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, David Kil, 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 rather than only the final product. 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 increasingly cultivated and assessed with new empirical approaches. The authors cast this as chapter three in a 50 year digital transformation, yet forecasting is risky in higher education, where change often moves at a glacial pace compared with the rise of tools like ChatGPT.
Childe Hassam, The Evening Star, 1891. Public domain. Smithsonian American Art Museum.