies, I believed only a platinum standard of CSL, such
as a Capstone
where it was the full focus of the course, was worthwhile. So
when creating

my Freshman Inquiry course on Sustainability, I did not include
community-
based or service-learning elements and focused on
interdisciplinarity and aca-
demic skill-building; however, this quickly became
professionally mundane.
One year, I took the first topic on the syllabus, food systems,
and I searched for
farms to visit. That decision led to the discovery of a
permaculture farm close
to campus that was also on a bus route. A trip to Tryon Life
Community Farm
is now a regular event, and each year the experience provides
students a vis-
ceral example for the course content at the time, as well as a
reference as the
course moves to new material. It is common for students to
draw on that site
visit from the fourth week to exemplify a theory in the thirtieth
week. A few
years later, I crafted an assignment to put their research into
action: working in
small groups, students would create, plan, and execute their
own culture jam.
The culture jam may take any form as long as it meets the
criteria of identifying
and publically disrupting a form of hegemonic power.
Etiquette
ID:ti0035
of Collaboration
I

ID:p0165
learned the hard way that providing students with a framework
for under-
standing and doing group work improves the learning outcomes
of CSL assign-
ments exponentially. Because students did so much small group
work in class,
such as discussions and presentations, I presumed they would be
prepared to
apply that practice to the culture jam towards the end of the
class. However,
few students were able to generalize those experiences and
apply them to a
more complex task. The following year I began explicitly
illustrating what group
dynamics and communication look like in more complex
scenarios. Short clips
from movies of dysfunctional groups (e.g., Office Space)
provide a disarming
gateway to frank discussions about individual roles and
responsibilities within
a group. These conversations happen repeatedly during the
course and are sup-
ported by formal assignments, such as reflecting critically on a
previous group
experience and connecting these reflections in writing to an
article, or podcast,
on group dynamics. The flexibility of this formula (disarming
example paired
Pdf_Folio:181
Begin it Now | 181

182 — #5
with discussion and request to connect personal experience with
course mate-
rial, results in analysis) makes it adaptable across courses and
disciplines.
Critical
ID:ti0040
Reflection
Student
ID:p0170
experiences become known through reflection; I distinguish
between
formal and informal forms of critical reflection. Students
practice informal crit-
ical reflection regularly when I ask them to write their
responses to a variety
of questions, texts, and experiences, that they have
opportunities to share with
classmates. Students practice formal critical reflection when
asked to connect
their observations to course readings, and then contextualize
and argue that
connection as one would do in any analysis.
I
ID:p0175

find asking students to engage repeatedly and regularly in
formal critical
reflection is beneficial because it provides them the opportunity
to create path-
ways to understand the material they would otherwise skip over
or learn only
to forget. Any assignment requiring students to turn in a typed
piece, from
project proposals to individual reflections, includes an element
of formal criti-
cal reflection. Scaffolding across different assignments
facilitates this practice.
For instance, at the beginning of the year, I provide a choice
between two texts
for students to connect. Later, I specify several options
including at least one
from early in the course. Towards the end of the course, they
must identify the
connecting texts while meeting the stipulation that at least two
be from ear-
lier in the year. Providing parameters that increase their role in
discovering
and articulating connections among the readings and their
experiences cre-
ate higher quality and more meaningful connections than overly
structured or
unstructured options.
In fact, it was through students’ critical reflections that I found
the piece
missing from my “Site, Service, Action” schema. When
Portland State Uni-
versity began participating in a multi-campus Martin Luther
King, Jr. Day of
Service, I only saw an opportunity for my students to “do
something.” As they

critically reflected on their participation, students identified the
event’s short-
comings as those of a TSL activity. For example, during an
election year a
politician, rather than a student leader, gave the inspiring kick-
off speech, many
students articulated its connection to DeBord’s Society of the
Spectacle (1967).
Similarly, students observe de Beauvoir’s theory of the
One/Other when much
of the day is spent making the One feel good about helping the
Other, with no
time spent equipping them with information on how to avoid
“othering” the
community they have entered.
Engaging
ID:ti0045
Student Agency
Initially
ID:p0185
, I did not think about student agency or provide class time for
problem-
solving within the culture jam groups. Over time, I noticed a
shift in students’Pdf_Folio:182

