From Consumption to Co-Creation: A Systematic Review of Six Levels of AI-Enhanced Creative Engagement in Education

As AI systems become more integrated into society, the relationship between humans and AI is shifting from simple automation to co-creative collaboration. This evolution is particularly important in education, where human intuition and imagination can combine with AI’s computational power to enable innovative forms of learning and teaching. This study is grounded in the #ppAI6 model, a framework that describes six levels of creative engagement with AI in educational contexts, ranging from passive consumption to active, participatory co-creation of knowledge. The model highlights progression from initial interactions with AI tools to transformative educational experiences that involve deep collaboration between humans and AI. In this study, we explore how educators and learners can engage in deeper, more transformative interactions with AI technologies. The #ppAI6 model categorizes these levels of engagement as follows: level 1 involves passive consumption of AI-generated content, while level 6 represents expansive, participatory co-creation of knowledge. This model provides a lens through which we investigate how educational tools and practices can move beyond basic interactions to foster higher-order creativity. We conducted a systematic literature review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines for reporting the levels of creative engagement with AI tools in education. This review synthesizes existing literature on various levels of engagement, such as interactive consumption through Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS), and shifts focus to the exploration and design of higher-order forms of creative engagement. The findings highlight varied levels of engagement across both learners and educators. For learners, a total of four studies were found at level 2 (interactive consumption). Two studies were found that looked at level 3 (individual content creation). Four studies focused on collaborative content creation at level 4. No studies were observed at level 5, and only one study was found at level 6. These findings show a lack of development in AI tools for more creative involvement. For teachers, AI tools mainly support levels two and three, facilitating personalized content creation and performance analysis with limited examples of higher-level creative engagement and indicating areas for improvement in supportive collaborative teaching practices. The review found that two studies focused on level 2 (interactive consumption) for teachers. In addition, four studies were identified at level 3 (individual content creation). Only one study was found at level 5 (participatory co-creation), and no studies were found at level 6. In practical terms, the review suggests that educators need professional development focused on building AI literacy, enabling them to recognize and leverage the different levels of creative engagement that AI tools offer.