Spectrum Innovates Pathway Program: Spring Curriculum

Program Description

The Spectrum Innovates Pathway Program (SIPP) was created to "address the autistic community's employment crisis and the forecast[ed] shortage of technicians in the aeronautics industry over the next twenty years." SIPP is a "prototypal transition pathway program for those on the autism spectrum who share a common passion for aeronautics." The primary goals of this program are to prepare students for success in higher education and to enter the workforce in advanced technician roles. This program is a partnership between NPF Nexus and Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology. The program runs for 12 months. There is a 6-week orientation, two academic semesters, and a 6-week residency experience.

Collection Description

This collection is composed of documents for the SIPP spring semester. The spring semester provides opportunities for students to reflect on the SEL practices that they learned about in past semesters. New SEL concepts are also introduced. Workforce readiness, daily living skills, and preparation for the 6-week residency in summer 2 are also covered in the spring semester.

Collection Contents

Contents include activity plans for the spring and fall semesters, a document on the innovation hub, master lists, a document on competencies, a schedule, and a workforce skills evaluation template.

Activity plans contains both learner and instructor goals, the lesson, reflections, educational materials, and other curriculum materials used each week. Topics explored include emotional regulation, relationships, job searches, disability disclosures, healthy living, and more.

Master lists provide a list of activities and practices for different SEL topics. For example, the regulation strategies master list explores practices like meditation, drawing, breathing exercises, and more.

The innovation hub document provides information on different pathways for students, who can either receive certification in an advanced technology topic or focus on SEL. Certifications include Mechanical Design and Additive Manufacturing.

Specific skills and strategies that students may gain through the SIPP spring semester are covered in other documents within the collection.

Additional program, semester, Innovation Hub, and SEL resources are available to view separately.

For orientation purposes the 15Spring Weekly Activity Plans SEL.pdf is included as a separate attachment and offers a sample of the type of material included in this collection. 

Below is a list of the folders and files contained within the .zip attachment. The size of each folder and number of files is included in parenthesis. Files are listed with their file name and size in parenthesis. 

15Spring Weekly Activity Plans SEL (9 files, 3.7 MB)

• Spring Weekly Activity Plans SEL (15Spring Weekly Activity Plans SEL.pdf 219 KB)
• Executive Functioning Strategies Masterlist (Executive Functioning Strategies Masterlist (1).pdf 101 KB)
• Fall Weekly Activity Plans SEL (Fall Weekly Activity Plans SEL.pdf 352 KB)
• Innovation Hub Fall & Spring Semester (Innovation Hub Fall & Spring Semester.pdf 155 KB)
• Regulation Strategies Masterlist (Regulation Strategies Masterlist.pdf 105 KB)
• SIPP Competencies Work in Progress (SIPP Competencies Work in Progress.pdf 151 KB)
• Executive Functioning Strategies Masterlist (Executive Functioning Strategies Masterlist (1).xlsx 54 KB)
• Visual Schedule Example (Dorm Living) (Visual Schedule Example (Dorm Living).pdf 1.8 MB)
• Week 1 Orientation Activity Plans (Week 1 Orientation Activity Plans.pdf 719 KB)