Brendan is a fifth-year doctoral student at the Berkeley School of Education in the Learning Sciences and Human Development (LSHD) cluster and is advised by Prof. Michelle Wilkerson. His research sits at the intersection of the learning sciences, computer science (CS) education, and teacher education. His research focuses on critically conscious CS education, studying the ways in which pre-service teachers navigate critical perspectives of computing in a CS teacher preparation program.
He is a graduate student researcher with Prof. Lisa Yan in the College of Computing, Data Science...
Dr. Pardos is an Associate Professor of Education at UC Berkeley studying adaptive learning and AI. His current research focuses on knowledge representation and recommender systems approaches to increasing upward mobility in postsecondary education using behavioral and semantic data.
He earned his PhD in Computer Science at Worcester Polytechnic Institute with a dissertation on computational models of cognitive mastery. Funded by a National Science Foundation Fellowship (GK-12), he spent extensive time with K-12 educators and students working to integrate educational technology into...
Jetta McPhee is a first-year doctoral student in the Learning Sciences and Human Development program, advised by Dr. Dana Miller-Cotto. Before the BSE, they earned an MA in Educational Technology from UNC Chapel Hill in 2025 and a BS in Psychological Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2023.
Jetta's education research at UNC focused on using learning analytics to support first-year students in introductory STEM courses. They also helped run peer mentoring programs for first-generation and otherwise historically underrepresented students at UNC.
Jessica Benally is a PhD student in the Learning Sciences & Human Development program. Her research interest is the designing of materials to create a dialogic negotiation between Diné/Navajo and Western epistemology in mathematics curriculum. Looking toward rematriating mathematics education by using ethnomathematics to restructurate learning practices to include Indigenous relationality, including land-based spatial perspectives through the Diné language. Benally’s current project leverages the egocentric and allocentric perspectives in geometry education with angles. In the STARR (...
Travis J. Bristol is an associate professor of teacher education and education policy in Berkeley’s School of Education and (by courtesy) the Department of African American Studies. He is also the faculty director of the Center for Research on Expanding Educational Opportunity. Before joining Berkeley's faculty, he was a Peter Paul Assistant Professor at Boston University. Using qualitative methods, Dr. Bristol explores three...
Kelly is a sixth year doctoral candidate at the Berkeley School of Education in the Learning Sciences and Human Development cluster. Kelly’s work is deeply informed by her teaching experience in Oakland, California and former students. In pursuing a graduate degree, Kelly hopes to highlight the amazing work Oakland students and STEM teachers are doing to integrate local justice issues into classroom projects and conversations.
Kelly's current research focuses on collaborating with Bay Area teachers to design learning environments that support students in using data science to...
Weiying is a Ph.D. candidate in Learning Sciences and Human Development at the UC Berkeley School of Education, with a Designated Emphasis in New Media. Her research focuses on designing and evaluating AI dialogs that support middle school students in learning complex science concepts and engaging with social justice topics in science, such as food access. She uses mixed methods to investigate how iterative prompt design, developed in collaboration with teachers, can deepen students’ knowledge integration. Her work contributes to the development of responsible and adaptive AI tools for...
Ratih Ayu Apsari is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Learning Sciences & Human Development program at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research develops culturally situated, embodied designs for mathematics learning, bridging movement traditions and geometry education. Ratih initiated and leads GRiD—Geometry Resources in Dance, which explores how Balinese dance can serve as a resource for mathematical reasoning through movement and design. Drawing on her background in mathematics education and training in Balinese dance, she designs low-cost, recyclable learning materials and...
Meg Everett is a Regents Fellow and Doctoral Candidate in Learning Sciences and Human Development with a Designated Emphasis in New Media. Her dissertation, supported by the Peter Lyman Graduate Fellowship in New Media, examines the intersection of social media and schools.
Meg's work is driven by a passion for leveraging technology to create innovative, engaging, and equitable learning environments that center students' experiences and foster strong relationships. She currently serves as the instructional support lead for the Immersive Virtual Classroom project at Online@BSE, where...
Yared Portillo is a Ph.D. candidate in Learning Sciences and Human Development at UC Berkeley’s School of Education with a focus on Language, Literacy, and Culture. She is a jaranera, leonera, guitarist, poet, and music teacher with over 15 years of experience. Raised in an agricultural Latine immigrant community in Santa María, California, her research interests sit at the intersection of music education, translanguaging pedagogies, and sociocultural approaches to learning. Yared’s research and teaching are influenced by her years as a grassroots immigrant rights community organizer in...
