From Pedagogy to Practice: a Toolkit for Reflective and Ethical AI use in Textile Design Education

Rapid developments in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) are reshaping creative practice and raising urgent questions for art and design higher education. While much institutional discourse focuses on risk mitigation or technical adoption, there remains a need for pedagogical models that create space for critical, ethical, and creative engagement, allowing students to engage on their own terms, within existing curricula. This paper presents a cross-institutional collaboration between Nottingham Trent University, Norwich University of the Arts, and Chelsea College of Arts, University of the Arts London (UAL), funded by the QAA Collaborative Enhancement Fund (January 2024), which addressed this gap through the development of an open-access Art, Design & Artificial Intelligence: An Educator’s Toolkit.

Using a live, industry-partnered project with Liberty Fabrics as a curricular testbed, this paper explores integration of GenAI across four stages of the creative process: Research, Idea Generation, Experimentation & Iteration, and Design Communication. Project-based learning facilitated experimentation and reflection by undergraduate and postgraduate textile design students, generating qualitative insights through surveys, reflective documentation, and focus groups. Thematic analysis revealed that sustained student engagement depended on structured opportunities for ethical reflection, critical inquiry, and values-led discussion.

In response, the project developed two complementary values frameworks, one for educators and one for students; addressing creative enhancement, ethical and critical engagement, and future-ready practice. Rather than prescribing specific technologies, the toolkit offers a transferable pedagogical blueprint that foregrounds agency, adaptability, and ethical awareness. The paper contributes educator-facing insights into designing AI-literate creative curricula and positions art and design education as critical influencers in the development of ethical, creative AI practices.

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Textile Design, Education Toolkit, Creative Education, Creative Collaborative Research, Collaboration, Art & Design Pedagogy, Project-based Learning, Ethics.