183 — #6
willingness and ability to engage in the assignment. I became
determined to
rattle their cynical malaise and refocused the culture jam on
operationalizing
philosophical anarchy. By participating in a group process (i.e.,
in commu-
nity) and learning what it is like to make a statement, to
experience a flicker
of agency, students leave the course with at least an emergent
understanding
of their power. Gathering evidence and providing feedback
during the project,
rather than at the end, is imperative because emphasizing group
process is diffi-
cult for students whose previous education emphasized
individual testing. Sim-
ilarly, time for in-class processing must be built into the
syllabus. It is a simple
thing, and thus the easiest to forget.
Civic
ID:ti0050
Professionalism
My
ID:p0190
hindsight-driven schema developed out of a desire to provide
interesting,
hands-on opportunities for students to engage with theory few
of them were

otherwise understanding. Discovering how CSL enriches a
course, rather than
adds on to it (e.g., “I should...” or an institutional mandate), is
the secret to
keeping it from becoming hard, complicated, and messy. For
me, that discovery
came through my practice of critical reflection when I realized
that we do CSL,
students, and community partners a disservice when we operate
on the premise
that students are whom we imagine they should be, rather than
who they are.
I expected students to come prepared, knowing how to do the
things I expected
of them. In looking back through my reflections, I realized I
expected them
to know how to do the very things they came to college to learn.
With this
realization, an essential shift occurred, not in my expectations
of the students,
but in my rationale for having those expectations. The clarity
that came with
this shift made figuring out how to structure, scaffold, and
integrate CSL into
my curriculum straightforward.
“Do No Harm” (Entering and Exiting Communities)
—Christopher
ID:p0195
Carey, Portland State University
The
ID:ti0060

Plan
I
ID:p0205
have always considered myself a “pracademic,” which Posner
(2009) identi-
fies as a person whose career spans the boundaries of academia
and practice.
Through this work, I find that how one enters and exits a
community deter-
mines much of the success of those partnerships. Most recently,
I teach a course
called Health, Happiness, and Human Rights. Focusing on
social determi-
nants of health and the intersections between healthy
communities and human
rights, over the years, we have engaged with community
partners in projects
ranging from transecting timber sales as part of a public
comment period toPdf_Folio:183
Begin it Now | 183
184 — #7
working with Portland Public Schools on educational issues.
Regardless of the
project, we begin them all at Mercy Corps.1 They employ a
human‐centered
design, Do No Harm (DNH) model in all of their community

work and they
operationalize the value of stakeholder empowerment by
engaging local com-
munities as the primary drivers to solve local problems.
The
ID:p0210
DNH model requires the students to try to understand the
consequences
of their actions through a series of role-playing and problem-
solving experi-
ences. For example, we teach the students that the first lesson
of community
engagement is listening without judgment or attempting to
“solve” a problem.
A significant portion of this process is for the students to take
inventory of their
values and beliefs around development so that they can try to
understand how
one’s perspective influences what they hear from the
community.
Etiquette
ID:ti0065
of Collaboration
Once
ID:p0215
students have this groundwork, they focus on how to enter and
exit com-

munities. DNH serves as the guiding principle for students to
understand the
ethics of collaboration and the interaction between the CSL
experience and the
community issue by asking two key questions: (1) what are the
impacts (unin-
tended or intended) of the project, and (2) how can we increase
positive impacts
and decrease negative impacts?
Boyer
ID:p0220
writes, “our most consequential human problems will be
resolved,
not through competition, but collaboration . . . what we need in
education is a
learning climate in which students work together. In such an
atmosphere, truth
emerges as authentic insights are conscientiously exchanged”
(AZ Quotes). To
this aim, the first workshop with Mercy Corps is a role-play
involving the stu-
dents working in teams to solve community problems. The
examples are based
on real-world events like putting together a water system after a
natural disaster.
Decisions about sourcing of the water, such as who has access
to it, how much
water can be used and for what purposes, are all issues that the
student teams
problem-solve. After the students experience the role-playing,
they understand
how the DNH model is critical to the etiquette of collaboration.

Critical
ID:ti0070
Reflection
Empathy
ID:p0225
mapping is another DNH tool that involves a collaborative
visualiza-
tion to help students develop a deeper understanding of a
community or group
that they are working with that includes observing,
interviewing, and research-
ing within a community. For example, in election years, I
challenge students
to empathize with a political viewpoint other than their own by
having them
attend local political debates and then spend time with the
candidates and the
Pdf_Folio:184
185 — #8
moderator afterward. Activities like this illustrate that presence
is an important
resource to develop empathy. As Brene Brown suggests in
Braving the Wilder-

ness (2017), we should all move closer to each other, because
people hatred is
hard to hold onto close up. Indeed, many of the students report
that meeting
and talking to the candidates gave them a much different
perspective.
Engaging
ID:ti0075
Student Agency
While
ID:p0230
the projects students engage in have taken different forms,
much of our
work over the last several years supports improving connections
between the
university and the local community and improving the
experience of Port-
land State University students. Examples of this work include
development of
a community map and support systems for Portland State
University Housing
and Student Affairs for incoming freshmen living on campus,
working with the
Portland Menstrual Society to raise awareness and ensure free
access to femi-
nine hygiene products on campus, and working with high school
and middle
school students to help them expand their educational goals and
demystify the
“college” experience.

