Date/Time: November 5, 2026 | 1:00 – 2:00 pm

Room: YAKIMA 1

Abstract: While generative AI has emerged as a powerful, always-on, and non‑judgmental study and personal support tool, its widespread adoption by students has introduced a new set of challenges for higher education institutions. Increasing reliance on AI tools has been associated with increased cognitive debt, a rise in homogeneity of thought, and a continued erosion of social relationships. In response, institutions and instructors need to adapt their instructional approaches and classroom interactions. By recentering creative inquiry, critical thinking, and interpersonal engagement, educators can better support students in realizing their full intellectual and social potential in our new AI-infused world.

Drawing on a 6-month study that included academic case studies and research papers, interviews with institutional and industry leaders, and more than 20 diary studies with faculty and learners, this work highlights common practices and emerging tensions related to AI use. We would also like to share how instructors and institutions across disciplines are actively addressing and overcoming these challenges, beyond policy. In addition, we would like to share ways that instructors are also thoughtfully leveraging AI use in-class as well as within their departments, to create more engaging, interactive, and participatory learning experiences, that help prepare students for their future professions.

To further enable these evolving behaviors and institutional programs, this work translates research insights into spatial implications and design provocations for innovation learning environments. These include spatial enhancements that support collective inquiry, visible thinking, inclusive participation, and immersive learning, as well as environments that intentionally balance AI‑supported individual work with opportunities for social learning and collaboration. By foregrounding the role of space in shaping learning behaviors, this research offers practical pathways for institutions and design firms seeking to align AI adoption with human‑centered educational outcomes and to design learning environments that cultivate creativity, strengthen social connection, and prepare learners for an AI‑augmented future.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand how generative AI is reshaping teaching and learning behaviors.
2. Discover how emerging AI learning behaviors map to spatial needs.
3. Apply human-centered design principles to create learning spaces that promote agency, belonging, creativity, and social connection.
4. Envision future learning space concepts that support authentic learning experiences.