B.F. Skinner built his theory of learning around reinforcement.
Immediate feedback.
Iteration.
Practice.
Not policy.
Now look at how we’re approaching AI in education.
We are building governance frameworks at an incredible pace.
Policies. Restrictions. Oversight.
All necessary.
But here’s the tension:
Governance doesn’t just control AI.
It changes how people learn.
Recent reports show that students are already adjusting their behavior in response to AI policies, even when they are not using AI.
Some describe the environment as a “police state of writing,” where the focus shifts from learning to avoiding suspicion.
At the institutional level, breakdowns in AI governance are already impacting teaching and learning outcomes, particularly when faculty are excluded from decision-making.
And across higher education, AI policy remains inconsistent and fragmented, with fewer than 40% of institutions having clear frameworks in place.
More importantly, emerging research shows that learning outcomes are directly shaped by how AI systems are governed, with poorly designed governance reducing learner agency and engagement.
So what’s happening?
We are not just managing AI.
We are reshaping the learning environment around it.
In some cases:
- Over-governance creates hesitation
- Under-governance creates misuse
Both break the learning process.
Because AI is not learned through restriction.
It is learned through interaction.
This is where my research comes in.
At Central Michigan University, I’m studying AI-Augmented Exploratory Learning (AAEL), examining how individuals learn to solve unfamiliar problems using AI, either independently or with guided coaching.
The goal is not to remove governance.
The goal is to balance it with exploration.
Give people guardrails.
But also give them reps.
Because if Skinner were here, he wouldn’t start with policy.
He’d ask:
Where is the reinforcement loop?
And right now…
…it’s under pressure.
Robert Foreman
Doctoral Student, Educational Technology (CMU)
AI-Augmented Exploratory Learning (AAEL)
🌐 https://NhanceData.com
📧 forem1r@cmich.edu
#AI #EdTech #AAEL #LearningScience #HigherEducation #ArtificialIntelligence #DataAnalytics
https://www.cengagegroup.com/news/perspectives/2025/ais-impact-on-education-in-2025/
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty-issues/shared-governance/2025/07/22/faculty-often-missing-university-decisions-ai
https://er.educause.edu/articles/2025/5/in-the-room-where-it-happens-generative-ai-policy-creation-in-higher-education
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.04598