One
ID:p0235
such project has been working with high school students
enrolled in
the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID)
Program.2 Through-
out the year, Portland State University and AVID students
engage in projects
focused on critical thinking and social development. Students
exchange letters,
visit one another’s campus, and talk about their experiences as
learners while
my students share how they prepared for college and coping
with the attending
stress, anxiety, and anticipation. A key component is when both
groups of stu-
dents and their teachers work together on a collaborative
research project that
explores learning. This collaborative research is followed up
with a final joint
session at Mercy Corps where that work is presented to school
administrators
from Portland State University and Portland Public Schools.
The collaboration
wraps up with my students writing letters reflecting on the
experiences that
they include in their ePortfolios.
Civic
ID:ti0080
Professionalism

I
ID:p0240
have been integrating the elements of CBL and CSL into my
Freshman Inquiry
course for over a decade. For me, CBL is fundamentally about
engagement and
that means working with whatever the students’ bring to their
learning expe-
rience and meeting them at that level to coalesce around a
community issue
or organization. Boyer writes, “education must prepare students
to be inde-
pendent, self-reliant human beings. But education, at its best,
also must help
students go beyond their private interests, gain a more
integrative view of
Pdf_Folio:185
Begin it Now | 185
186 — #9
knowledge, and relate their learning to the realities of life” (AZ
Quotes). Con-
sequently, learning is about engagement and that extends far
outside of the
traditional classroom.
As

ID:p0245
the years progress, I find that we spend more time on
preparation and
the process and less time working on separate projects. This
change developed
through student reflections and my observations because, while
working on a
particular project can alleviate an immediate need, a process-
focused approach,
like the DNH model, has more long-term benefits. With years
behind me, I see
students carry it forward for application within a variety of
situations.
Shared
ID:ti0085
Acts of Vulnerability (The Significance of Stories)
—Debra Tavares, Reynolds
ID:p0250
High School
—David Peterson del Mar, Portland
ID:p0260
State University
The
ID:ti0090
Plan

Debra
ID:p0270
Tavares has been teaching language arts to students who are
sheltered
(needing scaffolding and vocabulary support) in grades 9
through 12 for eight
years at the second largest high school in Oregon. Through a
partnership with
Peterson del Mar’s Portland State Freshman Inquiry class, we
connect high
school and college students through the writing process and
story exchanges
and build agency through complementary scaffolded processes.
Using the work
of Narrative 4, an international organization that promotes
radical empathy
through the simple yet powerful mechanism of inviting a group
of people to
share a meaningful story with someone else, in small groups, we
ask each per-
son to share a story and then to retell the story she or he has
heard in the first
person (Beam, 2018, pp. 119–123). The magic of this approach
is the connection
that the technique elicits.
English
ID:p0275
language learner students tend to lose confidence throughout the
system of “tracking” with the same English level students year
after year.

Exchanging stories gives them a voice to express the unique
obstacles of nav-
igating two cultures: theirs and the new one. It empowers and
adds value to
their humanity, and their stories inform Tavares’s curriculum.
Scaffolding and
explicit instruction of both language and content (which is a
natural sequen-
tial process) is refined through the rigor of writing; reading at
grade level with
support; and connected through the oral expression of story to
gradually give
students the ability to accept the “release of responsibility” for
their learning
from the teacher to themselves.
In
ID:p0280
addition, high school student members from the Students 4
Equity Club
and the Portland State students experience a sense of purpose
and belonging as
Pdf_Folio:186
187 — #10
authentic opportunities to mentor through the practice of
exchanging stories
emerge. The act of exchanging stories through the Narrative 4

model transforms
the speaker and listener in ways that inspire students to take
leadership roles
and to become change agents in their school communities.
Etiquette
ID:ti0095
of Collaboration
An
ID:p0285
etiquette of collaboration is embedded within story exchanges:
be honest;
try to capture your partner’s story as best you can; listen
carefully; avoid forming
judgments. The rules serve to focus the participants on each
other. Through the
process of coordinating story exchanges after school, Students 4
Equity mem-
bers learned how to express their passion for changing the
school climate by
building deeper relationships rather than “scaring off potential
club members.”
They refined their delivery. The empathy that initially
transformed their per-
spectives became the foundation for the way they facilitated
story exchanges
with high school students and teachers.
Each
ID:p0290

of the three story exchanges conducted within the Portland State
class
provided shared, common ground to a diverse group of young
adults. The
challenges faced by immigrants became finely grained, flesh-
and-bones stories
related by trusted classmates rather than didactic instruction.
Students of color
listened to and shared stories of White classmates who had
suffered ostracism,
shame, and abandonment. Because “empathy is part of genetic
endowment”
(Ciaramicoli and Ketcham, 2000, p. 24) and so many students
“showed their
necks” by revealing deep wounds, they triggered, to various
degrees, a desire to
relieve their suffering through immediate reassurances and
long-term regard
and respect (Goulston, 2010, pp. 87–93). By the end of the
term, 100 percent of
the class agreed or strongly agreed that they had explored issues
of diversity,
equity, and social justice; that their instructor exhibited a
personal interest in
them; and that they had learned to work in teams.
Critical
ID:ti0100
Reflection
Story
ID:p0295

