Reflections from Pacific Crest

Category: self-growth

  • 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
  • Self-Growth Tip: Getting on Top of the Recurring Problem

    Self-Growth Tip: Getting on Top of the Recurring Problem

    Imagine this:

    You’re at bat during a baseball game and you’re repeatedly hit by the ball the pitcher throws. It is upsetting and hurts every time. Your immediate reaction each time you’re hit is confusion and anger. And your first thought is probably that the pitcher really sucks or is trying to hurt you.

    The only way to begin to deal with the situation is by stepping away, both physically and mentally. THEN you can begin to figure out why you keep getting hit by the ball. Stepping away allows you to…

    1. Stop getting hit (this part is really important because it’s hard to think objectively when the hits just keep coming) and
    2. Figure out what all those instances of getting hit by the ball have in common.

    Guess what? Every time you were hit by the ball, you were actually standing ON home plate instead of beside it. Of course you were getting hit by the ball over and over again!

    As amusing as this scenario may be, it also works as a metaphor for what happens when we repeatedly encounter the same concern, issue, or barrier multiple times (remember the movie Groundhog Day?). We can’t repeat our way out of a recurring situation and while crying may make us feel a bit better, it doesn’t stop the next ball from coming. When we recognize the repetition, we need to step back and examine the TYPE of situation that is repeating rather than each specific time we’re hit by the proverbial ball. There’s something all those situations have in common…what is it? What can we change?

    Sometimes we need to shift from affective reaction (crying, for instance) to cognitive exploration. Consider thinking from the pitcher’s perspective…where are they taught to throw the ball? Or other batters: Where do they stand when at bat? 

    A real life example (because we hopefully know better than to stand on home plate) is when we get that nagging feeling that others might not respect us. When we feel this repeatedly, we need to step away from ‘home plate’ to stop feeling and reacting on that basis. Instead, we can look around ourselves, exploring the contexts in which these feelings occur and what they have in common. Once we know that, we can begin to plan the changes we can make so we don’t keep getting hit by the “people don’t respect me” ball.

  • The Self-Growth Research Summit

    The Self-Growth Research Summit

    FREE for anyone who wants to attend, both in-person or online. Details will follow next month!

    The 2026 PE Conference offers two complementary pathways for faculty development—each designed to strengthen both professional practice and scholarly engagement in learning and self-growth.

    The main conference provides a broad exploration of proven Process Education practices—helping faculty enhance teaching, assessment, mentoring, and course design. It is ideal for those looking to improve learning environments and student performance using established methods. In contrast, the Self-Growth Research Summit is an immersive, collaborative experience where participants actively investigate how growth works at a deeper level. Rather than simply learning best practices, attendees engage in analyzing research, defining key concepts, and co-creating new frameworks, contributing directly to the evolving scholarship of self-growth .

    For faculty, this creates a powerful developmental opportunity:

    • The conference builds breadth—expanding your toolkit as an educator.
    • The research summit builds depth—strengthening your ability to understand, study, and intentionally develop growth in yourself and others.

    Participants in the summit not only leave with practical insights, but also with a heightened capacity for self-directed learning, reflective practice, and scholarly contribution—key elements of becoming a self-grower .

    Self-Growth Research Summit: Session Overview

    Session 1: The Self-Growth System — Foundations, Breakthroughs, and Open Questions

    Time: Monday, 4:00 – 5:45 PM

    What You’ll Experience:
    Gain a clear and accessible overview of the Self-Growth framework, including how individuals can intentionally guide their own development over time. Through guided discussion, participants explore major discoveries, core principles, and practical tools—while identifying important open questions for future research.

    Session 2: Defining the Self-Grower — What Does Independent Growth Look Like?

    Time: Monday, 6:15 – 8:00 PM

    What You’ll Experience:
    Work with colleagues to define what it means for someone to truly take ownership of their growth. You will translate ideas like reflection, intentionality, and planning into concrete behaviors—helping clarify what faculty can realistically expect and support in their students.

    Session 3: Mapping What We Know — Insights from Existing Research

    Time: Tuesday, 4:00 – 5:45 PM

    What You’ll Experience:
    Engage in small-team analysis of published research to uncover key findings about learning and self-growth. This session helps participants quickly get oriented to the field while identifying patterns, gaps, and opportunities for new investigation.

    Session 4: Organizing the Field — Key Domains of Self-Growth

    Time: Tuesday (Evening continuation)

    What You’ll Experience:
    Help structure the emerging field of self-growth by organizing ideas into major domains such as principles, capabilities, and internal roles. Participants co-create a clearer map of the field, making it easier to teach, research, and apply in educational settings .

    Session 5: Learning from Practice — What Actually Changed in Participants?

    Time: Wednesday

    What You’ll Experience:
    Examine real experiences from a six-month self-growth project in which individuals practiced weekly reflection and intentional planning. This session highlights what worked, what was challenging, and what led to meaningful changes in how participants approached their lives and work .

    Session 6: From Ideas to Action — Building the Future of Self-Growth Practice

    Time: Final Session

    What You’ll Experience:
    Synthesize insights from the summit to develop practical frameworks, research directions, and applications for your own context. Participants leave with both actionable strategies and potential scholarly contributions to advance teaching, learning, and self-growth.

    Why Attend the Research Summit?

    • Strengthen your own growth practices through structured reflection and intentional planning
    • Gain clarity on how to develop self-directed learners in your courses
    • Engage in meaningful scholarship that shapes the future of Process Education
    • Collaborate with a community of educators committed to improving learning and Quality of Life

    By combining participation in the main conference with the research summit, faculty move beyond simply applying best practices—they begin to understand, refine, and create them, positioning themselves as both effective educators and contributors to the advancement of self-growth education.