Research Apprenticeship. Scholars will be expected to engage in several aspects of scholarship focused on issues related to transition and students with IDD from underserved communities. First, Scholar’s will participate in the FUTURE Journal Club and complete two journal manuscript reviews to learn to carefully analyze research. Then, after participating with their mentor’s research, they will complete a collaborative FUTURE Scholars research project, which will consist of at least two FUTURE Scholars and one FUTURE Faculty. This project will occur during the Scholars’ first or beginning of their second year. The second research project will be each Scholars’ program required research apprenticeship, which is a heavily scaffolded independent study. Scholars will form a research apprenticeship committee consisting of two FUTURE Faculty and the Scholar’s doctoral peer mentor. Scholars will write a proposal (e.g., literature review and methods for the study), present and defend their proposal, conduct the research, and present and defend their study. Their product is a manuscript ready for submission to a journal. Finally, FUTURE Scholars will complete their dissertation study, focusing on an aspect of transition for underserved students with IDD. The dissertation committee will include at least one FUTURE Faculty from their home IHE and at least one from the partner IHE.
Teaching Apprenticeship. The goal of the teaching apprenticeship is two-fold. First, a primary aim of Project FUTURE is to prepare future faculty educators to train the next generation of special educators and rehabilitation counselors. As such, it is critical that the FUTURE Scholars graduate with the competence to teach pre- and in-service practitioners. Second, teaching introductory SPED and RC courses will provide the Scholars with a different way of engaging with and becoming experts in core content related to SPED and/or RC. The teaching apprenticeship is designed to provide each Scholar with face-to-face and/or online teaching experience. After taking foundational courses, discussing teaching pedagogy in Proseminar, and observing a class session taught by FUTURE Faculty, Scholars will first co-teach a course with a faculty member, receiving mentorship and support to learn best practices in teaching. The Scholar will then either independently teach the same course the following year or teach a different course they are qualified to teach. All potential courses align with one of the four Project FUTURE competencies and may include introduction to special education, collaboration and consultation, adolescent counseling, transition, employment and disability.
Service Apprenticeship. The service apprenticeship will prepare Scholars to engage in professional, internal, and outreach service (Richmond et al., 2019). First, they will be expected to volunteer with their IHE’s transition program (STEMM-UP or WorkLink, described below). Second, they will attend the Summer Intensive on Community-Engaged Scholarship and Government Summit (described below) to learn about community engagement and disability policy and advocacy. Third, they will serve as the student representative for a professional organization. Finally, pairs of Scholars (1 from SPED, 1 from RC) will complete an internship in a high-need LEA that has expressed a need for improved transition planning for students with IDD and/or a desire to improve collaboration with families and the local vocational rehabilitation agency. Using the National Technical Assistant Center on Transition: The Collaborative (NTACT:C)’s Guide for Teachers/Educators for Collaborating with Vocational Rehabilitation Services for Youth with Disabilities, they will engage in a two-year CBPR approach to work with the schools/districts to co-design an experience that facilitates understanding and promotes local discussion and planning between the school and agency.
Teaching Apprenticeship. The goal of the teaching apprenticeship is two-fold. First, a primary aim of Project FUTURE is to prepare future faculty educators to train the next generation of special educators and rehabilitation counselors. As such, it is critical that the FUTURE Scholars graduate with the competence to teach pre- and in-service practitioners. Second, teaching introductory SPED and RC courses will provide the Scholars with a different way of engaging with and becoming experts in core content related to SPED and/or RC. The teaching apprenticeship is designed to provide each Scholar with face-to-face and/or online teaching experience. After taking foundational courses, discussing teaching pedagogy in Proseminar, and observing a class session taught by FUTURE Faculty, Scholars will first co-teach a course with a faculty member, receiving mentorship and support to learn best practices in teaching. The Scholar will then either independently teach the same course the following year or teach a different course they are qualified to teach. All potential courses align with one of the four Project FUTURE competencies and may include introduction to special education, collaboration and consultation, adolescent counseling, transition, employment and disability.
Service Apprenticeship. The service apprenticeship will prepare Scholars to engage in professional, internal, and outreach service (Richmond et al., 2019). First, they will be expected to volunteer with their IHE’s transition program (STEMM-UP or WorkLink, described below). Second, they will attend the Summer Intensive on Community-Engaged Scholarship and Government Summit (described below) to learn about community engagement and disability policy and advocacy. Third, they will serve as the student representative for a professional organization. Finally, pairs of Scholars (1 from SPED, 1 from RC) will complete an internship in a high-need LEA that has expressed a need for improved transition planning for students with IDD and/or a desire to improve collaboration with families and the local vocational rehabilitation agency. Using the National Technical Assistant Center on Transition: The Collaborative (NTACT:C)’s Guide for Teachers/Educators for Collaborating with Vocational Rehabilitation Services for Youth with Disabilities, they will engage in a two-year CBPR approach to work with the schools/districts to co-design an experience that facilitates understanding and promotes local discussion and planning between the school and agency.