Edward Brandt started out as a high school math teacher in New Jersey in the early '90s. Over the next three decades, he moved into leadership roles, serving as a middle school principal and a math supervisor before leading Hunterdon Central. Brandt's dedication was recognized last year through an Exemplary Educator Award by the New Jersey State Department of Education.
The College of Education's Fall 2026 newsletter focuses on the role of artificial intelligence in education, emphasizing the critical role human connection plays alongside emerging technologies.
Lehigh University College of Education researcher Zilong Pan is developing an AI-powered AI agent suite to help students work through STEM learning tasks and problems while keeping teachers in the learning loop.
Jiayan Zhu is a Ph.D. student in the COE's Teaching, Learning, and Technology program, where she investigates how artificial intelligence (AI) can support meaningful learning in STEM education. Her research centers on human–AI collaboration, with a particular interest in how learners can work effectively with AI while maintaining an active role in their own learning. She explores how learners can engage with AI as a collaborative peer while developing the ability to monitor their own understanding, critically evaluate AI-generated information, and make thoughtful decisions about when and how to use AI. Her work asks how AI can support learning without replacing the thinking and self-regulation that learners need to develop for themselves.
For sophomore Lucy Norwood, the decision to attend Lehigh University was deeply personal. Norwood grew up in Bethlehem and knew early on that her calling was in the classroom. When researching colleges, she looked for a university that could support her ambitions from day one. Norwood found that Lehigh's College of Education's 4+1 Accelerated Master's Education Program was a perfect fit, allowing her to dive into educational theory as an undergraduate before transitioning into her graduate teaching degree.
Emily Ky is proving that the future of technology isn't just about writing efficient code—it’s about understanding how humans process information. A junior majoring in Computer Science, Ky decided to pair her technical major with Learning Sciences coursework through the College of Education. This unique intersection allows her to bridge software development with cognitive psychology and instructional design.
A Fulbright Scholar from Kashmir, Pakistan), Subhah Khan’s journey to educational technology began with a rich, interdisciplinary background that bridges economics, political science, and anthropology. It was during her undergraduate years that she discovered a quiet but persistent passion for the transformative power of education. From designing curricula on environmental conservation to researching learning analytics, Khan realized how deeply pedagogy impacts real-world equity.
Now pursuing her M.Ed. in Teaching, Learning, and Technology, she has found a program that channels her drive for systemic change.
While most students in the 4+1 Accelerated Master’s program begin their transition in their sophomore year, Sarah McDermott took a unique path, jumping in during her junior year. Now in her first year as a graduate student, she is fast-tracking her way to the classroom, proving that the program’s flexibility is one of its greatest strengths.
For Lauren Tillstrom Biegley, the decision to pursue a doctoral degree was rooted in a desire to bridge the gap between research-based theory and the realities of K-12 schools. After years spent in elementary classrooms, she was looking for more than academics; she wanted a partner in progress.
Valeria Rivera-Perez chose Lehigh's College of Education for a simple reason: its reputation for academic rigor and its track record of producing elite, classroom-ready educators. However, what started as a focus on secondary biology quickly evolved into a dual passion.