AI through the Science-Fiction lens: what we can learn from Sci-Fi

This worksheet aims to teach students the fundamental rules of English punctuation through a series of "detective missions". It focuses on the correct application of end marks, commas in lists, and colons to improve overall writing clarity and sentence structure.

Content and Methods: The worksheet employs a gamified "detective headquarters" theme to guide students through three targeted exercises and one comprehensive final task. It uses fill-in-the-blank sentences for end punctuation, identification tasks for commas and colons, and a final proofreading exercise where students must rewrite a continuous text by applying punctuation and capitalization correctly. A "cheat sheet" is provided to support independent learning and rule reinforcement.

Competencies:

• Punctuation Proficiency: Correct use of periods, question marks, exclamation marks, commas, and colons
• Grammar and Mechanics: Application of capitalization rules in context
• Proofreading and Editing: Identifying missing structural cues in unpunctuated text
• Syntactic Awareness: Recognizing list structures and introductory elements in sentences

Target Group: Grade 3 and above

This worksheet aims to introduce students to the "trolley problem" as a fundamental ethical dilemma, encouraging them to evaluate moral decision-making through the lens of different philosophical theories and their modern application in artificial intelligence and autonomous driving.

Content and methods: The worksheet uses a multimedia approach, starting with a video-based discussion of the trolley scenario. It then provides informative texts on utilitarianism, deontology, virtue ethics, and moral relativism to facilitate theoretical understanding. Students apply these concepts through comprehension questions, analytical writing tasks, and a creative "pitch" presentation where they role-play as programmers to address the ethical challenges of self-driving cars.

Competencies:

• Ethical reasoning and moral judgment
• Application of philosophical theories to modern technology
• Critical thinking and perspective-taking
• Argumentation and presentation skills
• Reading and media literacy

Target group: Grade 10 and above

Objectives

The goal is to learn the Jigsaw method as a way to independently explore complex philosophical models of thought. Participants engage objectively and critically with fundamental questions of existence and evaluate them through academic discussion. The sample content serves as a flexible template for systematic method training.

Content and Methods

This Worksheet uses a cooperative Jigsaw structure to explore core philosophical ideas. After an individual specialization phase, students deepen their knowledge in expert groups and then share it in home groups. Results are organized in a table that highlights major works and key theses. A short, fictional role-play at the end places each position in a contemporary context. All content choices - both the selection of philosophers and the theories - are designed to be interchangeable.

Competencies

• Subject Knowledge: Understanding central philosophical movements and the ability to concisely summarize complex models of thought.
• Methodological Skills: Confident use of the Jigsaw method as a cooperative learning approach and proficiency in focused academic research.
• Critical Judgment: Objective engagement with differing worldviews and their relevance for contemporary epistemology.
• Social and Communication Skills: Responsible peer-to-peer knowledge sharing and facilitation of perspective-taking through role-play.

Target Group and Level

Middle and upper secondary

Objectives: The primary goal is to master the Jigsaw Classroom technique as a cooperative method for exploring literary periods and their representatives. By specializing in specific sub-topics followed by a collaborative exchange of information, participants develop a profound understanding of historical eras. The selected period and authors serve as a versatile model for this methodological training.

Content and Methods: This worksheet utilizes a cooperative Jigsaw approach to decode literary characteristics. After an initial specialization phase using information cards, learners deepen their expertise in expert groups before teaching their findings within their home groups. The results are systematized in a comparative table covering biographical data and recurring motifs. The lesson concludes with a creative role-play that applies historical perspectives to contemporary societal debates. The specific literary content is designed to be an interchangeable foundation for this methodological training.

Competencies:

• Methodological Competence: Mastery of the Jigsaw technique as a learning and teaching strategy, alongside the ability to conduct targeted literary research.
• Subject-Specific Competence: Analysis of period-specific motifs, linguistic nuances, and key biographical milestones of influential writers.
• Social Competence: Assuming responsibility for the group's collective success through effective knowledge transfer and cooperative problem-solving.
• Communication Competence: Presenting complex subject matter in a peer-to-peer setting and conducting perspective-driven role-plays.
• Analytical Competence: Systematic comparison of diverse artistic approaches within a shared historical framework.

Target Group and Level:

Middle & Upper Secondary Education

Learning objective

The overarching learning goal is for students to reflect on their own media consumption and critically analyse the psychological functions of films and genres. Students should identify the primary needs and desires their consumption satisfies and consider how this consumption compensates for real-life deficits (the Gap Hypothesis).