exchange students reflected on their stories in several ways.
Reflection
was built into the story-exchange circles; participants are asked
to consider
how they felt telling someone else’s story and hearing their own
story con-
veyed by someone else. High school students could then write
reflections and
some of them offered post reflections in two-to-one
conferences. The univer-
sity students reflected on their experiences as facilitators in
weekly required
reflections.
Students
ID:p0300
4 Equity members reflected critically through collaborative
discus-
sions and debates about the vision for the club; through the
process of recruiting
Pdf_Folio:187
Begin it Now | 187
188 — #11
teachers and students; and through creative ways of including
everyone after
school. For example, story exchanges needed to be flexible and
hosted by

teachers on days that were convenient for them.
Engaging
ID:ti0105
Student Agency
The
ID:p0305
exchanges encouraged acts of mutual vulnerability …
fpsyg-08-00544 April 12, 2017 Time: 15:9 # 1
ORIGINAL RESEARCH
published: 18 April 2017
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00544
Edited by:
Ann X. Huang,
Duquesne University, USA
Reviewed by:
Jie Zhang,
State University of New York
at Brockport, USA
Angelika Anderson,
Monash University, Australia

*Correspondence:
Kristen Gillespie-Lynch
[email protected]
Specialty section:
This article was submitted to
Educational Psychology,
a section of the journal
Frontiers in Psychology
Received: 11 January 2017
Accepted: 24 March 2017
Published: 18 April 2017
Citation:
Gillespie-Lynch K, Bublitz D,
Donachie A, Wong V, Brooks PJ and
D’Onofrio J (2017) “For a Long Time
Our Voices have been Hushed”: Using
Student Perspectives to Develop
Supports for Neurodiverse College
Students. Front. Psychol. 8:544.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00544
“For a Long Time Our Voices
have been Hushed”: Using Student
Perspectives to Develop Supports
for Neurodiverse College Students
Kristen Gillespie-Lynch1*, Dennis Bublitz1, Annemarie
Donachie2, Vincent Wong2,

Patricia J. Brooks1 and Joanne D’Onofrio3
1 Department of Psychology, College of Staten Island and The
Graduate Center, The City University of New York, New York,
NY, USA, 2 Department of Psychology, College of Staten
Island, The City University of New York, New York, NY, USA,
3 Center for Student Accessibility, College of Staten Island,
The City University of New York, New York, NY, USA
Although the challenges that autistic students face adapting to
college are often
pronounced, they are similar to the challenges that students with
other disabilities
face (e.g., difficulties with social interaction, self-advocacy,
and executive functioning).
However, extant evaluations of services for autistic college
students are very limited
despite an emerging literature examining supports for college
students with a range
of other disabilities. Given that many autistic students do not
self-identify as autistic
in college, and consequently might avoid autism-specific
services, autistic students
might benefit from services that are designed to support a broad
range of neurodiverse
students, or services that are structured according to the
principles of Universal
Design. In order to develop such services, we assessed the self-
reported needs
of autistic college students and their peers with other
disabilities. Guided by needs
assessments and feedback from students, we developed and
evaluated two semesters
of mentor-led group programming for autistic college students
and students with
other disabilities. The first semester of the program focused on

social skills; after
receiving feedback from participants, the curriculum for the
second semester focused
on self-advocacy. Participation in social-skills groups was
associated with decreased
anxiety and autism symptoms. Participation in self-advocacy
groups was associated
with increased perceived social support from friends, academic
self-efficacy, and
more accurate definitions of self-advocacy. This research
suggests that supports for
neurodiverse college students should be developed with their
input and should include
opportunities to engage with diverse peers.
Keywords: disabilities, autism, college students, self-advocacy,
social skills, universal design
INTRODUCTION
Although the symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
tend to improve from adolescence
into adulthood (Shattuck et al., 2007), autistic1 individuals
often struggle with transitioning into
college and the workforce (Van Bergeijk et al., 2008;
Hendricks, 2010; Kapp et al., 2011). Many
autistic adults have few or no close social relationships outside
of the family, are unable to live
1 The term “autistic person” is preferred throughout this report
rather than “person with autism” in order to respect the
preferences of autistic people who often prefer “identity first”
terms over “person first” terms (e.g., Kapp et al., 2013; Kenny
et al., 2016).
Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 1 April 2017 |

