Reflections from Pacific Crest

Category: PE Conference 2026

  • Report from the 20th Annual Process Education Conference

    Report from the 20th Annual Process Education Conference

    Pacific Crest is a longstanding supporter of the International Academy of Process Educators, and we’re glad to share the Academy’s own words about this year’s conference.

    Report from the 20th Annual Process Education Conference

    by Josh Morrison (President-Elect) and Knut Are Romann-Aas (Webmaster), International Academy of Process Educators

    Twenty years. Before the details, that number deserves a moment—two decades of an annual gathering built on the premise that educators ought to be developing themselves as deliberately as they develop their students.

    The Board’s thanks go to everyone who made this one work: the faculty and staff at West Coast University, our hosts; ISETL, the International Society for Exploring Teaching and Learning, for sponsoring; and the many other contributors, each thanked personally at the conference.

    The Academy Awards

    On June 4th the Academy presented its own awards (“THE” Academy Awards, as we insist on calling them). This year’s recipients:

    • Distinguished Process Educator (Josh Morrison)
    • Institutional Leadership in Process Education (Yuqin Hu and Will Ofstad)
    • Long-Standing Contributor (George Dombi)
    • Newest Star (Bickkie Solomon)
    • President’s Exemplary Service Award (Steve Beyerlein)

    Making next year better

    Former President Ingrid Ulbrich is coordinating the conference assessment and compiling the completed forms so that next year’s event builds on this one. We expect all of this to lead to visible changes — improvements! — in the 2027 program. After all, it’s only fitting for a conference about assessment to assess itself.

    2027: Richardson, Texas

    The 21st Annual Process Education Conference will be held at West Coast University’s Texas campus in Richardson, in the DFW metro area, in coordination with WCU’s own Academic Conference.

    Dates are still to be confirmed, but expect early June as with this year. The format will be hybrid: a full slate of on-ground programming with synchronous online participation welcome, and social and enrichment activities in the afternoons. Worth noting for planning purposes — Richardson, Texas is on Central time, an hour behind Eastern and two ahead of Pacific, or UTC/GMT−5 if you’re outside the US.

    Conference details will appear at processeducation.org/peconf over the coming month. Until then that page still shows this year’s event.

    Join us

    To learn more about the International Academy of Process Educators and how to become a member, visit processeducation.org.

  • Report from the Self-Growth Research Summit

    Report from the Self-Growth Research Summit

    The summit opened on an uncomfortable question:

    After years of growth experiences that demonstrably work, how would we know whether we are producing people who grow inside our programs, or people who have become growers?

    From within a cohort the two look nearly identical. They diverge completely once the coaching, the structure, and the scheduled reflection go away.

    Three days went into making that distinction measurable. Participants named five capabilities a self-grower has to own outright: clarity, intentionality, growth effectiveness, designing the week deliberately, and proactive intersubjectivity. They then worked on the thresholds and observable behaviors that would show each had been internalized rather than borrowed.

    This became the design direction for Phase IV of the Self-Growth Program and Community, which will develop and study true self-growers through a system combining the weekly transition process, the five internal governance roles, coaching, participant resources, and AI-supported tools.

    The sharpest exchanges were about measurement, which has to do two jobs at once: make quality visible enough to improve, and produce evidence credible enough to persuade researchers outside the movement. Along these lines, the group weighed process measures, threshold measures, monthly indicators, and a possible North Star—a measure of life trajectory itself. Much remains open, and the summit said so: how thresholds actually form, what coaching should do, what would convince a skeptic, and how AI support can strengthen self-governance rather than quietly replace it. Those questions are now the research agenda, with papers, lead authors, and funding priorities assigned.

  • The Self-Growth Research Summit

    The Self-Growth Research Summit

    Advancing Self-Growth Through Research, Practice, and AI

    The Research Summit brings together educators and researchers to move beyond theory into the active design of self-growth systems. Across seven sessions, participants engage in inquiry, model development, and applied design—advancing both the science and practice of helping individuals become self-growers.

