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This month's columns include:

• Introducing Ashley Van Slyke
• NEW: GPT Development Institute (Oct 12-13)
• Listening to Learn (podcast)
• Episode 3: Shifting Your Classroom Culture
• Series: The Learning Process Methodology
• Step 12: Problem Solving
• Self-Growth Tip: Intellectual Humility
• Keeping an Eye on Higher Education
• Free Webinar Series from The Chronicle:
• Trump and Higher Ed: Understanding the Latest

We're pleased to introduce

Ashley Van Slyke

who was recently appointed as Vice President of Operations. With a degree in Business Marketing and past experience in order fulfillment, inventory management, and customer service, Ashley is a great fit for keeping these parts of the business running smoothly. 

Cost $500 per person Bring 2 from your college, the 3rd attends free!

Whether you're an educator, developer, coach, or curious innovator, you’ll walk away with a clear framework and hands-on experience for creating AI Agents that foster self-growth, enhance decision-making, and elevate performance in any domain.

Workshop activities

Over the course of the workshop, participants will:

• Interact with exemplary AI Agents in live demos
• Break down what distinguishes quality AI Agent design
• Apply the Pacific Crest Design Process to craft AI Agents that integrate methodology, growth capability, and quality mindset
• Learn how to align AI Agents with life, learning, and leadership purposes

Day 1 Showcase of 10 GPTs

Days 2 & 3

Participants build their own AI Agents using GPT Designer, Universal Manual Designer, Problem Solver, etc.

Limited Seats Available. Reserve your spot early.



Take your AI Agent design expertise to the next level.

Listen on...

This insightful deep dive explores the subtle yet powerful impact of educational culture, contrasting traditional approaches with transformational cultures that actively cultivate student success in higher education, rather than merely managing it. Using a comprehensive framework, it reveals how your faculty mindset and daily practices are not just influential, but causal, directly impacting student mindsets and behaviors and offering immense power to mitigate conditional risk factors. By examining crucial aspects like academic challenge, cognitive complexity, learner ownership, and the student-faculty relationship, the discussion illustrates how intentional shifts such as from 'making things easy' to truly empowering students through challenge, fostering deep understanding, nurturing self-direction, and building supportive mentorships can lead to students becoming resilient, self-motivated, critical-thinking intellectual explorers. This is more than just adopting new techniques; it's about embracing a fundamental cultural shift that empowers every student to believe in their potential, discover their own strength, and become the architect of their own success, creating lasting ripple effects far beyond your classroom.

Based on the article Impact of Higher Education Culture on Student Mindset and Success by Apple, Jain, Beyerlein, and Ellis, published in the International Journal of Process Education (June 2018, Volume 9 Issue 1) www.ijpe.online/2018/culture.pdf Created with the help of Notebook LM.

Learning and Problem Solving: Interdependency

The relationship between the processes of learning and problem solving is more than close; they are actually interdependent. The model above was presented in Education as a Process (Apple & Hurley-Lawrence, 1994), demonstrating that learning produces transferable knowledge (acquisition process) while problem solving is the sophisticated usage of this knowledge in a specific situation (application process).

The critical point is that problem solving is the application of knowledge gained through learning.

This means that this step of the Learning Process Methodology

might just be the whole POINT of the LPM!

When individuals start the learning process themselves, they are almost always doing it to solve a problem they’re facing. In our classrooms, we guide our students through the learning process for the specific purpose of preparing them to solve future problems.

And (again), as with riding a bicycle and so much else, the best way to learn how to solve problems is by solving problems. There is a wealth of research that shows that students don’t get better at problem solving by watching teachers solve problems. Students have to grapple with problems themselves in order to build and hone problem solving skills. It is their proficiency in the performance of problem solving that demonstrates the degree to which they understand at the level of application (which is really obvious if we stop and think because, as the graphic shows so clearly, the problem solving process is where knowledge is APPLIED).

