A thesis rethinking how we learn through AI

Clara Orbearrived in Pamplona from Ecuador “at age 18, with two suitcases and already deeply in love with the Education.” Thanks to an “ scholarship ” scholarship for alumni, she was able to pursue adual- Degree ’s degreein Pedagogy and Elementary School Teaching at 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 participated in two musicals, and the choir was, throughout my time at the degree program, a refuge and a place of friendship that I remember very fondly,” she says. These experiences led her, upon completing her Degree, to want to extend her time at the university. So, she pursued the“Master's Degree ” (Master’s in Business Administration) at faculty, specialization program Orientación, and last year she began the“ doctorate ” (Master’s in Strategic Management) thanks to the “ scholarship Estrategia de Amigos” (Amigos Strategic 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 think of it research as a profession to aspire to, but rather asa way to “grow, challenge myself, and go a little beyond what I thought was possible intellectually, professionally, and, above all, em staff ly.” “ research gradually revealed itself asanother way to contribute—a space from which to ask questions, understand, and also transform the realityaround me,” she explains. ProfessorsMaica González TorresandKatya Palafox—with whom Clara was an intern—played a fundamental role on this journey. “Their way of working left a deep impression on me,” she acknowledges.

The support of the directors of thesis has also been essential:Sonia Lara, from theSchool of Education and Psychology, andNicolás SerranoandCarmen Blanco, fromTecnun. “I clearly remember the moment ChatGPT appeared in November 2022. Suddenly, something that wasn’t even 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 ine-learningand instructional 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 adoctoralthesis 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 pursuing her doctoral thesis inGenerative Artificial Intelligence Applications to enhance the learning process in STEM subjects at the University of Navarra through a research based on the design, a work that requires her to commute between Pamplona and San Sebastián.

This opportunity, whichbrings together two disciplines as different as the " Education " and engineering, is, according to Clara, aconstant opportunity for learning. "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 languages. The ' multidisciplinarity ' is not just ' partnership.' It isdialogue, contrast, and collaborative construction around a shared ' purpose '."

With her sights set on the future, Clara envisions herself researchinghow educational internship is transforming“in a world where Artificial Intelligence is a game-changer: what it really means to learn in a context where part of the cognitive process can be outsourced; what role the professor should play when AI also explains, corrects, or guides; and how to redesign assessment so that it remains meaningful when access to answers is immediate,” she concludes.