On Wednesday, July 10, starting at 12:00 p.m., the PhD student Carles Campanyà Castelltort thesis defense will take place at Sala de Graus at La Salle Campus Barcelona. Entitled 'Continuous improvement cycle based on learning analytics and PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycles. Implementation into the Steel and Concrete Structures subject', the thesis has been carried out under the direction of Dra. Núria Martí Audí, and Dra. Mónica Vanesa Sánchez Sepulveda. The doctoral student is part of the HER research group.
The research is focused on the implementation of a cycle of continuous improvement during 6 academic years (from 2017/2018 until 2022/2023) into the subject of Steel and Concrete Structures, which is taught in the 3rd year of the architecture degree at the Escola Superior Tècnica d'Arquitectura i Edificació La Salle (ETSALS), with the aim of improving the learning results, the students' interest towards technical aspects of architecture and the subject. The cycle has been designed taking as a reference the learning analytics cycle and the continuous improvement cycle PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) used in business management.
Qualitative data are used to identify possible points of improvement, and quantitative data are analysed to evaluate the effectiveness of the cycle, that it is formulated in such a way that it can be transferred to other subjects, other educational levels and other contexts, and with sufficient flexibility to accommodate educational innovation and to adapt to changes, whether they are intended or arisen, as has been the case of adaptation to the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The court is made up of the president, Dr. Francesc López Almansa; the secretary, Dr. Xavier Canaleta Llampallas; and the member, Dra. Carme Carrion Ribas.