In the classroom, scaffolding assignments are a common technique that benefits all students, especially neurodivergent students (Choi & Lee, 2021). We propose a framework that translates academic scaffolding into professional development for STEM scholars—an approach that extends the “runway” and allows students to gain momentum before taking off into high-stakes professional environments.
Many neurodivergent scholars and/or scholars from low-income households enter college and professional spaces needing to learn professional norms and build confidence (Pena, 2025). The purpose of this blog is to share a replicable, evidence-based model that scaffolds and extends professional development for STEM scholars through science outreach, participation in scientific conferences and publications, and ultimately internships.
Our positionality is grounded in experiences running an S-STEM project at Landmark College, a college that exclusively serves neurodivergent scholars with learning differences and autism.
The “Runway” Metaphor
For many STEM scholars, the first professional engagement in the scientific community comes through internships or conferences. These experiences often require a steep “rise” in expectations—networking, presenting, self-advocacy, and professional conduct all at once. At best, this can result in stressful or less-than-positive experiences; at worst, it can lead to failure and withdrawal.
Neurodivergent scholars, in particular, may experience executive function challenges (Brown, 2021), difficulty managing multi-step tasks, and reduced confidence in their abilities. Additionally, many are still developing a strong STEM identity. Without scaffolding, these challenges can hinder successful participation.
Just as the slope of a line depends on its rise over run, professional growth can be shaped by how quickly or gradually scholars are expected to advance. Our framework extends the “run,” allowing for a smoother, more gradual, and scaffolded “rise” toward full professional engagement.
Figure 1: Provide a structured series of opportunities for professional development.
Our Scaffolded Framework
This framework enables faculty and mentors to meet scholars where they are and support them through progressively challenging professional development opportunities.
1. Local Science Outreach
The first step involves low-stakes participation in science outreach events. Examples include filming short multi-take videos or helping with campus-based outreach activities in a supportive peer environment. Scholars are reminded they are the “expert scientist” in the room, which helps build identity and confidence.
Preparation is essential: providing science communication training (Selvakumar & Storksdieck, 2013) and relying on trusted resources (American Chemical Society, 2025) gives scholars the tools they need.
“Networking can be easier with people who have common interests and goals. Try new things even if you feel unsure because you will build confidence as you go.” – A novice S-STEM scholar with autism and anxiety
2. On-Campus Dissemination
Each semester, advanced scholars share their professional experiences with newer cohort members. They reflect on both positive outcomes and challenges, framing them through the lens of their Birkman® strengths.
Low-stakes dissemination opportunities—such as on-campus poster sessions, student leadership conferences, or campus-based national events like the Landmark College Summer Institute —allow students to practice professional skills in a familiar environment before stepping into larger venues.
3. Faculty-Mentored Internal Internships
Early, faculty-supported research experiences on campus provide students with lower-risk, high-impact opportunities. These are particularly beneficial for scholars from low-income households who may need paid or credit-bearing experiences to make participation possible.
Examples include hiring students to assist with content development through faculty mentoring networks (Donovan et. al. 2015) or engaging them as lab assistants. These opportunities help scholars build STEM identity and confidence. Notably, at least 30% of our scholars participate in more than one internship before graduation.
“No matter how the internship goes, you will always learn something!” – An advanced S-STEM Scholar with dyslexia
4. Regional Opportunities
For scholars who face transportation or time constraints, regional conferences and poster sessions serve as an intermediate step. Traveling in small groups and attending familiar regional events lowers anxiety and builds readiness for larger national conferences.
5. External Placements
Finally, scholars transition into competitive external internships and national conferences. By this stage, they have already rehearsed many of the necessary skills—science communication, networking, presenting, and professional behavior—through smaller scaffolded steps.
Normalizing Participation
Consistency matters. In our program, scholars are expected to participate in at least one professional event per semester—whether it’s creating a science marketing video, joining an outreach trip, attending a talk, or going to a career fair.
