Zhu Explores Human-AI Collaboration

Jiayan Zhu’s journey into the world of artificial intelligence and education began long before arriving at Lehigh University. While completing her undergraduate and master’s degrees at Fudan University in Shanghai, she first heard of Lehigh as a respected institution with a stellar academic reputation. But it was the university's close-knit community, its commitment to innovation in education, and the promise of personalized mentorship that ultimately brought her to Lehigh's Mountaintop Campus. After arrival, she was grateful for how welcoming and supportive the people were, offering a nurturing environment where her ideas would be valued.

Today, Zhu is a Ph.D. student in Lehigh's Teaching, Learning, and Technology program, researching how artificial intelligence can benefit STEM education. Specifically, she explores human-AI collaboration—exploring how students can partner with AI to think deeper, solve problems faster, and learn better. Her hard work hasn't gone unnoticed; Zhu earned a Shuper Fellowship from 2022 to 2024, joined the National Society of Leadership and Success, and helps out on the Graduate Student Senate.

This summer, she teamed up with Growth Mindset, LLC to offer "AI for Kids," helping area youth and their families learn how to use AI creatively and responsibly. Through the program, participants followed step-by-step instructions to create their own stories. The class incorporated agentic AI concepts and 20-30 minutes of instruction. Students then applied what they learned to build their own projects under parental supervision.

Thanks to the COE's close ties with local schools, Zhu is able to test her ideas about human-AI collaboration in area classrooms. Zhu credits her support system, especially her advisor, Zilong Pan, for pushing her to explore new ideas and connect her work to the real world.

In her free time, Zhu enjoys time with her family, enjoying live music, food, and the joyful energy of the city.

Looking ahead, Zhue plans to remain in higher education after finishing her Ph.D. Fulfilling a lifelong dream of becoming an educator who lights the way for others, her ultimate goal is to keep researching, designing innovative learning tools, and helping students and teachers navigate the AI boom in a smart, meaningful way.

Manz Receives Grant to Advance Digital Parenting Intervention

COE Professor Patti Manz has received a Stage 1 Seed Translational Research Project (STRP) award through Lehigh University’s National Science Foundation-funded (NSF) Accelerating Research Translation (ART) initiative to expand the reach of Little Talks, a parenting intervention designed to strengthen communication and language development among infants and toddlers.

Little Talks focuses on a critical period in a child’s development: birth through age 3. Manz developed the intervention to support families experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage, recognizing both the link between socioeconomic status and children’s long-term development and the lack of evidence-based language interventions designed for low-income families.