María-José Terrón-López

Bio: María-José Terrón-López is an academic researcher from European University of Madrid. The author has contributed to research in topics: Engineering education & Social robot. The author has an hindex of 5, co-authored 8 publications receiving 55 citations.

Implementation of a project-based engineering school: increasing student motivation and relevant learning

Abstract: The School of Engineering at Universidad Europea de Madrid (UEM) implemented, starting in the 2012–2013 period, a unified academic model based on project-based learning as the methodology used throughout the entire School. This model expects that every year, in each grade, all the students should participate in a capstone project integrating the contents and competencies of several courses. This paper presents the academic context under which this experience has been implemented, and a summary of the work done to design and implement the Project-Based Engineering School at the UEM. The steps followed, the structure used, some sample projects, as well as the difficulties and benefits of implementing the programme are discussed in this paper. The results are encouraging as students are more motivated and the initial set objectives were accomplished.

A Case Study of a Robot-Assisted Speech Therapy for Children with Language Disorders

Abstract: The aim of this study was to explore the potential of using a social robot in speech therapy interventions in children. A descriptive and explorative case study design was implemented involving the intervention for language disorder in five children with different needs with an age ranging from 9 to 12 years. Children participated in sessions with a NAO-type robot in individual sessions. Qualitative methods were used to collect data on aspects of viability, usefulness, barriers and facilitators for the child as well as for the therapist in order to obtain an indication of the effects on learning and the achievement of goals. The main results pointed out the affordances and possibilities of the use of a NAO robot in achieving speech therapy and educational goals. A NAO can contribute towards eliciting motivation, readiness towards learning and improving attention span of the children. The results of the study showed the potential that NAO has in therapy and education for children with different disabilities. More research is needed to gain insight into how a NAO can be applied best in speech therapy to make a more inclusive education conclusions.

Integration of a Social Robot in a Pedagogical and Logopedic Intervention with Children: A Case Study.

Abstract: The effectiveness of social robots such as NAO in pedagogical therapies presents a challenge. There is abundant literature focused on therapies using robots with children with autism, but there is a gap to be filled in other educational different needs. This paper describes an experience of using a NAO as an assistant in a logopedic and pedagogical therapy with children with different needs. Even if the initial robot architecture is based on genericbehaviors, the loading and execution time for each specific requirement and the needs of each child in therapy, made it necessary to develop “Adaptive Behaviors”. These evolve into an adaptive architecture, appliedto the engineer–therapist–child interaction, requiring the engineer-programmer to be always present during the sessions. Benefits from the point of view of the therapist and the children and the acceptance of NAO in therapy are shown. A robot in speech-therapy sessions can play a positive role in several logopedic aspectsserving as a motivating factor for the children.Future works should be oriented in developing intelligent algorithms so as to eliminate the presence of the engineer-programmer in the sessions. Additional work proposals should consider deepening the psychological aspects of using humanoid robots in educational therapy.

Design and Implementation of a Comprehensive Educational Model: Project Based Engineering School (PBES)

Abstract: The School of Engineering at the Universidad Europea de Madrid (UEM) implemented a change in the pedagogical model applied in its degrees at the 2012/2013 period: the "Project Based Engineering School" (PBES). It consists on the application of the Project-Based Learning (PBL) methodology in at least several subjects each course in all its degrees. Each academic year, the students develop a capstone project covering partially the content of several subjects; faculty board and teachers were involved in the designing of a global framework and implementation adapted to each degree. How this process was made is explained in this paper. Positive results were obtained at the end of the first year that include further development of key skills, a deeper understanding of the specific skills and an increase on the motivation of students and teachers. There were also identified some areas for improvement for the coming years. This article will also show some of those results (both qualitative and quantitative) obtained after a year of experience from the students’ point of view.

Preparing Sustainable Engineers: A Project-Based Learning Experience in Logistics with Refugee Camps

Abstract: This article describes an intrinsic case study of project-based learning (PBL) experience involving an NGO as an external client to promote sustainability competencies. Two research questions are posed: (1) How did this experiential PBL approach impact students learning to develop sustainability competencies by incorporating a responsible engineering perspective? (2) How did college students become engaged with social and sustainable PBL projects when external clients of developing economies were involved? The project-based design involved two subjects in the second year of an Industrial engineering degree. The client was an NGO with an existing project to improve the supply chain logistics of three refugee camps managed by women. Students had to cooperatively develop a sustainable proposal for the NGO with a global mindset. Findings obtained from the analysis of the reflections of students and teachers indicate that this methodology helps students to acquire comprehensively learning outcomes and to develop sustainability competencies. Sustainable and socially responsible engineering were achieved through a methodology that considers the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and engages students in real projects. This approach promotes student awareness on the importance of their actions and their personal behavior as engineers, including a gender perspective, while training them to move towards SDG4 and 5.

Knowledge Of Language Its Nature Origin And Use

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Forms of implementation and challenges of PBL in engineering education: a review of literature

Abstract: During the last 40 years, problem- and project-based learning (PBL) has been widely adopted in engineering education because of its expected effectiveness in developing students’ professional knowl...

Project-based learning approach: improvements of an undergraduate course in new product development

Abstract: Product development is considered as an interdisciplinary undergraduate course with a central role in engineering education. In this sense, this paper demonstrates an experience of a product development undergraduate course based on a project-based learning (PBL) perspective. PBL has been discussed in the literature as one of the most effective teaching frameworks for engineering courses, but there is still scarce research on PBL implementation in engineering education in developing countries. The course scope was reviewed to include engineering management content and to face some barriers for PBL implementation highlighted in the literature. The student activities were organized in four development phases following a structured stage-gate development process. The results achieved include a higher level of learning perception and increased complexity of products generated by students. Besides demonstrating the improvements in the course, this paper contributes to PBL empirical body of knowledge by exploring a successful initiative and its outcomes.