When participation is the norm, barriers of anxiety are reduced. Structured reflection using tools like the Birkman® survey (Monroe & Matte, 2024) helps scholars connect experiences to personal strengths. Accountability meetings, where students collaborate to complete tasks, further normalize professional behaviors and leadership development.
Each semester, advanced scholars are asked to share and reflect on their experiences with the cohort, including incoming scholars. This feedback from new scholars is regularly centered around inspiration:
“Before starting with this program I never really considered pursuing an internship, and that if I did I wouldn’t be able to get into anything I would like. However, now after seeing what is offered with this scholarship and having heard these presentations, I’m starting to feel that getting an internship for myself is both possible and something that I might actually enjoy doing.” – A new S-STEM scholar with ADHD
Outcomes and Evidence
This scaffolded approach has yielded measurable results. Not only have 77% (27/34) of the S-STEM scholars served by this program completed internships, 32% (11/34) have completed a second internship and more students are attending conferences. Beyond numbers, we’ve observed that students gain confidence, build community, and envision long-term futures in STEM.
Barriers, Considerations, and Implications
While the outcomes of our scaffolded model have been encouraging, it is important to recognize the barriers that institutions may face when adapting this framework. Access remains a central challenge—transportation, funding, and time constraints can limit students’ ability to participate fully in professional opportunities. Even with internal scaffolding, some scholars may struggle to balance academic, financial, and personal responsibilities that compete with professional development.
Another key consideration is faculty and staff buy-in. Sustaining a scaffolded model requires faculty mentors who are willing to invest time and energy into guiding students through each stage of development. Without intentional training and support, the additional responsibilities placed on faculty and staff can become overwhelming, particularly at institutions where resources are already stretched thin.
Despite these challenges, the framework offers important implications for the broader STEM community. First, it is replicable. Institutions of varying sizes and missions can adapt pieces of the model by starting with small-scale, local outreach opportunities or on-campus dissemination before scaling up to larger initiatives. Second, it requires an equity lens. Meeting students where they are—rather than where traditional systems assume they should be—ensures that neurodivergent and low-income scholars have equitable access to the same opportunities as their peers. Finally, the long-term impact is profound: by gradually extending the runway, we build sustainable pathways into STEM careers and foster a culture that values inclusion, accessibility, and student-centered growth.
Conclusion & Call to Action
A longer runway allows more students to take flight. By rethinking how we scaffold professional development, we can create pathways that empower neurodivergent and low-income STEM scholars to thrive.
We invite educators, mentors, and institutions to share their own strategies for scaffolding student success and to join the conversation about expanding professional development opportunities in equitable, inclusive ways.
References
Brown, T.E. (2001) Brown Attention Deficit Disorder Scales for Children and Adolescents. The Psychological Corporation, San Antonio.
Choi, S. E., & Lee, S. (2021). Applying constructivism in neurodiverse classrooms. Review of Educational Theory, 4(4), 6-11.
Donovan, S., Eaton, C. D., Gower, S. T., Jenkins, K. P., LaMar, M. D., Poli, D., … & Wojdak, J. M. (2015). QUBES: a community focused on supporting teaching and learning in quantitative biology. Letters in Biomathematics, 2(1), 46-55.
Monroe, CB., Matte, R., Building and Strengthening On-Campus Relationships and Partnerships for Neurodiverse Scholars. AAAS S-STEM REC Blog. 2024. https://sstemrec.aaas.org/blog/building-on-campus-relationships-for-neurodiverse-scholars/
Pena, K. K. (2025). The Neurodivergent Student’s Transition Guide: A School Survival Guide for ADHD and Autism to Navigate Change, Build Confidence, and Succeed in Every Classroom.
Selvakumar, M., & Storksdieck, M. (2013). Portal to the public: museum educators collaborating with scientists to engage museum visitors with current science. Curator: The Museum Journal, 56(1), 69-78.