Volume 8 | Article 544
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fpsyg-08-00544 April 12, 2017 Time: 15:9 # 2
Gillespie-Lynch et al. Supports for Neurodiverse College
Students
independently, and are either unemployed or employed in jobs
that are not commensurate with their skills (Howlin et al.,
2004; Shattuck et al., 2011a; Hillier and Galizzi, 2014). These
poor outcomes stand in stark contrast to the viewpoint shared
by many autistic self-advocates, parents, and professionals that
autistic adults have the potential to contribute substantially to
society (e.g., Prince, 2010; Autistic Self-Advocacy Network,
2011;
Wehman et al., 2014).
One potential contributor to poor outcomes among autistic

adults is a lack of supports; services available to autistic
children and adolescents are often no longer available to adults
(Shattuck et al., 2011b). Consequently, autistic adults who are
intellectually capable, and often gifted, may spend their time
in solitary unstructured activities (e.g., watching TV). College
education can provide opportunities for autistic adults to be
members of a community while developing the skills needed
to gain independence. Autism is associated with a number of
strengths that can help autistic students succeed in college,
including high intrinsic motivation, attention to detail, memory
skills, systematic thinking, ability to develop productive
routines,
intense interests, and sincerity (Gobbo and Shmulsky, 2014;
Schindler et al., 2015; Van Hees et al., 2015).
Despite these strengths, autistic students often struggle with
transitioning from high school to the less structured and more
socially complex college environment (e.g., Kapp et al., 2011).
High school graduates with autism may fail to enter college
or drop out before completing their degrees (Glennon, 2001;
Cederlund et al., 2008; Van Bergeijk et al., 2008). Indeed,
young
adults with an educational classification of autism are less
likely to
enroll in 2- and 4-year colleges than students in all other
disability
categories except intellectual disabilities or multiple disabilities
(Wei et al., 2013). While 70% of recent high school graduates
were enrolled in college in 2009, only 32% of recent high
school graduates with an educational classification of autism
were
enrolled in college (US Census Bureau, 2012; Wei et al., 2013).
Low college enrollment is particularly apparent among autistic
students from economically disadvantaged families.
Although autistic students are less likely to enroll in college

than their peers with other disabilities, anecdotal evidence
suggests that the number of autistic college students is
increasing
(e.g., Van Bergeijk et al., 2008). However, limited research has
focused on this population. In the first (and currently only)
peer-reviewed study to examine the prevalence of ASD among
college students, White et al. (2011) found that 0.7% of the
students at a public university met diagnostic criteria for ASD,
yet none had previously been diagnosed with ASD. Determining
the prevalence of ASD among college students is complicated
by voluntary disclosure of diagnosis: Among college students
who were identified as autistic in high school, approximately
37% chose not to identify themselves as autistic to their
colleges
(Newman et al., 2011), which suggests that they may not reach
out for help until problems arise (MacLeod and Green, 2009).
Autistic individuals may experience significant challenges
navigating college life, which greatly impact their ability to
function effectively on campus and in the workplace post-
graduation (Adreon and Durocher, 2007; Cimera and Cowan,
2009). These difficulties include atypical sensory processing,
inflexibility, executive function difficulties, challenges
engaging
in self-advocacy, social difficulties, depression, and anxiety
(Glennon, 2001; Van Bergeijk et al., 2008; White et al., 2011;
Schindler et al., 2015; Cai and Richdale, 2016). The stress that
most students experience when transitioning into college may
be compounded for autistic students, as difficulty in coping
with change is part of the diagnostic criteria for ASD. Loss
of previously provided supports may also provoke anxiety
(Glennon, 2001).
In response to evidence that autistic students may need
specialized supports to succeed in college, an emerging body of

literature provides recommendations for how to support college
students on the spectrum (Glennon, 2001; Adreon and Durocher,
2007; Van Bergeijk et al., 2008; MacLeod and Green, 2009;
Wenzel
and Rowley, 2010; Kapp et al., 2011; Pillay and Bhat, 2012;
Gobbo
and Shmulsky, 2014; Zeedyk et al., 2014; Burgstahler and
Russo-
Gleicher, 2015; Van Hees et al., 2015). These recommendations
have typically been based on literature reviews, case studies,
and
the insights of those who work with students on the spectrum.
They stress the importance of individualized supports, such
as mentoring, to help students on the spectrum develop self-
advocacy, social, and executive functioning/self-regulation
skills.
However, only a few studies have directly assessed the needs
and
experiences of more than a few college students on the spectrum
(Gelbar et al., 2014; Van Hees et al., 2015; Cai and Richdale,
2016;
Roberts and Birmingham, 2017).
Consistent with the paucity of research about college students
on the spectrum, services for autistic college students remain
very limited (Shattuck et al., 2012a,b; Barnhill, 2016).
Currently,
there are no intervention programs with an established evidence
base to facilitate transitions into college, and from college into
the workplace, for individuals on the autism spectrum (Bishop-
Fitzpatrick et al., 2013). A recent Internet search and review of
the
literature identified 31 postsecondary institutions in the United
States that confirmed that they had specialized autism support
services (Barnhill, 2016). Although most of the programs
charged

