A thesis rethinking how we learn through AI

Clara Orbe arrived in Pamplona from Ecuador “at the age of 18, with two suitcases and already deeply in love with Education.” Thanks to an scholarship , she was able to pursue a dual Degree Pedagogy and Education .  

During her time at university, Clara threw herself into everything: volunteering, projects, and internships in Spain, Ecuador, and India. “I also found a place for myself in the arts. I took part in two musicals, and the choir was, throughout my entire degree program, a refuge and a place of friendship that I remember very fondly,” she says. These experiences made her want to extend her time at the university after finishing her Degree. So, she pursued a Master's Degree faculty specialization program , and last year she began her doctorate to the scholarship de Amigos scholarship . “These years have been an opportunity to get to know myself, explore everything that interested me, and live each experience to the fullest. I’ve tried to say ‘yes’ to every opportunity the university has offered me, and that has profoundly shaped my path,” she confesses. 

Clara didn't consider the research as a profession to aspire to, but rather as a way to “grow, challenge myself, and go a little further than I thought possible intellectually, professionally, and, above all, staff.” research gradually revealed research as another way to contribute, a space from which to ask questions, understand, and also transform the reality around me,” she explains. Professors Maica González Torres and Katya Palafox, with whom Clara was an intern, were instrumental in this journey. “Their way of working left a deep impression on me,” she acknowledges.

The guidance provided by her thesis advisors has also been essential thesis Sonia Lara, from the School of Education Psychology, and Nicolás Serrano and Carmen Blanco, from Tecnun. “I clearly remember the moment ChatGPT appeared in November 2022. Suddenly, something that hadn’t even been part of my questions started popping up everywhere, and it was impossible to ignore,” she recalls. "What does this mean for the way we design learning and for the way people learn?" Clara began to ask herself. At the time, she was working in e-learning and design , and those questions began to intertwine with her own internship. "That’s when an opportunity arose from the School of Engineering, which was promoting a thesis to study the impact of Artificial Intelligence on teaching. Driven by curiosity, I contacted my advisors without imagining that that first step would end up shaping my path." Clara is now working on her thesis on Generative Artificial Intelligence Applications to enhance the learning process in STEM subjects at the University of Navarra through design research , a work takes her back and forth between Pamplona and San Sebastián.

This opportunity, which brings together two disciplines as different as Education engineering, is, according to Clara, a constant learning experience. "Moving between the two has led me to question my own way of understanding things, to step outside familiar frameworks, and to learn to think in different ways. multidisciplinarity just partnership. It's about dialogue, contrast, and collaborative building around a purpose ."

"Looking to the future, Clara envisions herself researching how internship are evolving 'in a world where artificial intelligence is changing the game: what does learning really mean in a context where part of the cognitive process can be outsourced; what role should professor assume professor AI also explains, corrects, or guides; and how can we redesign assessment that it remains meaningful when access to answers is immediate,' she concludes."