Neurodivergent students cope with collaborative active learning discomfort by self-selecting roles and explicitly disclosing access needs¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · qualitative r3 · q1
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q1 i? A common coping method among interviewed ND students was self-assignment to the same types of roles when working in teams. → Cynthia Zastudil 2026 q1 i? Interviewed ND students found being very explicit with their access needs helpful when working in teams. → Cynthia Zastudil 2026 (2)

Evidence¶

Cynthia Zastudil 2026¶

Cynthia Zastudil, Srishty Muthusekaran, Rayhona Nasimova, and Stephen MacNeil. (2026). “I can’t read your mind”: A Study of Neurodivergent Computing Students’ Experiences with Collaborative Active Learning. Proceedings of the 31st ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education V. 1 (ITiCSE 2026). https://doi.org/10.1145/3803400.3809386

q1 · i? · qualitative · r3

Reflexive thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with ND computing students. The analysis found "a common coping method that came up with participants was self-assignment to the same types of roles when working in teams".

"In our interviews, a common coping method that came up with participants was self-assignment to the same types of roles when working in teams."

Cynthia Zastudil 2026 (2)¶

Cynthia Zastudil, Srishty Muthusekaran, Rayhona Nasimova, and Stephen MacNeil. (2026). “I can’t read your mind”: A Study of Neurodivergent Computing Students’ Experiences with Collaborative Active Learning. Proceedings of the 31st ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education V. 1 (ITiCSE 2026). https://doi.org/10.1145/3803400.3809386

q1 · i? · qualitative · r3

Same interview study: participants with strong expectations for how work is done reported that "being very explicit with their access needs [20] (i.e., the things people need to fully participate in a space or activity) was helpful".

"They found that being very explicit with their access needs [20] (i.e., the things people need to fully participate in a space or activity) was helpful"

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Affect Regulation — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• In school studies, cooperative and peer-learning methods that reward groups on every member's individual learning raised achievement more than methods without such rewards — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
• Nd Prefer Defined Team Roles
• Neurodivergent computing students feel most comfortable with student-formed teams, then instructor-assigned teams, and lastly randomly-assigned teams — related
• When coping methods fail, neurodivergent students report avoiding socialization and courses requiring public presentations — related
• 50% of neurodivergent students report some discomfort with semester-long teams compared to 22% of neurotypical students — related
• Interviewed students described active classrooms as disjointed and frustrating and preferred the fluent passive lecture — related
• ND and NT students both prefer some instructor involvement and in-person collaboration over fully student-directed and online collaboration — related
• Neurodivergent students prefer teams of 3–5 students while neurotypical students most prefer teams of 2 — related