a fee for services (fees averaged $6525 a year), few of the
programs
collected outcome data. Therefore, it is essential to develop and
evaluate supports for autistic college students.
Although evidence-based supports for autistic college students
are greatly needed, extant peer-reviewed research (as of
February,
2017) contains preliminary evaluations of only three college-
based programs to support autistic college students. Since 2005,
autistic students at a liberal arts college have received one-on-
one mentorship from occupational therapy graduate students
(Schindler et al., 2015). Standardized interviews conducted
with 11 autistic students at the beginning and end of two
terms of the program revealed self-reported improvements in
executive functioning and socialization. In response to an influx
of students on the autism spectrum, a clinical psychologist
founded a mentorship program for autistic college students
at York University in 2007 (described in more detail in the
program manual; Bebko et al., 2011). Each autistic student
in the program is paired with a one-on-one graduate student
mentor. Students are also invited to attend group social
activities (e.g., “pizza parties” or university sports events) and
workshops (e.g., about sexuality or managing exam stress).
fpsyg-08-00544 April 12, 2017 Time: 15:9 # 3

Students
Preliminary findings from this program were recently published
(Ames et al., 2016; Roberts and Birmingham, 2017). Twelve
autistic mentees completed end-of the-term surveys about the
program; they expressed high satisfaction with the program
(M = 4.25 out of 5) but indicated that they would like to
have more group events. They were particularly interested
in future group discussions about disabilities, communication
skills, and transitioning out of college. Pugliese and White
(2014) also published a pilot study demonstrating that a group-
based cognitive behavioral intervention could be successfully
implemented with five autistic college students at Virginia Tech
University. The students regarded the program as fairly helpful
(M = 7.00 out of 10). Two students reported improvements
in problem solving ability and subjective distress associated
with participating in the program. Together, these initial
findings from programs specifically for autistic college students
suggest that a combination of-one-on-one and group-based
mentorship/coaching may be helpful for autistic college
students
while highlighting substantial gaps in current knowledge about
how to support autistic college students.
What Skills Do Autistic College Students
Need Help Developing?
Prior literature suggests that college students on the autism
spectrum are particularly in need of support in three domains:
social skills, self-advocacy, and executive functioning/self-
regulation (e.g., Van Bergeijk et al., 2008; Schindler et al.,
2015;
Van Hees et al., 2015; Barnhill, 2016).
Social Skills
Social challenges are apparent among college students with
a range of disabilities, including autism, learning disabilities

(LD), and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD;
Bat-Hayim, 1997; Prevatt and Yelland, 2015; Van Hees et al.,
2015). Given that social difficulties are a core aspect of the
diagnostic criteria for ASD, it is likely that autistic students
face particularly pronounced challenges adapting to the complex
social environments they encounter in college. Indeed, many
autistic college students report struggling to try “fit in” (Jones
et al., 2001; Schindler et al., 2015). Some autistic college
students
indicate that they have developed explicit strategies that help
them interact, such as scripts for different situations. Others
find
that the increased likelihood of sharing interests with one’s
peers
in college makes conversations run more smoothly than they
did in high school. Nevertheless, they state that social
challenges
contribute to stress and cause academic difficulties (Van Hees
et al., 2015).
Faculty and clinicians who work with autistic students indicate
that they deviate from classroom norms by missing nonverbal
cues that signal transitions between activities, interpreting
sarcasm literally, standing too close to others and/or touching
their belongings, talking at length about tangential topics, or
remaining silent and avoiding eye contact (Gobbo and
Shmulsky,
2014; Schindler et al., 2015). These social differences can lead
to exclusion or even bullying (Jones et al., 2001; Gelbar et al.,
2014). Social isolation may make it more difficult for autistic
students to seek information from other students (MacLeod
and Green, 2009) and may contribute to mental health issues
(Jones et al., 2001). Indeed, anxiety and depression are
commonly
reported among autistic college students (Gelbar et al., 2014;

Van Hees et al., 2015). Stress and social challenges may form a
self-perpetuating cycle for some autistic college students;
autistic
adults who report the most stress also exhibit the most
difficulties
engaging socially (Bishop-Fitzpatrick et al., 2015).
Autistic adolescents and adults with fewer social symptoms
have better relationships with peers (Orsmond et al., 2004).
Therefore, effective techniques to support social skills
development could reduce isolation among autistic college
students. Indeed, a small body of emerging research suggests
that
social skills interventions for autistic adults can reduce social
isolation and anxiety (Hillier et al., 2011; Spain and Blainey,
2015). Most of the limited number of specialized programs for
autistic college students provide social skills supports (Gelbar
et al., 2014; Barnhill, 2016). However, these supports are often
neither systematically evaluated nor informed by the interests of
those they are designed for. In fact, some autistic college
students
indicate that they are not at all interested in further social skills
training after a lifetime of participating in such interventions
(e.g., Barnhill, 2016).
Nevertheless, the majority of specialized programs for autistic
college students include peer mentors and/or social coaches
(Gelbar et al., 2014; Schindler et al., 2015; Barnhill, 2016).
Peer
mentors can provide individualized social supports to college
students on the spectrum. Mentors can support students in
developing social skills through discussions of techniques to
use in varied social situations and by helping them to practice
the techniques in role-plays; additionally, mentors can engage
in campus-based activities with autistic students and provide
constructive feedback afterwards (Glennon, 2001). Given that

