AI-Augmented Studio Pedagogy

The increasing integration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) into design practice has prompted product design education to reconsider the pedagogical foundations of studio-based learning. Although generative AI offers new opportunities for exploration, ideation, and design development, its unregulated use may undermine core designerly competencies, including reflective practice, material experimentation, and critical judgment. This article proposes an AI-augmented pedagogical framework that structures the integration of generative AI within the product design studio. Adopting a theoretically informed Research Through Design education approach, this study develops a pedagogical architecture articulated around four guiding principles, a five-phase studio model, and explicit regulatory mechanisms designed to support responsible AI use throughout the design process. The principal contribution of this article lies in the pedagogical operationalization of regulated co-intelligence. The proposed framework organizes interactions between students, teachers, peers, and generative AI systems in ways that preserve the foundations of designerly reasoning while fostering algorithmic reflexivity, critical AI literacy, and informed professional judgment. Designed as an adaptable pedagogical model, the framework provides a conceptual basis for future empirical research on the regulated integration of generative AI into studio-based design education.