Bobrowski (2007) elaborates that at the application level of knowledge,

...the learner has the skill to apply and transfer the particular item of knowledge to different situations and contexts, can recognize new contexts and situations to skillfully make use of this knowledge, and has taken the time to generalize the knowledge to determine ways to apply it, testing boundaries and linkages to other information. In other words, a learner with Level III knowledge is able to solve problems.

According to Leise et al. (2007), the application of knowledge is enhanced (i.e., the problem solving process is improved) by the challenge to solve more complex types of problems that are closer to those worked on by experts in the field. Hanson (2007) describes these kinds of problems and their tendency to be what we might call messy in Designing Process-Oriented Guided-Inquiry Activities:

These problems present new situations that require students to transfer, synthesize, and integrate what they have learned. The purpose is to move them to the problem-solving level of knowledge. The problems often have a real-world context, contain superfluous or missing information, have multiple parts, do not contain overt clues about the concepts needed to arrive at a solution, and may not have a right answer.

Not only should we be challenging our students with the types of problems that experts deal with, but experts in the student’s life or chosen field. The more relevant a problem’s context is to students’ lives, both now and in the future, the more motivating it is (Clark, Dobbins, & Ladd, 1993). This isn’t a difficult thing for disciplinary courses (where engineering professors teach engineering students how to solve engineering problems, for example), but as Watts (2018) points out, this can be challenging in general education courses, where students are all focused on different career paths.

Nevertheless, we’ve figured out a couple of techniques that seem to work quite well in our own general education curricula (Learn to Learn: Becoming a Self-Grower by Apple, Morgan, & Hintze, 2013):

1.

In the first technique, we ask students to use their own lives as human beings as the context for demonstrating problem-solving skills. The examples focus on deciding how to divide up rent among roommates who get different sized bedrooms, navigating to a location with which they’re unfamiliar after they’re given basically terrible instructions and information), deciding which holiday job to take as the best solution, when there are specific and complicated family circumstances, and other similar real-life and relatable dilemmas. We offer them methodologies and models, giving them practice with specific problems as skill exercises, but then do one of two things:

• Either task them with applying the knowledge they’ve acquired to a problem that is likely to involve a context they deal with in their own lives:

Example: “Select one team of which you are a member, and one community of which you are a part, where you feel that you are not contributing at the level you would like. Perform a self-assessment of your performance for the roles (formal or informal) that you play in each, using the Holistic Rubric for Performing in a Team.”

• Or task them with choosing their own context for applying the knowledge they’ve acquired:

Example: “Apply the Problem Solving Methodology to solve a long-standing problem in your own life. Document your use of each step.”

2.

The second technique relies on us understanding that students all share some common challenges as students and in performing as students: scheduling, time management, grade requirements, preparing for exams, writing assignments, etc. These areas are fruitful for problem solving challenges. In one, we ask students to analyze and assess their performance in high school. In another, we challenge them to plan out their entire semester (all exams and deadlines). A third asks them to analyze their monthly budget, finding at least five ways to reduce their expenses as a student (a challenge which combines both techniques!).

Beyond determining the types of problems and contexts students should work with, we need to consider what we can do to meet the overall goal in problem solving within a course: helping learners become more expert in problem solving. An important first step is for us to being able to distinguish between those two levels. In Overview of Problem Solving (2007), Morgan and Williams offer a table delineating the differences between the two:

Differences Between Novice and Expert Problem-Solvers

As for techniques to help learners go from novice to expert problem solvers, we can do no better than to share Nygren’s (2007) eight wonderful tips:

1. Generalize understanding. Ask learners to write paragraphs about applying their knowledge in a familiar context (e.g., current and voltage analysis of an electric circuit in a homework problem); applying their knowledge in an unfamiliar context (e.g., flow and pressure analysis of a fluid piping network, or series and parallel combinations of mechanical spring elements); and generalizing their knowledge by describing similarities and differences between the two contexts, identifying common underlying principles.
2. Categorize problems. Develop proficiency in problem classification by asking colleagues, mentors, and students to tackle problems in a variety of contexts. Have faculty and students rank these problems by level of difficulty, justifying their reasoning. This activity can give insight about the range of problem-solving capacity present in the classroom and give students a better idea how a particular course builds toward the working expertise of a professional.
3. Practice formulation and estimation. Instead of having learners invest time in implementing a single, formal solution, ask them to explain alternate solution paths and provide an estimate of the answer.
4. Use self-assessment. Grow self-awareness and self-control of problem-solving skills by having learners document and assess their problem-solving performance by identifying strengths, areas for improvement, and insights.
5. Use a problem-solving methodology. Unquestionably, the best means for a learner to tackle a potentially overwhelming problem is through the use of a methodology. A solution is more likely when learners move through the necessary steps of a problem-solving process.
6. Assess the use of the problem-solving methodology. By examining how well a methodology for a complex process is employed, (as opposed to evaluating the solutions themselves), you provide links with complementary teaching and learning processes, such as information processing, critical thinking, teamwork, and communication.
7. Validate problem solutions. Ask students to write a paragraph describing how to validate their solutions. The paragraph should identify the most important assumption made and explain how the result might change if that assumption were changed.
8. Holistic development. In order to fully build Level 4 proficiency or working expertise, other aspects of personal development should also be considered. In particular, the learner’s affective skills need to be enhanced in order to counter learner frustration as the complexity of the problem-solving situation goes up and the comfort level decreases.

Problem solving is not just the 12^th step of the LPM, it’s the whole point of learning. And solving the problem of how best to teach it, practice it, and become ever more proficient at it is the most fundamental aspect of our vocation.

"I think the next best thing to solving a problem is finding some humor in it."

—Frank A. Clark

(Us too, Frank. Us too.)

Apple, D. K., Beyerlein, S., & Schlesinger, M. (Eds.). (1992). Learning through problem solving. Pacific Crest: Corvallis, OR.

Apple, D. K., & Hurley-Lawrence, B. H. (1994, July). Education as a process. Presented at the Improving University Teaching Conference, College Park, MD.

Apple, D., Morgan, J., & Hintze, D. (2013). Learning to learn: Becoming a self-grower. Hampton, NH: Pacific Crest.

Bobrowski, P. (2007). Bloom’s taxonomy: Expanding its meaning. In S. W. Beyerlein, C. Holmes, & D. K. Apple (Eds.), Faculty guidebook: A comprehensive tool for improving faculty performance (4th ed.). Lisle, IL: Pacific Crest.

Clark, C. S., Dobbins, G. H., & Ladd, R. T. (1993) Exploratory field study of training motivation. Group and Organization Management, 18, 292-307.

Ellis, W., Apple, D., Watts, M., Hintze, D., Teeguarden, J., Cappetta, R., & Burke, K. (2014) Quantitative reasoning and problem solving. Hampton, NH: Pacific Crest.

Hanson, D. (2007). Designing process-oriented guided-inquiry activities. In S. W. Beyerlein, C. Holmes, & D. K. Apple (Eds.), Faculty guidebook.

Leise, C., Beyerlein, S., & Apple, D. K. (2007). Learning process methodology. In S. W. Beyerlein, C. Holmes, & D. K. Apple (Eds.), Faculty guidebook.

Morgan, J., & Williams, B. (2007). Overview of Problem Solving. In S. W. Beyerlein, C. Holmes, & D. K. Apple (Eds.), Faculty guidebook.



Nygren, K. (2007). Elevating knowledge from level 1 to level 3. In S. Beyerlein, C. Holmes, & D. Apple (Eds.), Faculty guidebook.

Watts, M. (2018). The Learning Process Methodology: A Universal Model of the Learning Process and Activity Design. International Journal of Process Education, 9(1), 111-114. Available at https://www.ijpe.online/2018/lpm1.pdf

The Self-Growth Community has been focusing on reflection as a theme throughout September. This builds on writing about life vision and annual goals in August.

