Computer Science Education in Secondary School: A Real-Life Approach to Teaching Students Technology-Critical Aspects of AI

Elisa Nadire Caeli; Cecilie Svane Pedersen; Sine Zambach; Morten Misfeldt; Jeppe Bundsgaard

doi:10.1145/3724389.373127

Computer Science Education in Secondary School: A Real-Life Approach to Teaching Students Technology-Critical Aspects of AI

Elisa Nadire Caeli, Cecilie Svane Pedersen, Sine Zambach, Morten Misfeldt, Jeppe Bundsgaard

Department of Digitalization

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference abstract in proceedings › Research › peer-review

Abstract

In this paper, we present a teaching material designed as part of a research project aiming to investigate approaches to teaching lower secondary school students technology-critical aspects of AI, specifically machine learning. The approach is scenario-based, meaning that students act in real-life roles, in this case in a fictional company that develops apps. The material has been tested in four classes in 2024, and analysis of the results is still ongoing. As part of our research, we examine whether and how a scenario-based approach contributes to understanding machine learning and its' use in the real world. Preliminary analysis suggests that participating students perceive the approach differently.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	ITiCSE 2025: Proceedings of the 30th ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, Volume 2
Editors	Erik Barendsen, Floor Binkhorst, Ángel Velázquez-Iturbide, Jaime Urquiza Fuentes, James Paterson, Keith Quille
Number of pages	2
Place of Publication	New York
Publisher	Association for Computing Machinery
Publication date	2025
Pages	727-728
ISBN (Print)	9798400715693
ISBN (Electronic)	9798400715693
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/3724389.373127
Publication status	Published - 2025
Event	The 30th ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education. ITiCSE 2025 - Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands Duration: 30 Jun 2025 → 2 Jul 2025 Conference number: 30 https://iticse.acm.org/2025/

Conference

Conference	The 30th ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education. ITiCSE 2025
Number	30
Location	Radboud University
Country/Territory	Netherlands
City	Nijmegen
Period	30/06/2025 → 02/07/2025
Internet address	https://iticse.acm.org/2025/

Series	Proceedings of the Annual Conference on Innovation & Technology in Computer Science Education
Volume	30
ISSN	1942-647X

Keywords

Secondary school education
Scenario-based learning
Computer Science
Machine learning
AI

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Cite this

Caeli, E. N., Pedersen, C. S., Zambach, S., Misfeldt, M., & Bundsgaard, J. (2025). Computer Science Education in Secondary School: A Real-Life Approach to Teaching Students Technology-Critical Aspects of AI. In E. Barendsen, F. Binkhorst, Á. Velázquez-Iturbide, J. U. Fuentes, J. Paterson, & K. Quille (Eds.), ITiCSE 2025: Proceedings of the 30th ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, Volume 2 (pp. 727-728). Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/3724389.373127

Caeli, Elisa Nadire ; Pedersen, Cecilie Svane ; Zambach, Sine et al. / Computer Science Education in Secondary School : A Real-Life Approach to Teaching Students Technology-Critical Aspects of AI. ITiCSE 2025: Proceedings of the 30th ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, Volume 2. editor / Erik Barendsen ; Floor Binkhorst ; Ángel Velázquez-Iturbide ; Jaime Urquiza Fuentes ; James Paterson ; Keith Quille. New York : Association for Computing Machinery, 2025. pp. 727-728 (Proceedings of the Annual Conference on Innovation & Technology in Computer Science Education, Vol. 30).

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Caeli, EN, Pedersen, CS, Zambach, S, Misfeldt, M & Bundsgaard, J 2025, Computer Science Education in Secondary School: A Real-Life Approach to Teaching Students Technology-Critical Aspects of AI. in E Barendsen, F Binkhorst, Á Velázquez-Iturbide, JU Fuentes, J Paterson & K Quille (eds), ITiCSE 2025: Proceedings of the 30th ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, Volume 2. Association for Computing Machinery, New York, Proceedings of the Annual Conference on Innovation & Technology in Computer Science Education, vol. 30, pp. 727-728, The 30th ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education. ITiCSE 2025, Nijmegen, Netherlands, 30/06/2025. https://doi.org/10.1145/3724389.373127

Computer Science Education in Secondary School: A Real-Life Approach to Teaching Students Technology-Critical Aspects of AI. / Caeli, Elisa Nadire; Pedersen, Cecilie Svane; Zambach, Sine et al.
ITiCSE 2025: Proceedings of the 30th ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, Volume 2. ed. / Erik Barendsen; Floor Binkhorst; Ángel Velázquez-Iturbide; Jaime Urquiza Fuentes; James Paterson; Keith Quille. New York: Association for Computing Machinery, 2025. p. 727-728 (Proceedings of the Annual Conference on Innovation & Technology in Computer Science Education, Vol. 30).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference abstract in proceedings › Research › peer-review

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AU - Misfeldt, Morten

AU - Bundsgaard, Jeppe

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AB - In this paper, we present a teaching material designed as part of a research project aiming to investigate approaches to teaching lower secondary school students technology-critical aspects of AI, specifically machine learning. The approach is scenario-based, meaning that students act in real-life roles, in this case in a fictional company that develops apps. The material has been tested in four classes in 2024, and analysis of the results is still ongoing. As part of our research, we examine whether and how a scenario-based approach contributes to understanding machine learning and its' use in the real world. Preliminary analysis suggests that participating students perceive the approach differently.

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Caeli EN, Pedersen CS, Zambach S, Misfeldt M, Bundsgaard J. Computer Science Education in Secondary School: A Real-Life Approach to Teaching Students Technology-Critical Aspects of AI. In Barendsen E, Binkhorst F, Velázquez-Iturbide Á, Fuentes JU, Paterson J, Quille K, editors, ITiCSE 2025: Proceedings of the 30th ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, Volume 2. New York: Association for Computing Machinery. 2025. p. 727-728. (Proceedings of the Annual Conference on Innovation & Technology in Computer Science Education, Vol. 30). doi: 10.1145/3724389.373127