Today Khadija El Aadmi Laamech defended her PhD thesis entitled "Well-being in the Design of Digital Educational Environments" under the supervision of Dr. Patricia Santos Rodríguez and Dr. Davinia Hernández-Leo.

In the evaluation committee: 

President: Dr. Mar Pérez Sanagustín (Université Paul Sabatier Tolouse III) (ONLINE)

Secretary: Dr. Ishari Uthpala Amarasinghe (UPF)

Member: Dr. Silvia Alcaraz Domínguez (Universitat de Barcelona)

Abstract: This dissertation addresses the intersection of human-computer interaction (HCI), well-being, and behavior in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL). Given the increasing concerns for student and teacher well-being in digital environments, this research systematically integrates Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and Human-Centered Design (HCD) to embed well-being principles into CSCL technology design. The central goal is to ensure CSCL environments are developed with the basic psychological needs of students and teachers in mind. Through empirical studies, this work evaluates how SDT-based interventions influence user flourishing, motivation, and general well-being in technology use, concurrently assessing the efficacy of the applied design strategies. This dissertation provides a comprehensive and reproducible approach for integrating well-being into educational technology design, offering practical guidelines that empower designers and developers to create technology-enhanced learning experiences that promote well-being and fulfillment, with implications for other digital educational contexts.

Main derived publications: 

El Aadmi-Laamech, K., Hakami, E., Santos, P., & Hernández-Leo, D. (2022, November). The term well-being in Technology-Enhanced Learning: A systematic literature review. In International Symposium on Computers in Education. IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/SIIE56031.2022.9982319

Aadmi-Laamech, K. E., Santos, P., & Hernández-Leo, D. (2024). Well-Being in CSCL Environments: Investigating Gender Variations. In Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, pp. 357-358. International Society of the Learning Sciences. https://doi.org/10.22318/cscl2024.193095

El Aadmi-Laamech, K., Santos, P., & Hernández-Leo, D. (2025). Students' well-being perspective in the human-centered design of a computer supported collaborative learning environment. (accepted in Interaction Design & Architecture(s) Journal)

El Aadmi-Laamech, K., Santos, P., & Hernández-Leo, D. (2025). Impact of Basic Psychological Needs Fulfillment on Teachers’ Well-Being in Online Communities: Designing for Well-Being. Computers in Human Behavior Reports. Vol. 19, 100706, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2025.100706 

El Aadmi-Laamech, K. E., Ginoyan, K., Santos, P., & Hernández-Leo, D. (2025). Supporting teachers’ reflection on their digital well-being (currently under review)

Aadmi-Laamech, K. E., Santos, P., & Hernández-Leo, D. (2024). Adaptation of a Self-determination Theory-Based Questionnaire on Collaborative Classroom Dynamics. In International Conference on Collaboration Technologies and Social Computing (pp. 45-60). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-67998-8_4

Aadmi-Laamech, K. E., Santos, P., & Hernández-Leo, D. (2024). Leveraging User Experience and Learning Analytics for Enhanced Student Well-being. arXiv preprint arXiv:2412.02457.  (currently under review)

Aadmi-Laamech, K. E., Santos, P., & Hernández-Leo, D. (2025). The integration of student well-being following a HCLA approach: challenges and recommendations. Joint Proceedings of LAK25 Workshops, co-located with 15th International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge, Dublin, Ireland, March 03-07, 2025.