2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Improving Student Soft Skills through Robotics-Based Active Learning: Insights from Learning Outcomes

Presented at International Division (INTL) Technical Session 1: Developing Global Competency in Engineering Education

The Japan–Thailand Joint Robotics Project-Based Learning (PBL) Program integrates practical robotics education with the development of soft skills essential to global engineering standards. The program combines hardware and software learning using Arduino ESP and ROS with communication and teamwork training through English as a Foreign Language (EFL). While some students identified English improvement as their primary goal, supervisors emphasized broader outcomes: overcoming anxieties, expressing opinions confidently, identifying team roles, and contributing effectively to group work. These experiences, together with peer learning, were designed to cultivate self-efficacy.

To reinforce these objectives, students were required to submit daily activity reports documenting reflections and progress. This practice not only encouraged self-monitoring but also generated a basis for meaningful contributions during group discussions. Additionally, students utilized AI tools to support English translation and knowledge acquisition, integrating emerging technologies into their learning process.

Pre- and post-program surveys were conducted to assess changes in perceptions and competencies. The study focuses on four aspects: (1) analyzing engineering and soft-skill learning outcomes for Japanese and Thai participants; (2) evaluating how daily written reflections and their application in group work fostered proactivity and self-efficacy; (3) identifying students’ use of AI through semi-structured interviews; and (4) applying findings to improve the subsequent PBL program scheduled for March 2026.

This study highlights how robotics-based PBL, supported by structured reflection and AI, can simultaneously strengthen technical learning, communication, teamwork, and self-efficacy in cross-cultural engineering education.

Authors

Mr. Hiroyuki Ishizaki http://orcid.org/0009-0008-7482-2038 Shibaura Institute of Technology [biography]

Hiroyuki Ishizaki is a Visiting Professor at Shibaura Institute of Technology (SIT), a leading Japanese engineering school. His research interests include multidisciplinary teaching and learning, cross-cultural competence, collaborative online international (COIL), technopreneurship, and project/problem-based learning methods. As a Director of the Malaysia Office, he has been expatriated in Malaysia since 2014 and leading the internationalization of SIT and its partner universities throughout the Southeast Asian region. Under his initiatives, various short-term mobility programs and student exchanges have been started. He is also Chair of the Mobility Special Interest Group of Asia Technological University Network (ATU-Net) and initiated a COIL program called Virtual Asia Exploration (VAx) by orchestrating the collaboration of six Asian universities.
He is also an entrepreneur through his consulting company established in 2004, and has been rendering management consultation services to both small-medium size companies and multi-national enterprises such as global strategy planning, cross-border business entry, middle manager training, and partner development. These business achievements are reflected in his academic activities through the designing of lectures and mobility programs with practical implementation perspectives.
Ishizaki has been actively presenting and publishing his academic achievements at international conferences in the Asia Pacific region and North America such as APAIE, WERA, and NAFSA.
He earned a Master of Business Administration majoring in international business at the University of Southern California in the United States of America, and a Bachelor in Law at Hitotsubashi University in Japan.
Sumito Nagasawa http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4684-2898 [biography]

Dr. Sumito Nagasawa received Ph.D. in Engineering from the University of Tokyo in 2001. He is a Professor in Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics at SIT. His research interests include miniaturized robots using Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems technologies and robot education for STEM.
Danai Phaoharuhansa
Ikuro SHIMIZU [biography]

Ikuo Shimizu is a professor at the School of Architecture and the Department of Architecture, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Shibaura Institute of Technology. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees in architecture from Shibaura Institute of Technology. He then studied cultural anthropology and ethnography at the Graduate University for Advanced Studies in Japan, where he received his PhD in literature. His current field placement is developing methods for establishing eco-museums that utilize existing traditional residential culture, and methods for regenerating the landscapes of major river basins in Southeast Asia, and he is conducting these researches with a unique methodology that integrates anthropology and architecture.
CHIRANTHANIN KITIKA Chiang Mai University
Wittaya Daungthima Chiang Mai University

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 21, 2026, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 24, 2026

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