The term “maker” was first proposed by Chris Anderson, former editor of Wired magazine, referring to a group of people who are passionate about creativity, design, and manufacturing to meet people’s needs through innovation. The significance of maker education lies in the use of advanced concepts and methods to transform education. Teachers conduct teaching methods such as “collaborative exploration” and “project cooperation”, allowing each student to find joy in the course and stimulate their creative potential. The characteristics of maker education and its implications for secondary school information technology teaching are as follows.

One of the differences between maker education and traditional education is that maker education can break down subject barriers, emphasizing the integration of multidisciplinary knowledge to understand and solve problems. The teaching goals and content of information technology education guided by maker education concepts are no longer limited to a single subject’s knowledge, but should connect multiple disciplines and knowledge points to tailor education, cultivating innovative talents.

Maker education creates a virtuous cycle of learning, research, and creation, continuously enhancing students’ innovation and creativity. Schools and teachers emphasize hands-on and practical characteristics in the context of information technology, allowing students to learn through practice, explore through imitation, and create through research, gradually improving practical abilities and developing innovative spirit and creativity.

The content and activity design of the curriculum often revolve around complex real-world problems. The teaching method is mostly project-based learning. Teachers should encourage students to form project groups based on interests, engage in collaborative exploration, exercise initiative, solve problems together, and complete learning tasks.

The spirit of sharing is an important component of the maker spirit and is also one of the characteristics of maker education. Teachers, based on the maker concept, encourage students to participate in sharing and communication, actively expressing ideas, allowing students to collide thoughts and generate sparks of innovation.

Currently, research on maker education models and teaching models for maker courses is emerging in China. Based on previous research and practice, Yang Xianmin pointed out that there are differences between maker courses and traditional courses in four dimensions: curriculum goal positioning, content organization structure, implementation methods, and evaluation methods. Based on the maker education concept, I have constructed a new model for secondary school information technology teaching from the four elements of teaching goals, content, methods, and evaluation (see Figure 1).

Figure 1 New Model for Information Technology Teaching

The goal of maker education is to cultivate students’ higher-order thinking skills. According to Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives, analysis, evaluation, and creation belong to higher-order thinking skills. Information technology teaching emphasizes the cultivation of students’ information literacy. I believe that secondary school information technology teaching based on maker education should focus on the cultivation of communication and collaboration skills, information search and identification skills, hands-on practice and problem-solving abilities, as well as innovative thinking and creativity, using these as starting points for designing teaching content and methods and conducting evaluations.

Based on the maker education concept and referring to basic maker courses and current information technology teaching content, I have effectively integrated practical components with limited teaching space, designing creative and challenging activities that allow students to better learn and master the teaching content during practice. I have designed an iterative process of “Learn – Imitate – Research – Create – Share” (see Figure 2), promoting students’ proactive learning, problem-solving, and innovative creation through a series of learning activities and training in knowledge acquisition, hands-on operation, information processing, reflective thinking, organizational planning, communication, teamwork, and self-management.

Figure 2 Iterative Steps

Using evaluation rubrics in the maker education evaluation system can record the process of students’ creative works, changes in their abilities, and problems exposed during the creation process. Evaluation rubrics should not only be used during the presentation of results. Teaching evaluation runs through the entire teaching process, so it is important to focus not only on outcome evaluation but also on students’ performance during the “Learn – Imitate – Research – Create – Share” process, combining formative and summative evaluations. Additionally, a diverse evaluation approach should be adopted, involving not only teachers but also students and parents in the evaluation process to assess students’ learning outcomes from multiple perspectives.

Currently, maker education is becoming an important force in promoting students’ transformation from knowledge consumers to creators. Conducting teaching on “artificial intelligence”, “3D printing”, and “open-source hardware development” in information technology classrooms has become a trend. Taking the establishment of a “maker space” in schools as an opportunity, I have formed a maker interest group in the information technology discipline, adhering to the maker education concept, innovating teaching models, and conducting a year-long maker course practice. Below, I will illustrate the application of the new model in teaching using the example of “The Sensor Mobilization of Arduino Creative Robots”.

The teaching goals direct the design of teaching content and activities and serve as the starting point and destination for teaching evaluation. Maker education differs from traditional learning in that it not only focuses on mastering theoretical knowledge and improving operational skills but also emphasizes the cultivation of problem-solving abilities, innovative capabilities, and collaborative communication skills.

In this course “The Sensor Mobilization”, the teaching goals revolve around innovation and creativity, inquiry and practice, collaboration and communication abilities. The main content includes: understanding different types and uses of sensors; mastering the usage of different sensors; mastering the use of modular open-source platforms; mastering the general process of maker project production; proposing creative solutions based on specified themes; designing and implementing prototypes; effectively communicating and collaborating among group members and between groups; and being able to evaluate the quality of project outcomes.

Teaching follows the iterative steps of “Learn – Imitate – Research – Create – Share”. Below, I will introduce the teaching content and methods using “The Sensor Mobilization” as an example.

1. Learn

[Teaching Content and Activities] “Learn” emphasizes students’ acquisition of theoretical knowledge, and teachers can create micro-lessons on key sensor knowledge for students to study. This stage can be divided into two parts: teacher guidance and student exploration. Teacher guidance: The teacher explains the knowledge of four-digit displays, including their characteristics, usage methods, and precautions; corresponding programming knowledge (repeating commands) is also included.

