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Fostering Secondary School Students’ AI Literacy through Making AI-Driven Recycling Bins

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Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) education has gained popularity, and educators are developing activities to enhance students' AI literacy and promote collaboration in problem-solving. While current approaches using simulations and games can improve students' AI knowledge, they may not adequately prepare them for higher-level cognitive tasks. Only a few studies have explored the use of maker education to develop students' AI literacy. This case study employed a mixed-method approach and integrated AI into maker education to enhance students' motivation, career interest, confidence, collaboration, and AI literacy across low to high cognitive domains. The study involved 35 secondary school students in an AI maker program, where AI-driven recycling bins were employed as a project-based learning intervention. The results demonstrated a positive impact on students' motivation, AI literacy, and collaboration. The study provides design principles and an instructional design framework to assist future educators in creating meaningful maker-based learning experiences in AI education. It highlights the potential of using maker education to enhance students' AI literacy and offers guidance to educators on developing effective AI maker activities. The article also discusses theoretical contributions and practical implications for future research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

    Davy Tsz Kit Ng & Jiahong Su

  2. School of Nursing and Health Studies, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong SAR, China

    Samuel Kai Wah Chu

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  1. Davy Tsz Kit Ng
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  2. Jiahong Su
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Correspondence to Davy Tsz Kit Ng.

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Appendices

Appendix A 

AI literacy questionnaire (adapted from Ng et al., 2023e).

Intrinsic motivation (4 items).

IM01The AI concepts I learn are relevant to my life.

IM02Learning AI is interesting.

IM03Learning AI makes my life more meaningful.

IM04I am curious about discovering new AI technologies.

Career interest (5 items).

CI01Learning AI will help me get a good job in the future.

CI02Knowing AI will give me a career advantage.

CI03Understanding AI will benefit me in my future career.

CI04My future career will involve AI.

CI05I will use AI-related problem-solving skills in my career.

Confidence (4 items).

CF01I can understand AI related resources.

CF02I feel confident that I will do well in the AI related tasks.

CF03I am confident I can learn the basic concepts about AI.

CF04I am confident I can choose appropriate AI applications to solve problems.

Collaboration (4 items).

CO01I often try to explain the AI learning materials to my classmates or friends.

CO02I try to work with my classmates to complete the AI learning tasks and projects.

CO03I often spend spare time discussing AI with my classmates.

CO04I usually ask classmates for help when I meet difficulties in AI activities.

Four cognitive domains

Know and understand AI (5 items).

KU01I know what AI is and recall the definitions of AI.

KU02I know how to use AI applications (e.g., Siri, chatbot).

KU03I know some working principles behind AI (e.g., linear model, decision tree, machine learning).

KU04I understand how AI perceives the world (e.g., see, hear) to handle various tasks.

KU05I can compare the differences between AI concepts (e.g., deep learning, machine learning).

Use and apply AI (4 items).

UA01 I can apply AI concepts (e.g., computer vision, natural language processing) to solve authentic problems.

UA02 I can use AI applications (e.g., sensors, machine learning model trainer) to solve authentic problems.

UA03 I can analyze the working mechanism of an AI system (AI-driven recycling bin).

Evaluate and create AI (4 items).

EC01I can derive a machine learning model to solve problems.

EC02I can create AI-driven solutions (AI-driven recycling bin) to solve problems.

EC03I can evaluate AI applications and concepts for different situations.

EC04I can evaluate the functions of AI components (e.g., sensors, machine learning model trainers) to make an AI-driven recycling bin.

AI ethics (9 items).

AIE01I think that AI systems should perform reliably and safely.

AIE02I think that AI systems need to be subjected to rigorous testing to ensure they work as expected.

AIE03I think that AI systems should respect privacy.

AIE04I think that AI developers are responsible for considering AI design and decision processes.

AIE05I think that AI systems should benefit everyone, regardless of physical abilities and gender.

AIE06I think that AI systems should be transparent and understandable.

AIE07I think that users should be made aware of the purpose of the system, how it works and what limitations may be expected.

AIE08I think that people should be accountable for using AI systems.

AIE09I think that AI systems should meet ethical and legal standards.

Appendix B

Interview protocols.

Sample interview questions for students are prepared as follows:

•Do you enjoy learning about AI and making with AI?

•What interests you about learning AI through maker-based activities?

•How did you build confidence in using AI tools to solve problems throughout maker-based activities?

•Have the maker-based activities influenced your career interests? If so, how?

•What difficulties did you encounter while learning AI in the maker-based activities?

•What is your understanding of AI? What AI concepts have you learned in terms of knowing AI, using AI, creating with AI, and AI ethics?

•Why did you design the recycling bin in this way? How do you plan to improve your design in the future?

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Ng, D.T.K., Su, J. & Chu, S.K.W. Fostering Secondary School Students’ AI Literacy through Making AI-Driven Recycling Bins. Educ Inf Technol 29, 9715–9746 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-023-12183-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-023-12183-9

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