Dr. Buxarrais will give a lecture entitled “Compassion and Education: Towards a Teaching Identity Committed to Care” on the 10th of December at 18:00. This event is part of the Education and Teaching Identity series and will take place in the Julio San Valero Building (see map) at San Jorge University in Zaragoza.
On November 20th, Dr. Maria Rosa Buxarrais participated in the examination panel evaluating the appointment of Dr. Patricia Alonso Ruido as a tenured lecturer. The panel met at the Faculty of Education of the University of Santiago de Compostela. The other panel members were Dr. Cristóbal Ruiz (University of Málaga), Dr. Miguel Anxo Santos (University of Santiago de Compostela), Dr. Esther Olveira (University of Santiago de Compostela), and Dr. Juan Luis Fuentes (Complutense University of Madrid).
From left to right: Cristóbal Ruiz, Esther Olveira, Patricia Alonso Ruido, Maria Rosa Buxarrais, Miguel Anxo Santos and Juan Luis Fuentes.
Dr. Maria Rosa Buxarrais participated this month in the 19th Annual Conference of the Asia-Pacific Network for Moral Education (APNME), which took place at the University of Malaysia, in Kuala Lumpur, from the 5th to the 7th of November. This year the theme was “Ethics and Authentic Dialogue in the AI Era”.
Dr. Maria Rosa Buxarrais presented a paper coauthored with Dr. Isabel Álvarez Cánovas (Autonomous University of Barcelona) with the title “Higher Education: Academic Integrity, Ethical Values and Generative Artificial Intelligence”.
Abstract
“The integration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) into higher education presents both unprecedented opportunities and significant ethical challenges. This paper explores the impact of AI on academic integrity and ethical values within universities, contextualizing its influence on students, faculty, and institutional practices. Drawing from contemporary debates in AI ethics, the authors highlight the anthropomorphization of AI and its implications for autonomy, moral agency, and decision-making. The paper examines how generative AI reshapes key academic practices- particularly assessment, authorship, and intellectual honesty – by introducing tools that can both support learning and facilitate dishonest behavior. Through a mixed-methods approach combining surveys, interviews, and content analysis of institutional policies, the study reveals a growing concern over the erosion of originality and critical thinking due to AI-generated content. It also underscores the lack of preparedness among stakeholders to ethically navigate these emerging technologies. The authors advocate for a comprehensive ethical framework tailored to higher education, emphasizing transparency, privacy, inclusion, and governance. Moreover, they call for the development of robust educational policies, ethics committees, and participatory mechanisms involving students and faculty. The findings suggest that, while generative AI holds transformative potential, its implementation must be guided by clear ethical standards to preserve the values underpinning academic integrity. Ultimately, the paper contributes to the ongoing discourse on how higher education can responsibly adapt to technological innovation while safeguarding its foundational principles“.
From left to right: Dr. Vishalache Balakrishnan, Professor at the University of Malaysia, Dr. Wiel Veugelers, Emeritus Professor at The University of Humanistic Studies (The Netherlands) and Dr. Maria Rosa Buxarrais, Professor at the University of Barcelona.
On October 24, Dr. Maria Rosa Buxarrais chaired the evaluation committee for Dr. Mariona Graell Martín’s application for the position of Associate Professor, which was held at the Faculty of Education of the University of Barcelona. The other members of the committee were Dr. Juan Llanes (University of Barcelona), Dr. Gladys Merma (University of Alicante), Dr. Ramón Francisco Mínguez (University of Murcia), and Dr. Juan Alfredo Jiménez (University of Burgos).
From left to right: Ramón Francisco Mínguez, Juan Alfredo Jiménez, Maria Rosa Buxarrais, Mariona Graell, Gladys Merma, and Juan Llanes.
Dr. Maria Rosa Buxarrais, together with Dr. Juan Llanes and Dr. Max Turull, all professors at the University of Barcelona, have coordinated issue 54 of the collection Cuadernos de Docencia Universitaria (University Teaching Notebooks), recently published, entitled El peer review en docencia universitaria. Calidad, reflexión y desarrollo profesional.
The same book is also available in Catalan, with the title El peer review en docència universitària. Qualitat, reflexió i desenvolupament professional and both books are free to download under a Creative Commons license on the website of Editorial Octaedro, which collaborates on the publication together with the Institute for Professional Development of the University of Barcelona.
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Abstract
«This volume brings together the collective experience of twenty-seven university lecturers who, from diverse disciplines and institutions, have promoted a pioneering peer review initiative in teaching. The project, developed within the framework of the RIMDA programme and the INTERMASTER teaching innovation group at the University of Barcelona, proposes opening the doors of the classroom—traditionally conceived as an intimate and private space—to the observation of a colleague, with the aim of jointly reflecting on teaching practice and stimulating improvement.
The book combines theoretical foundations and practical contributions. It offers a conceptual framework that situates peer review within international frameworks for quality and academic development, while presenting an observation instrument adapted to different contexts and needs: from one-off interventions to long-term work plans. Furthermore, it includes thirteen real experiences—interdisciplinary and discipline-specific—carried out in official programmes of the University of Barcelona and with the collaboration of Favaloro University, which show the plurality of perspectives, methodologies, and challenges that emerge when teaching is shared with other professionals».
The book can be downloaded in Spanish and in Catalan from Editorial Octaedro.
The books in the Cuadernos de Docencia Universitaria collection “make various materials and documents available to university teaching staff to facilitate their teaching work, in accordance with a teaching-learning vision centred on student work, and aim to promote good teaching practices».
The rest of the issues in this collection, as well as future ones, can also be downloaded freely and at no cost via this link.