Educator Perceptions of Human-AI Co-Creativity: A Mixed Methods Study

Abstract

Educators play a critical role in navigating the intersection of creativity and artificial intelligence in the work of teaching and learning. As frontline implementers of daily instruction and decision-makers around the use of technology tools, teachers determine, in practice, how creativity and artificial intelligence converge in learning environments. Because teachers play this central role, examining their perceptions is critical for fostering the effective use of AI in educational contexts in ways that preserve and advance creative teaching and learning. In this convergent mixed methods study, I investigated educators’ perceptions of human-AI co-creativity, with particular attention to how these perceptions inform pedagogical practice. I chose a mixed methods design with a pragmatic orientation to explore this emerging phenomenon with both breadth and depth and with an eye toward practical application. The quantitative strand comprised a survey which included two creative self-efficacy scales which I analyzed using within-subjects comparison to examine differences in educators’ creative self-efficacy and AI-assisted creative self-efficacy. Findings revealed that educators in this sample reported lower creative self-efficacy when working with AI assistance. The qualitative portion included open-ended survey responses, semi-structured interviews with a purposeful intensity sample selected from survey participants, and artifacts submitted by the interview participants. I examined the data from the qualitative strand using an interpretive phenomenological analysis approach. Findings revealed four experiential themes: (a) perceptions of creativity in education, (b) perceptions of AI in education, (c) perceptions of the intersection of creativity and AI in education, and (d) perceptions of the future of education. The quantitative and qualitative findings were then integrated through joint displays and narrative syntheses, and four meta-inferences were identified which point to implications for pedagogical practice: (a) Claiming Sovereignty: Authentic Voice as the Foundation of Human-AI Co-Creative Practice, (b) Cultivating Vision and Discernment: Intentionality Around Human Agency and the Navigation of AI’s Affordances in the Co-Creative Process, (c) Decentering the Artifact: Meaning Beyond the Product in Human-AI Co-Creativity, and (d) Preserving the Human Center: Relational Accountability and the Human Audience at the Heart of Human-AI Co-Creative Practice.