WSIII.2 - Critical Minds in Action: AI-Enhanced Service-Learning and CBL in Engineering
Overview: Engineering education is evolving, demanding innovative methods that promote critical thinking, active learning, and real-world problem-solving. This 2-hour workshop explores the transformative role of Generative AI in advancing Service-Learning (SL) and Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) within engineering education. Generative AI, with its ability to simulate, predict, and create new information, offers unprecedented opportunities to revolutionize how engineering students learn and apply their knowledge. Educators can create immersive, interactive, and personalized learning experiences that promote critical thinking and problem-solving skills by integrating AI- driven tools into challenge-based learning and service-learning frameworks.
Participants will work in small, interactive groups to tackle pre-defined challenges using AI-driven tools and strategies. These hands-on activities will demonstrate how Generative AI can create immersive and personalized learning experiences, fostering collaboration, critical analysis, and creative problem-solving.
The workshop will begin with a brief introduction to theoretical frameworks and practical examples, followed by group-based activities designed to apply AI-enhanced methods in real-world educational scenarios. Attendees will explore challenges curated by the workshop organizers, engaging directly with tools to simulate, predict, and design innovative solutions.
By the end of the session, participants will gain practical insights into integrating Generative AI into their teaching practices, unlocking new possibilities for interactive and transformative learning experiences. This workshop aims to foster a collaborative environment for educators and researchers to share insights, explore opportunities, and shape the future of engineering education.
Celina Pinto Leão
Associate Professor at the University of Minho, I have been deeply committed to advancing engineering education, particularly in the curricular units of Applied Statistics and Numerical Methods. These areas align closely with my expertise and the scientific interests of the department and research center I am affiliated with. I have consistently incorporated innovative pedagogical approaches, including active learning methodologies, to foster critical thinking among students.
Recently, I have embraced the transformative potential of Generative AI to enhance these methods, creating engaging and dynamic learning experiences that challenge students to develop problem-solving skills essential for engineering practice. My dedication to continuous professional development has driven the integration of new pedagogical tools into traditional teaching, ensuring relevance and impact in an evolving educational landscape. As a member of the Master's program board and an advocate for ethics, gender equity, and inclusion, I remain passionate about creating an academic environment that inspires innovation and excellence while embracing new challenges that align with these values.
Anabela C. Alves
Associate Professor at the Department of Production and Systems, School of Engineering, University of Minho. She a PhD in Production and Systems Engineering in 2008, all at the University of Minho. She is a member of the ALGORITMI/LASI Research Centre. Her main research interests include Production Systems Design, Lean Production, Production Planning and Control, Project Management, and Engineering Education, with a focus on active learning methodologies such as Project-Led Education (PLE), Project/Problem- Based Learning (PBL), and Lean Education. She is the author/co-author of over 200 publications, including 4 books.
Sílvia Araújo
Sílvia Araújo is an Associate Professor at the Department of Romance Studies at the University of Minho. With her extensive background in Language Sciences and Digital Humanities, she has been a pivotal figure in spearheading projects funded by FCT, including "Per-Fide: Portuguese with six different languages Português, Español, Russian, Français, Italiano, Deutsch, English, PTPC/CLE-LLI/108948/2008" and "PortLinguE: Multilingual Portal for Specialized Languages: mining open data for cross-language information retrieval, PTDC/LLT- LIG/31113/2017". Her leadership in these initiatives, coupled with her numerous indexed publications and supervision of master's and PhD students, underscores her expertise in corpus linguistics, natural language processing, and the application of AI technologies to education. She is also (co)organizer of several conferences and workshops, (co)editor of journals and books and reviewer of many indexed journals, books and conferences on these topics. Additionally, she is the Director of the Master's Degree in Digital Humanities and coordinates the Digital Humanities Research Group at the Center for Humanistic Studies of the University of Minho. Actively involved in the Center for Innovation and Development of Teaching and Learning at the University of Minho, she conducts accredited training sessions on integrating technologies into education at various levels.
Filomena Soares
Filomena Soares received her degree in Chemical Engineering in 1986 at Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Portugal. She obtained her MSc in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Industrial Automation profile, in 1991 and her PhD in Chemical Engineering in 1997, both at the same university. Since 1992 she works in the Industrial Electronics Department at the University of Minho and she develops her research work in the R&D Algoritmi Centre.
Her main scientific interests are in the areas of System Modeling and Control, with application to biomedical processes and in the area of automation systems. Motor and cognitive rehabilitation has been receiving her attention, using serious games and robots to foster the communication with impaired children/adults. She is interested in active teaching/learning methodologies. She is co-author of several scientific articles in international conferences and journals.