WELCOME and THANK YOU for reading! This newsletter covers what happened in November and will give you a heads up on what to look for in the months following.

In this issue (please note the links below will only work when viewing this newsletter in a browser):

The next board meeting is December 10, 2025

6:00 to 7:30pm Eastern

(23:00 to 00:30 UTC)

As always, ALL board members and directors are welcome!

Zoom information is available on the Member’s site

From Chaya Jain, President

As 2025 draws to a close, we are reminded that every ending signals a new beginning. Over the past months, the Academy’s Board has been deeply engaged in shaping our five-year Strategic Plan—an initiative rooted in our Vision and Mission that will guide the Academy’s trajectory and influence for years ahead.

In a time of rapid technological advancement and its profound impact on teaching and learning, this planning process demands focused, forward-looking attention. Rather than entrusting the work to a traditional sub-committee, we have embraced a broader coalition of engaged contributors to ensure our strategy is both visionary and responsive to emerging trends. The proposed Plan integrates five key areas designed to strengthen our community:

• Supporting educators with innovative Process Education resources
• Fostering scholarship through collaborative research
• Ensuring sustainability through membership growth and leadership pathways
• Amplifying innovation across programs and practices
• Measuring impact with meaningful engagement metrics

Together, these still-unfolding initiatives embody our shared commitment to growth, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Another important milestone lies ahead: our upcoming Winter Meeting! This virtual midyear gathering, held during the first week of January, is designed to bring our community together at a pivotal moment in the year. Beyond a dynamic professional development session, it offers members the chance to celebrate the Academy’s strengths, explore new opportunities, and exchange fresh ideas. It’s also a perfect prelude to our annual conference—setting the stage for synergistic collaboration, innovative scholarship, and meaningful networking that carries us forward.

Finally, as December arrives—a season symbolic of peace, love, and harmony—I extend heartfelt wishes to all Academy members for joy and fulfillment in the weeks ahead.

June 1 - 4, 2026 @ West Coast University, Anaheim

Announcing...

PE Conference 2026 Registration is ALIVE!

Umm, sorry. LIVE. (We saw Frankenstein last week.)

Visit www.processeducation.org/peconf

The conference hotel information is available on the Location page, along with maps, directions, and links to all the area has to offer.

Don’t forget, you can get session templates and submit a session proposal too! Just visit the Presenter's page.

Choose where you'd like to listen...

It doesn't matter what you know about assessment...you'll enjoy this episode!

This episode takes on the idea that assessment, at its core, is not merely a task but a transformative engine of continuous improvement, establishing a strategic partnership with students dedicated solely to elevating future performance rather than judging the quality of past work. For this powerful academic alchemy to occur, faculty must cultivate a specialized, non-judgmental mindset built on mutual trust and respect. Instructors must intentionally focus feedback only on improving the characteristics of the performance, strictly avoiding judgmental statements or language that targets the individual performer, ensuring students feel supported rather than criticized. This process is most potent when the learner is in control, actively seeking assessment and collaborating to define the criteria for feedback, thereby validating the relevance and ensuring their willingness to act on suggestions. By honoring the student's central role and maintaining a relentless focus on growth, this non-evaluative approach creates a positive, trusting learning environment that produces "magical" or "teachable moments" and effectively shifts the responsibility for lifelong learning and growth directly onto the student.

This episode is based on various modules focused on Assessment from the Faculty Guidebook (Pacific Crest). Denna Hintze generated this podcast with Google's Notebook LM, checking and approving its content and quality.

"Elevating Activity Design with AI" Presented at Florida International University AI in Education Conference

On November 14, President-Elect Josh Morrison presented a workshop at the First Annual AI in Education Conference, held at Florida International University in Miami, FL, and synchronously online. One of 22 peer-reviewed program sessions, including a mix of research sessions and workshops, Josh's workshop focused on the Watts Learning Process Methodology, as implemented in the Activity Designer GPT developed by Pacific Crest. During the presentation, attendees learned about the LPM, its development and use, as well as how Activity Designer can be leveraged to accelerate the activity design process. The conference organizer, Dr. Tiberio Garza, confirmed that Activity Designer would dramatically accelerate his progress in this regard, as he typically spends days in developing activities for classroom use.

During the workshop, Josh connected attendees to the Academy, referencing the 2026 Conference, as well as opportunities to engage the PE community through the IJPE.

IJPE Updates and Changes

The IJPE will be undergoing a major facelift and contents update during December. But for now, the most important piece of information is:

Submission deadlines are a thing of the past. The IJPE has moved to an open submissions system.

If you thought you missed the deadline, take a deep breath, sharpen your pencil, and get your manuscript finished and submitted. IJPE editors and reviewers are looking forward to seeing lots of new PE scholarship!

Summary of the November 12 Board Meeting

. . .

Key Discussions

• Conference Hotel
  • The Buena Park Hotel & Suites 7555 Beach Blvd, Buena Park, CA ($104/night)
• Conference Rates
  • Standard: $300
  • Standard 3+: $225
  • Local/Emeritus/Student/Host: $200
    • The Local/Emeritus/Student/Host rate would also be extended to Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) and California Community Colleges members (e.g. faculty and staff from those institutions).

Key Matters

• 5-Yr Strategic Plan: Prioritization of 5 initiatives
  • Some proposed criteria:
    • Salience - How relevant is this initiative to the goals of the Academy and its long-term sustainability?
    • Feasibility - In the time frame (5 years), how realistic is achieving this initiative to a high level of quality?
    • Has potential for broad impact on membership,
    • Potential for advancing PE practice and scholarship,
    • Improves vitality of the Academy,
    • Likelihood for drawing needed leadership team
  • Focus Area 1 (highest rank is A, Media Library)
  • Focus Area 2 (highest rank is B, Research Hub)
  • Focus Area 3 (highest rank is B, Emerging Leaders)
  • Focus Area 4 (Fold into Focus Area 1)
  • Focus Area 5 (Single initiative, change name to “Assessing Academy’s Impact)

Announcements & Deadlines

• Newsletter Articles: Due to Denna by Nov 20.
• Winter Meeting: An online meeting is scheduled for January 3, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM ET. Josh will chair the meeting, and work with Patrick and Steve B to develop the details.

The DRAFT minutes from the November 12 Board Meeting are available HERE.

In order to act effectively, we need to be informed. What follows are several sources and resources I've found, read, and recommend. Please use what you can and stay safe.

FREE TO THINK 2025: Report of the Scholars at Risk Academic Freedom Monitoring Project https://www.scholarsatrisk.org/resources/free-to-think-2025/

Trump moves closer to closing the Education Department https://www.npr.org/2025/11/21/nx-s1-5616615/trump-moves-closer-to-closing-the-education-department

Protecting Schools and Sacred Spaces From ICE (from the NEA with Karen Tumlin, Founder and Director of the Justice Action Center, and one of the attorneys leading the PCUN v. Noem lawsuit, which seeks to defend every student’s right to learn without fear) https://www.nea.org/professional-excellence/student-engagement/tools-tips/protecting-schools-and-sacred-spaces-ice

How President Trump is dismantling our democracy, one piece at a time (From Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington: CREW) https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-reports/how-president-trump-is-dismantling-our-democracy-one-piece-at-a-time/

Let us know:

• What have you achieved (WHO and WHAT)
• Suggest someone for an open board position (give us a NAME and POSITION)
• Request a workshop (please let us know the TOPIC, WHY you would find it valuable/useful, and CONTACT information so we can follow up with you)
• Pretty much anything else!