    LOCATION

    The Summit sessions will use the plenary session area at West Coast University for in-person attendees. (This is the same room used for the pre-conference workshops and all the plenary sessions.)

    Those planning to attend online will be provided with the Zoom links to the sessions. (Those same links will also be available from the PE Conference Support Site.)

    REGISTRATION

    There is no fee for those already registered for the Conference but WE DO NEED TO KNOW how many will be attending (for food and for breakout rooms). Please email Dan Apple [email protected] if you plan to attend any or all Summit session.

    DINNER IS ON STEVE!

    Catered dinners will be provided free of charge for in-person attendees (Steve Beyerlein is hosting the catered dinners). He does need how much food to order though, so PLEASE let Dan know if you’ll be attending in-person.

    PLANNED SESSIONS

    Session 1 (Mon, 4:00–5:45 PM)
    The Self-Growth Project: Where We Are Now
    An opening orientation to six years of research and system development. Participants align on the architecture of the Self-Growth System, key discoveries, and the major questions that will shape the next phase of work.

    Session 2 (Mon, 6:15–8:00 PM)
    Defining What a True Self-Grower Looks Like
    This session establishes clear capability thresholds for independent self-growth. Participants explore the behaviors and patterns that demonstrate increasing clarity, intentionality, and the ability to design and govern one’s own development.

    Session 3 (Tues, 4:00–5:45 PM)
    Analyzing Current Self-Growth Research
    Working in teams, participants analyze existing IJPE research to identify key discoveries, recurring patterns, and critical gaps—building a shared foundation for future inquiry.

    Session 4 (Tues, 6:15–8:00 PM)
    Writing to Think for Research: Generating the Next Wave of Questions
    Participants use writing-to-think as the primary method for developing new research questions, study designs, and measurement strategies. As the inquiry unfolds, the group simultaneously identifies the practices that strengthen thinking—producing a set of high-value Writing-to-Think practices grounded in real research work.

    Session 5 (Wed, 4:00–5:45 PM)
    Designing the Next Phase of the Self-Growth Project
    This session translates research questions into actionable experiments, addressing program design, coaching structures, AI integration, and data collection to scale the development of self-growers.

    Session 6 (Wed, 6:15–8:00 PM)
    AI, Practice, and the Six Dimensions of Living Forward
    Educators explore how AI-supported practices can advance student development across six dimensions: becoming, impact, quality of life, wellness, relationships, and spirituality. The focus is on how specific practices—enhanced by AI—help students move directionally within each dimension, supporting holistic self-growth and life trajectory development.

    Session 7 (Thurs, 4:00–5:45 PM)
    Measuring Life Trajectory
    Participants develop and test frameworks for measuring monthly life trajectory, evaluating movement toward the Horizon Self across key dimensions. The session explores whether this model can serve as a unifying “North Star” metric for self-growth.

    Closing Conversation (Optional, Thurs 5:45–6:15 PM)
    A final synthesis of discoveries, next steps for publications, and the launch of Phase IV research and collaboration.

    Core Outcome of the Summit

    By the end of the week, participants will have:

    • Strengthened the foundation of the Self-Growth System
    • Defined capability thresholds for self-growers
    • Generated high-value research questions
    • Identified effective Writing-to-Think practices
    • Designed Phase IV research experiments
    • Developed AI-supported approaches to holistic student growth
    • Advanced frameworks for measuring life trajectory
  • Special Interest Groups for Advancing Process Education

    Special Interest Groups for Advancing Process Education

    The Academy is forming Special Interest Groups (SIGs) in the areas of lifelong learning, self-growth, and AI in the classroom. These SIGS will bring together members with shared passions in Process Education. These groups are envisioned as vibrant spaces where “birds of a feather” gather to explore cutting-edge questions, develop tools, incubate innovations, and generate collaborative scholarship that advances our field.  A SIG provides opportunities for: Distributed leadership across interest areas, Focused inquiry aligned with practitioner needs Mentorship pathways for members new to PE scholarship, and Greater visibility for emerging projects and scholarship-in-progress.

