The Future of Learning in the Age of AI: Integrating Theory, Practice, and Institutional Leadership

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly become an integral part of how students and educators access, construct, and apply knowledge and skills. Yet its widespread adoption has outpaced our understanding of how AI is reshaping learning in both beneficial and deleterious ways. As UT San Antonio aspires to lead at the intersection of AI and education, we posit that we must move beyond tool adoption and toward AI design, pedagogy, and policy led by learning science. Decades of educational theory offer rigorous lenses for developing AI systems that support education and for investigating when and how AI undermines teaching and learning. These theories can guide learners, teachers, and institutions in how AI should be designed and implemented to scaffold complex tasks, manage cognitive load without replacing learner effort, support learner agency, foster effective collaboration skills, and help teachers and students navigate rapidly changing educational and workplace realities. We conducted a scoping review of UT San Antonio’s institutional AI-related initiatives in Fall 2025. This revealed several institutional responses in infrastructure, instructor and student support, and research initiatives. The review identifies a critical gap: few initiatives center on the educational sciences when they examine how AI is transforming human learning processes or how we can shape the design of AI systems themselves.