Interactionalism in Higher Ed
“What does a university look like in the world that emerges from this period of great upheaval?” EDUCAUSE Review asks as AI reshapes higher education. Tanya Gamby, et al. argue for interactionalism, a model grounded in dialogue, adaptability, and emotional intelligence. Faculty should evaluate how students prompt, critique, and refine AI output. Classrooms become spaces for debate, simulation, and collaboration, with AI as a scalable tutor while humans deepen creativity, empathy, and ethical reasoning. Abilities long thought too difficult to measure are assessed with new empirical approaches. The authors cast this as Chapter 3 in a 50 Year Digital Transformation, yet forecasting is risky in higher education, where change often moves more slowly compared to AI.
Childe Hassam, The Evening Star, 1891. Public domain.