Content and methods

The worksheet uses any chosen genre as a central case study. Content includes the psychological incentives (such as escapism or a desire for security), the effects of formal patterns, and critical aspects (for example, unrealistic expectations). Methods are:

• Individual inventory (“Personal Seismogram”) of the preferred genre and the primary needs it addresses
• Text analysis of the chosen genre, followed by research and brief explanations of unfamiliar terms
• Partner work to reflect on the function of consumption (distance versus closeness to reality)
• Hypothesis formation (the Gap Hypothesis), where students propose how their consumption compensates for everyday deficits

Competencies

• Self-reflection: Analyse personal media consumption and the psychological needs behind it
• Text and research skills: Understand complex psychological relationships in texts and explain key terms in the genre’s context
• Critical thinking: Distinguish between the genre’s idealised depictions and real-life situations

Target group and level

Upper secondary educators and students

Objective: The worksheet raises learners' awareness of the potential of artificial intelligence to promote inclusion and accessibility. The aim is to understand how technological assistance systems can increase the independence of people with disabilities in everyday life.

Content and methods: The content includes an introduction to AI-supported assistance functions for people with disabilities, basic knowledge about this form of disability, typical barriers in everyday life, and ethical issues relating to data protection, accessibility, and the relationship between human and technical support. This is supplemented by practical case studies and the development of students' own app ideas as an application of what they have learned. The methods include the assignment and analysis of specific AI functions, theoretical impulses with hypothesis formation, empathic role-playing, scenario-based case work, creative project work on app design, and structured reflection and discussion phases on ethical aspects.

Competencies:

• Perspective taking: Developing empathy for the realities of life for people with disabilities
• Media and technology skills: Recognizing AI as a tool for assistive technologies
• Problem-solving skills: Transferring technological knowledge to complex everyday obstacles
• Ethical judgment: Critical examination of social conditions

Target group and level: Grade 8 and above

The worksheet provides students with basic information about memes, their characteristics, their popularity, and how they function in online communication. It encourages the analysis and interpretation of memes as well as creative engagement with this medium.

Content and methods: The worksheet covers the definition of memes, their typical characteristics, the reasons for their popularity, and their role in online communication. Multiple-choice questions are used to test understanding, open-ended questions are used to analyze a specific meme, and a creative assignment is used to create students' own memes.

Skills:

• Subject-specific skills
• Analytical skills: Students learn to analyze and interpret memes.
• Creativity: Students are encouraged to create their own memes.
• Media literacy: Students reflect on the meaning and impact of memes as part of digital culture.

Target group and level: Grade 8 and above

Learners critically examine the supposed neutrality of algorithms and understand how AI systems can reproduce and cement social inequalities.

Content and methods:

The worksheet provides a theoretical introduction to the problems of machine learning and illustrates these using a case study. By analyzing factual texts and working through reflection questions, learners examine mechanisms such as the “black box problem,” proxy variables, and the ethical consequences of algorithmic decisions.

Skills:

• Recognizing bias in technical systems and questioning the objectivity of data.
• Discussing responsibility and accountability in the context of automated processes.

Target group:

Grade 11 and above.

Learners analyze the concept of data capitalism, identify the economic value of personal data, and evaluate the key opportunities and risks of data trading.

Contents and methods:

The worksheet deals with data capitalism and the role of personal data as a “currency.” Using the example of the fictional character Nala, the types of data shared and their economic interest for companies are examined. The economic value of data, the role of data brokers, and the use of profiles by companies are discussed. A sorting exercise traces the flow of data from release to corporate use. Subsequently, argumentative texts highlight the perspectives of consumer representatives, business representatives, and small business owners on the opportunities and risks of data trading in order to summarize the most important arguments in a concluding table and write a reasoned statement.

Skills:

• Analysis of data flow and economic interdependencies in data capitalism.
• Assessment of the opportunities and risks of trading personal data from different perspectives.
• Reasoned statement on a socially relevant economic topic.
• Summary and structuring of complex factual texts.

Target group:

Grade 9 and above

Learners critically examine the effects of AI in everyday applications on individuals and society.

Content and methods: Learners first reflect on where they encounter AI in everyday life in a mind map. This provides a good introduction to the topic. Alternatively, a video is provided that addresses AI in everyday life and can be used as a further introduction. Learners then examine an Instagram post and a newspaper article that shed light on how a selected AI application works in everyday life. Open-ended questions are provided to deepen their understanding of the content. Based on this, learners watch a video from the "kurzgesagt" on the future of artificial intelligence and society. A related assignment is given.

Skills:

• Technical expertise
• Critical reflection on AI and its everyday uses
• Global perspective

Target group and level: Grade 8 and above