Co-designing Playful Learning with AI for Multiliteracy Education

Playful learning approaches provide numerous opportunities for motivating students and giving them possibilities to use their creativity and imagination in learning. AI can be seen as an important tool and companion for playing with ideas, fostering inspiration in designing playful pedagogies, and promoting students' AI literacy in higher education (HE). In this study, 82 HE students participated in the course “Didactics of Finnish language and literature” (6ECT). They were asked to use AI in their pedagogical design process to explore the potential of AI in designing teaching for multiliteracy learning. The research data consists of the students’ pedagogical plans and reflective diaries that were collected at the end of the course. Data was thematically analyzed. The findings indicate that AI supports creative co-design processes of the students when planning broader pedagogical plans of playful learning for multiliteracy learning. Most of the suggestions and ideas provided by AI, however, required critical evaluation by the students. In this process, students' knowledge of the curriculum, subject-specific pedagogical expertise, and understanding of the context of primary school played a central role. The results show that the playful learning approach can support HE students’ learning and innovative design of teaching in playful multiliteracy education.