Let's Create Our Own World! Fostering Cooperation, Creativity, Empowerment and Intrinsic Motivation in Design Thinking Processes through Edularp Co-Design

The call for novel approaches in participatory design (PD) and co-design (CD) as well as in educational settings has become louder in recent years, especially when it comes to considerations of empowerment and inclusion of marginalized perspectives. Co-designing edularps (educational live-action roleplaying games) is an innovative approach that could be used in both settings. This paper reports on the combination of three studies carried out in an educational context focusing on design thinking. Findings include indications that through co-designing edularps cooperation and creativity can be practiced, and empowerment and intrinsic motivation can be experienced. Cooperation, creativity, and empowerment are essential aspects in PD and CD as well as in education for future skills and design thinking. Intrinsic motivation is relevant in educational settings since it correlates with successful learning. This paper focuses on an evaluative examination of how co-design of edularps influences the practice and fostering of creativity, collaboration, empowerment, and intrinsic motivation. Based on the findings, incorporating edularp co-design into the repertoire of tools used in PD, CD, and educational settings is recommended.