many autistic adults are not interested in training to help them
act more like people who are not autistic (McLaren, 2014),
programming to help autistic college students develop effective
social skills should also provide them with tools to transform
existing social structures, such as self-advocacy skills.
Self-Advocacy
Students with varied disabilities (e.g., autism, LD, and/or
ADHD)
often enter college without having learned how to self-advocate,
or stand up for oneself and lead others (e.g., White et al.,
2014). Self-advocacy skills are associated with better adaptation
to college and career success among students with disabilities
more generally (Rothman et al., 2008; Adams and Proctor,
2010). However, college students with disabilities are often
unaware that they were protected under the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) prior to college, wherein
schools are required to identify students who need supports, and
that in college they are required to self-advocate in order to
receive accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA).
Autistic adults may be particularly unprepared to engage in
self-advocacy, as they tend to be less involved in their own
transition planning relative to students with other disabilities
(Fiedler and Danneker, 2007; Shogren and Plotner, 2012).
Approximately 77% of autistic high school students play a

fpsyg-08-00544 April 12, 2017 Time: 15:9 # 4
Students
very limited or no role in planning for the post-secondary
school transition compared to 47% of students with intellectual
disabilities and 27% of students with all other disabilities
except intellectual disabilities. Only 2.6% of autistic students
play a leadership role in their transition planning relative to
13.6% of students with all other disabilities except intellectual
disabilities. Not surprisingly, given their relative lack of
experience in transition planning, autistic college students
experience difficulties with many aspects of self-advocacy,
including evaluating the costs and benefits of disclosure and
developing effective strategies to communicate their needs to
peers and professors (Autistic Self-Advocacy Network, 2011;
Van
Hees et al., 2015). Given that college instructors may also be
uninformed about disability laws, students on the spectrum who
do not know that they must self-advocate to receive services
may
not receive appropriate accommodations (Pillay and Bhat,
2012).
Although the importance of teaching self-advocacy skills to
autistic people has been stressed by a professor on the spectrum
(Shore, 2004), parents of autistic children (Morrison et al.,
2009),
and researchers (Wehman et al., 2014), no published studies
have
examined the efficacy of self-advocacy interventions
specifically
designed for autistic individuals (Test et al., 2005a; Roberts et
al.,
2016). Therefore, a primary goal of the current research was

to evaluate a self-advocacy intervention designed for autistic
youth by an autistic researcher, the Integrated Self Advocacy
Curriculum (Paradiz, 2009), after adapting it to suit the needs of
autistic college students.
Study Habits/Executive Functioning Skills
Students with varied disabilities (e.g., autism, LD and/or
ADHD)
also face pronounced challenges developing the executive
functioning/self-regulation skills needed to succeed in college
(Adreon and Durocher, 2007; Parker and Boutelle, 2009;
Van Hees et al., 2015). Autistic students often struggle with
difficulties note taking (due to challenges identifying
overarching
themes and motor difficulties), completing assignments on time
(due to difficulty breaking goals into sub-goals, monitoring
progress toward goals, and brainstorming), organizing their
study materials, and test taking (due to anxiety, motor
difficulties, sensory sensitivities, and occasional processing
delays). Individualized and/or group mentoring may be helpful
in supporting these skills.
Developing Supports for Autistic College
Students: Benefits of Universal Design
Although students on the autism spectrum often require support
to help them develop the social, self-advocacy, and executive
functioning skills that they need to succeed in college, they
are not alone in needing help developing these skills. Indeed,
a growing body of research examines supports to help college
students with the most commonly reported disabilities on
college
campuses, LD and/or ADHD (Newman et al., 2011), develop
social, self-advocacy and executive functioning skills (Bat-
Hayim,
1997; Parker and Boutelle, 2009; Brown et al., 2010; Parker et
al.,