Students’ exploration is reflected in their self-directed learning of different sensor knowledge (e.g., servos, ultrasonic sensors, tilt sensors, infrared sensors, temperature and humidity sensors, Hall sensors, three-axis acceleration sensors, etc.) in groups, and serving as mini-teachers to explain the relevant sensor knowledge (including characteristics, usage methods, precautions, and corresponding programming knowledge) to peers (each group has 20 minutes for explanation).

[Teaching Method] Scaffolding, guiding autonomous exploration.

[Design Intent] Guide students to learn relevant sensor knowledge and cultivate their interest in creative design.

2. Imitate

[Teaching Content and Activities] “Imitate” is reflected in students completing a simple work design through imitation, helping them actively internalize knowledge and skills. At this stage, teachers need to present imitation task materials to students, including task introduction, task functions, implementation paths, and skill explanations.

For example, when explaining four-digit displays, the teacher presents the task: to create and apply a “smart indicator”, using the sensor and programming to create a countdown timer suitable for strict time control in kitchen cooking. During this task, the teacher focuses on explaining the functions, design ideas, and production process of the smart indicator.

[Teaching Method] Task-driven, imitation design.

[Design Intent] Deepen students’ understanding and application of learned knowledge through imitation; maintain innovative enthusiasm, cultivate operational skills, and improve students’ practical abilities.

3. Research

[Teaching Content and Activities] “Research” is built on the foundation of “Learn” and “Imitate”, aiming to guide students to freely associate using divergent thinking on the theme to generate innovative ideas. At the end of the demonstration of the imitation task, the teacher (mini-teacher) assigns a discussion topic related to the explained sensor (mainly focusing on constructive questions), allowing students to discuss in groups and brainstorm.

For example: After group A explains the knowledge of ultrasonic sensors and demonstrates the use of the distance detector, students basically grasp the characteristics and usage methods of ultrasonic sensors through imitation. Subsequently, group A proposes the discussion topic: Apart from detecting vehicle rear-end collisions, can the distance detector be used in other fields? Students use divergent thinking to freely associate and believe that ultrasonic sensors can be used for detecting the number of vehicles waiting at traffic lights, measuring the distance between students and desks during learning, and detecting obstacles in front of canes.

[Teaching Method] Brainstorming, discussion.

[Design Intent] Encourage students to freely associate using divergent thinking to generate innovative ideas; guide students to observe learning and life, and attempt to discover problems.

4. Create

[Teaching Content and Activities] “Create” is where students realize their creativity. After the idea is formed, students need to analyze and design their works, listing problems and solving them one by one.

For example: Group B plans to use an ultrasonic sensor to create a smart traffic light, which detects the number of vehicles waiting for a green light through the ultrasonic sensor. If the number of vehicles exceeds a certain range, the data is sent back to the traffic light control end, which then proportionally extends the green light duration. Based on this idea, group B raises the following three questions: (1) Besides the ultrasonic sensor, what other sensors are needed? (2) How do the control ends communicate? (3) In practical applications, how should the placement and number of ultrasonic sensors be arranged? Students in group B discuss the problems with peers, consult teachers, collect information via the internet, and even seek help from maker spaces in society, achieving cross-border cooperation and completing their works.

[Teaching Method] Collaborative exploration, discovering and solving problems.

[Design Intent] Encourage students to think creatively and proactively, listing problems and proposing solutions; learn to autonomously explore, collaborate, and engage in cross-border cooperation during the problem-solving process.

5. Share

[Teaching Content and Activities] The “Share” stage involves sharing learning outcomes, showcasing works, and exchanging insights using tools or platforms. In this stage, teachers present students’ works in an engaging manner, allowing them to showcase their works and evaluate others’ works. For instance, the activity during the sharing stage of this course “The Sensor Mobilization” is called “Creation Auction”. In an auction format, students introduce and showcase their works, using virtual prices as one of the evaluation criteria. By simulating a real auction scenario, this not only showcases and evaluates works but also prompts students to reflect on the value and significance of their creations, stimulating their creative interests and encouraging them to conduct value assessments and reflections.

[Teaching Method] Simulated scenarios.

[Design Intent] Sharing helps students recall creative ideas, express innovative thoughts, and discuss creative skills, which is beneficial for improving students’ reflective abilities, cultivating communication skills, and expanding learning influence.

Teachers should assess students’ abilities in innovative thinking and operational practice based on the core competencies of the information technology discipline. Teaching evaluation should be diversified and multidimensional, focusing on: (1) evaluating students’ exploration processes and task completion; (2) evaluating students’ learning attitudes and collaborative learning abilities. To this end, I have created tables to evaluate aspects such as work creation, group teaching, and sharing (see Table 1), and confirmed group levels based on the proportion of levels achieved by each group in each indicator.

Table 1 Teaching Evaluation

Through analyzing the connotation and characteristics of maker education, combined with the teaching needs of the information technology discipline, I propose a teaching model based on the iterative learning steps of “Learn – Imitate – Research – Create – Share” and apply it in the classroom, achieving certain results. Students improved their programming, communication, collaboration, and innovative abilities through active learning and group collaborative exploration to complete projects.

(The author is a teacher at the First Middle School of Dayawan Economic and Technological Development Zone, Huizhou City, Guangdong Province)