Community
Opportunities for Participation
The College of Education at Lehigh University is committed to providing optimal learning experiences to our students and improving outcomes for every population we serve. We welcome community participation within the scope of several programs and grants. Please review the options below to find out more about the programs that are currently open to members of the local community.
Project Title:
Mystery of the Lehigh Gap
Primary Investigator:
Dr. Al Bodzin
Phone: 601-758-5095
Email: amb4@lehigh.edu
Project Description: Step into the shoes of a time-traveling investigator and uncover one of Pennsylvania’s most remarkable environmental transformations in Mystery of the Lehigh Gap, a narrative-rich educational game that fuses history and interactive fun. Set in the Lehigh Gap region of Pennsylvania, the game allows players to travel back in time to discover the historical changes that took place due to the construction and operation of a zinc smelting plant. Through interactive storytelling and a series of engaging mini-games, Mystery of the Lehigh Gap immerses players in the real world historical events. After playing the game, we invite everyone to complete a brief survey at the end of the experience to let us know what you think. Your feedback helps improve the experience and supports ongoing educational research with Lehigh University and the Lehigh Gap Nature Center.
Participant Requirements: If you are 9 years old or older and located in the United States, we invite you to play our game and help us learn how the game promotes understanding of flood preparedness. Mystery of the Lehigh Gap plays best on a computer or laptop with an external mouse. Mystery of the Lehigh Gap does require a computer with the minimum system requirements of 2.5 GHz Intel Core i3 processor and 2GB RAM. We recommend that you use Firefox or Chrome Web browsers. Mystery of the Lehigh Gap is available for free in a web browser or as a downloadable PC application. The game typically takes 35-40 minutes to complete.
The game can be played at any time by visiting: https://eli.lehigh.edu/mystery-lehigh-gap
Or, you can join us to play the game in person at any of the scheduled times and locations listed below.
Recruitment end date: December 31, 2025
Project Title:
MathPal
Primary Investigator:
Dr. Zilong Pan
Phone: 601-758-3237
Email: zip322@lehigh.edu
Project Description: Take this opportunity to be one of the first educators to try out a new math tool. The AI tool, named MathPal, acts as a math learning partner for K-12 students and adult learners. It provides learners with personalized support in a conversational style, characterized by a customizable tone. These supports can be categorized into two main types: conceptual supports and metacognitive supports.
Participant Requirements: Looking for K-12 math teachers and/or adult math learners to test/use the MathPal AI tool.
Recruitment end date: Ongoing, until post is removed.
Project Title:
Mobile Application to Increase Appropriate Mealtime Behaviors
Primary Investigator:
Lehigh University Autism Services
Phone: 610-758-2443
Email: inautism@lehigh.edu
Project Description: We’re looking for children who eat too quickly, too slowly, or are selective with foods to join a study on a new mobile app aimed at improving feeding behaviors.
Participants: We are recruiting child participants from the Lehigh Valley who meet the following inclusion criteria:
- Ages 3-12
- Parent report of substantial feeding/mealtime problems (e.g., eat too slowly/quickly, minor food selectivity)
- Child is able to self-feed
- Child has no severe food selectivity (i.e., accepting less than 10 total food items)
- Child has no anatomical or active medical conditions that prohibit safe oral intake (e.g., oral feeding aspiration, upper airway obstruction), or reliance on supplemental nutrition
- Child is not currently receiving additional feeding-related intervention
Recruitment end date: Ongoing, until post is removed