AI in teacher education: a systematic review of gamified motivational architectures

As artificial intelligence increasingly reshapes teaching, assessment, and pedagogical support, there is growing urgency to understand how teacher education is preparing educators to learn, design, and act within more adaptive, data-driven, and technologically mediated environments. In this context, this scoping review examines the motivational architecture of gamification and game-based learning in teacher education in the age of AI. Drawing on 122 studies indexed in Scopus between 2012 and 2025, the review analyses the intrinsic and extrinsic motivational elements embedded in these designs, the contexts in which they are implemented, and the emerging role of AI as a mediating layer. The findings show that most interventions combine both motivational logics, although challenge, feedback, and narrative appear especially significant for professional learning, while points, badges, and leaderboards remain highly visible in gamified environments. The review underscores the urgent need for deeper, more pedagogically meaningful, and professionally transferable gameful learning experiences for teachers.