    During this year’s PE Conference, on Thursday, June 4, at 9:30am Pacific (12:30pm Eastern) a Plenary Session “PE Special Interest Groups” will be facilitated by Steve Beyerlein, Kathy Burke, and Cy Leise.

    This session is an opportunity to test interest levels, identify core collaborators, and co-define the purpose and structure of each SIG.  The three pilot SIGs will be introduced in parallel working group meetings during the second half of this session. An agenda for periodic SIG meetings throughout the rest of 2026 is planned with the following outcomes in mind:

    • Deepen community connections around each SIG theme
    • Incubate innovative models, tools, and frameworks aligned with PE philosophy
    • Identify research opportunities and practitioner projects
    • Launch collaborative pathways for publication and resource development
    • Support resource sharing, mentorship, and cross-institutional collaboration

    Please consider joining us either in person or online!

  • Elevate your IMPACT Pre-conference Workshops

    Elevate your IMPACT Pre-conference Workshops

    Join Us for Professional Development Workshops on June 1 (the day before PE Conference 2026 kicks off!)

    Register for the Workshops

    In the pursuit of academic excellence, the most impactful educators are those who never stop learning. As we prepare for the 2026 Process Education Conference (PEConf), we are excited to announce two intensive, high-impact workshops designed for higher-education professionals dedicated to transforming student outcomes and their own professional practice.

    These sessions are more than just seminars; they are interactive laboratories designed to provide you with actionable tools and research-based strategies you can implement immediately.

    Morning Session (8:30 am – 11:30 am PT)

    Process Education Through the Lens of Assessment: A Five-Level Journey

    Ideal for educators new to Process Education or those looking to deepen their mastery of student learning outcomes, this workshop guides participants through a “Five-Level Journey.” You will navigate through five interactive activities aligned with the core pillars of Process Education: learning, performing, assessing, growing, and self-mentoring.

    What to expect:

    • The SII Model: Experience real-time growth guided by the Strengths–Improvements–Insights (SII) assessment framework.
    • Practical Metacognition: Practice providing and receiving high-level peer feedback that goes beyond simple grading.
    • The Take-Home Toolkit: Every participant leaves with a specialized toolkit designed to support continued practice and adaptation in your specific academic context.

    Facilitators: Josh Morrison, Tris Utschig, and Steve Beyerlein

    Afternoon Session (12:15 pm – 3:15 pm PT)

    Fundamental Principles and Practices of Team-Based Learning (TBL)

    As teamwork becomes a non-negotiable skill in the modern workforce, Team-Based Learning (TBL) has emerged as a gold-standard pedagogy. This workshop offers an introductory overview of TBL specifically tailored for the Process Education community. You will explore how to move students from passive listeners to active collaborators through a sequence of individual preparation, teamwork, and immediate feedback.

    Why attend this session?

    • Evidence-Based Pedagogy: Learn how TBL utilizes continuous assessment to ensure student accountability and conceptual mastery.
    • Certification Path: This is the first of five workshops in the Knowledge of the Fundamentals of TBL series—a perfect starting point for those seeking formal TBL certification.
    • Integrated Success: Evaluate the unique benefits of TBL within the context of Process Education to maximize student engagement.

    Facilitators: Dr. William Ofstad, Dr. Leanne Coyne, and Dr. Yuqin Hu

    Why Invest in These Workshops?

    Whether you attend one or both, these sessions offer a rare opportunity to collaborate with industry leaders and like-minded peers. By focusing on the intersection of assessment and teamwork, you are investing in a more resilient, self-directed learning environment for your students—and a more rewarding professional journey for yourself.

    Register for the Workshops

    Registration Note: These workshops are designed to be highly interactive, so seating is limited to ensure a high-quality experience for all attendees.