Auburn University students are provided on-going opportunities to develop their leadership skills and participate in the formulation and adoption of transition practices and policies at state and national levels. Auburn Transition Leadership Institute graduate assistants, for example, are involved with the development and on-going management of Alabama’s Strategic Plan for Transition. Doctoral students attend the National Secondary Transition State Planning Institute and play an integral part in formulating and developing Alabama’s state plan for transition.
ATLI graduate assistants also are actively involved with Alabama’s State Interagency Transition Team. This cross-agency team of administrators from Alabama’s state agencies holds quarterly meetings to examine and address issues that impact the delivery of transition services for students with disabilities. In addition to these quarterly meetings, subcommittees are formulated to focus on targeted issues and develop plans of action for specific needs as they arise. ATLI doctoral students have been involved in the planning, organization, development, and implementation of this statewide group of transition policy makers.
The annual Alabama Transition Conference is the state’s premier transition training event attracting 600-700 transition stakeholders each year. The conference is coordinated and hosted by Auburn Transition Leadership Institute personnel, and staffed by Auburn University student volunteers. As such, Auburn University students gain unique experiences associated with organizing and hosting a large statewide outreach training event. They learn, among other things, how to develop conference programs, organize opening events, and manage multiple concurrent sessions. Through their work with the conference they are involved in activities to practice their interpersonal and problem solving skills. They also have opportunities to meet and interact with national and state leaders in the area of transition.
The state’s Training iN Transition (TNT) program is a collaborative effort with the Auburn Transition Leadership Institute (ATLI) and the Alabama State Department of Education, Special Education Services. Auburn University students working with the ATLI are highly involved in the TNT program which includes both on-site and web-based training sessions. Students assist with the research, production, and delivery of the TNT modules.
Auburn University students working with the ATLI have numerous opportunities to be involved with transition field-based experiences in local communities. During the Local Transition Partnership (LTP) project, for example, students assisted local school systems in developing and implementing their local transition program for students with disabilities. Direct support from ATLI graduate students included the development of newsletters and on-site job coaching. They also worked in the community with high school students assisting them in their development of job skills.
Auburn University students assist with on-going ATLI research projects such as Alabama’s Post-School Outcome Data Analysis and the Alabama Parent Satisfaction Survey. In addition to this longitudinal research, students participate in and/or initiate their own research in specific transition-related areas. Through the development of their own projects, they learn how to design research studies data, collect data, and interpret results.
Students working with ATLI also gain skills and experience in developing research and grant proposals. Through these activities, student research is published in state reports as well as national peer-reviewed publications. Another outcome of students’ research activities with ATLI is their presentations at state and national events. ATLI graduate assistants have presented at state, national and international conferences.
Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) gain university teaching experience as they progress from observing instruction, to assisting with instruction, and then to independently teaching courses. Through this developmental progress, GTAs learn how to (a) develop syllabi, (b) provide instruction using various teaching approaches, and (c) assess student learning. Teaching assistants also are involved with the development and delivery of a distance education course in transition. In addition to activities associated with traditional classroom instruction, students learn how to use streaming video, chat rooms, and Canvas assignments to provide instruction via the internet to off-campus students.