2011; Harrison et al., 2012; Mytkowicz and Goss, 2012; Getzel,
2014; White et al., 2014; Prevatt and Yelland, 2015). Like the
much smaller body of research evaluating supports for autistic
college students (e.g., Pugliese and White, 2014; Schindler et
al.,
2015; Ames et al., 2016), the aforementioned evaluations of
supports for college students with LD and/or ADHD were all
quasi-experimental. Nevertheless, they suggest that
participation
in one-on-one and/or group mentoring/coaching is associated
with improvements in self-advocacy, social skills, executive
functioning, self-efficacy, and other domains of functioning
for students with LD and/or ADHD. Although none of the
participants in studies evaluating supports for college students
with LD and/or ADHD were described as having an ASD,
overlaps in the challenges faced by autistic students and
students
with LD and/or ADHD suggest that similar programming might
be beneficial for neurodiverse students more generally.
Indeed, supports that are effectively designed to accommodate
the needs of specific types of students (e.g., those with LD
and/or
ADHD), or supports that reflect the principles of Universal
Design, allow students with a diverse range of strengths and
weaknesses (e.g., autistic students) to learn from one another in
inclusive environments where differences are valued (McGuire
and Scott, 2006). Universal Design “is the design of products
and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest
extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized
design” (North Carolina State University, n.d.). Instructional
materials that are consistent with the principles of Universal
Design provide multiple means of representation, action and
expression, and engagement (CAST, 2011). Given that autistic
students exhibit highly variable patterns of academic strengths

and weaknesses (Keen et al., 2016), flexible supports that
are designed according to the principles of Universal Design
(e.g., clear expectations, structured opportunities to interact,
a constructive class culture, and consistent feedback) may be
needed to help autistic students succeed in college (Burgstahler
and Russo-Gleicher, 2015). Supports that students with a
diverse
range of disability identifications can access together may also
be
beneficial because many autistic college students do not
identify
as autistic (Newman et al., 2011) and consequently are unlikely
to
seek out supports designed specifically for autism.
Indeed, in the research described in this report, we initially
intended to provide services only to autistic college students.
However, we widened inclusion criteria almost immediately
after realizing that many autistic students did not identify
as autistic, after a number of students who did identify as
autistic indicated that they had felt segregated within
specialized
autism programs in high school and were not interested in
participating in activities that were just for autistic students,
and
after students who self-identified with other disabilities (some
of
whom appeared to have undiagnosed autism) expressed interest
in participating in programming. In response to this feedback,
we focused on developing and evaluating supports that were
consistent with the principles of Universal Design, or supports
that would be beneficial for autistic college students and their
peers with other disabilities.
Research Aims
Given that little is known about what types of supports college

students with disabilities more generally feel they need and
what types of supports they find effective, an important first
fpsyg-08-00544 April 12, 2017 Time: 15:9 # 5
Students
step in developing effective and socially valid supports is to
involve autistic students and students with other disabilities in
the development and evaluation of such supports. Therefore, the
aims of the quasi-experimental studies described in this report
were:
(1) To examine neurodiverse students’ self-reported desire for
guidance in developing a range of skills.
(2) To build peer-mentor-based supports that are consistent
with the principles of Universal Design for autistic college
students and students with other disabilities by using
needs assessments collected at the beginning of each term
and student feedback at the end of each term to guide
program development.
(3) To evaluate self-reported benefits associated with
participating in the aforementioned supports by
analyzing potential changes in standardized measures
from pre-test to post-test each term while attending to

students’ open-ended reflections about the supports at
the end of each term.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Structure of Mentorship Program
Students were invited to participate in weekly hour-long
mentor-led group meetings with a standardized curriculum
that varied each semester (see below) and/or weekly hour-
long individualized, one-on-one meetings with a mentor. After
completing an informed consent form, mentees filled out
self-report assessments at the beginning (pre-test) and end
(post-test) of each term. They received a $50 Amazon gift card
for completing pre-tests and post-tests and a $10 Amazon gift
card for participating in focus groups at the end of each term.
Some students struggled with completing the number of forms
administered and completed only a portion of them.
One-on-one mentorship was available from enrollment
through finals (up to 14 weeks). Group meetings occurred over
9 or 10 weeks depending on holidays. Groups were available
each day of the week and were led by a guiding mentor with the
help of one or two program facilitators (doctorate or MA level).
The number of mentees enrolled in each group ranged from two
to nine mentees. Students who preferred not to attend group
meetings were offered the group curriculum during one-on-one
mentoring.
Mentor Training
Mentors included undergraduate students, MA students, and
Ph.D. students. All mentors completed an online training about
autism and an hour-long in-person training designed to help
them encourage their mentees to break goals into sub-goals,
monitor their progress towards goals, and seek out needed
resources on campus. Program facilitators were present during
initial (and many subsequent) mentorship meetings to provide

ongoing feedback. One-on-one mentors sent a weekly log
describing each mentorship session to program facilitators and
received detailed constructive feedback in response to these
logs.
Mentors were provided with a script for one-on-one meetings
with students, but were encouraged to individualize the sessions
by exploring campus activities together. For greater detail about
the types of individualized activities students engage in during
one-on-one mentorship, please consult (Gillespie-Lynch et al.,
2017). Mentors who led groups attended three additional hours
of training wherein they practiced using the group curriculum to
present information in a question/answer format, which included
opportunities for students to share their experiences and engage
in role-plays.
Group Curriculum
Based on prior literature and our experiences working with
people on the spectrum, we identified two areas of support to
address during group meetings: social skills and …

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