• Theme: A concise title that frames the core developmental challenge or tension, serving as the interpretive anchor for the insight.
• Original Observation: A specific, emotionally resonant moment or behavior that deviates from the norm and invites deeper attention.
• Enhanced Observation: A clarified, reframed version of the original moment that increases generalizability, precision, and potential for reflection.
• Intuitive Statement: A meaning-making hypothesis that interprets the observation with emotional truth and situational relevance—answering “What’s really going on here?”
• Implications: A list of concrete cause-effect patterns or behavioral consequences that logically extend from the intuitive insight across multiple contexts.
• Significance: A layered reflection on why the insight matters—personally, relationally, or systemically—and what it unlocks for deeper growth.
• Solidified Insight: A culminating, synthesized insight that integrates the observation, intuition, and implications into one powerful and transferable statement.
• Expanded Impact: A cultural or systemic extrapolation that explores how this insight could transform practices, values, or relationships at broader levels.
• Self-Growth Tip: A small, personal, and emotionally congruent action the user can take within a week to apply the insight and grow from it.
• Observation Skill Tip: A concrete noticing technique or reflective practice designed to sharpen capacity to perceive meaningful patterns in experience.

As a bonus, the Insight Generator Pro supplies five diverse, forward-looking intentions that can be used to guide future choices and actions. In one of our September community sessions about the role of weekly reflection, five TOISE insights stood out. These were concisely rephrased and the Insight Generator Pro was then asked to identify ten best practices from this set. 

Insight #1 - Emotional outliers are always the richest source of weekly insight

• Observation: Emotional highs and lows compress meaning. A single charged moment — joy, anger, awe, or shame — often carries more clarity than an entire ordinary week.
• Insight: Outliers are goldmines of wisdom. What spikes in intensity often reveals what matters most.
• Implication: Tracking extremes reveals underlying values, unmet needs, or hidden blind spots. Emotional data is not noise; it is signal.
• Practice A: Each Sunday, log your highest and lowest emotional moments of the week. Use a 1–10 scale to separate true outliers from ordinary ups and downs. Don’t overanalyze; just capture the spikes.
• Practice B: Translate each high or low into a values-based statement: “This moment showed me I value…” or “This low revealed an unmet need for…”. Resist the urge to resolve quickly. Sit with discomfort before naming it.

Insight #2 – Curiosity scripts the week

• Observation: Mondays set tone. The way the week begins ripples forward into energy, choices, and mindset.
• Insight: Start-of-week reflection is authorship. It transforms Monday from a reaction to demands into a deliberate script for becoming.
• Implication: Early design leads to intentional weeks — when we name values at the start, they echo through decisions. Without it, weeks default to inertia.
• Practice A: Replace judgmental phrasing in reflection. Instead of “I should have…,” write “I noticed…” or “I wonder why…”. Ban binary words (good/bad, success/failure). Replace them with descriptive, open-ended language.
• Practice B: Share one weekly reflection with a trusted friend, mentor, or GPT partner without defending or justifying. Let them ask clarifying questions. Focus on listening, not explaining. Curiosity multiplies when you don’t close the conversation too early.

Insight #3: Gratitude is a stabilizer when reflection feels heavy

• Observation: Reflection skews negative if unchecked. Left alone, the mind gravitates toward mistakes and stressors.
• Insight: Gratitude is the stabilizer. It grounds reflection in balance, ensuring growth doesn’t become self-punishment.
• Implication: Positivity bias protects resilience. Gratitude not only counters negativity but converts difficulty into insight by revealing hidden gifts.
• Practice A: End each reflection by naming three things for which you are grateful — including at least one from a difficult moment. Make these small and concrete, not vague.
• Practice B: Identify one person who supported, challenged, or shaped you that week. Record why it mattered. Whenever possible, tell them directly.

Insight #4: Stillness writes the first line

• Observation: Silence often reveals what structured prompts miss. When reflection is overly scripted, the deeper voice stays hidden.
• Insight: Quiet reflection surfaces the inner voice that structured exercises may drown out.
• Implication: Not all reflection should be prompted — spaciousness and stillness allow intuition and subtle truths to emerge.
• Practice A: Each Monday morning, write a short “Week Script” with three lines: Who I am becoming? What value I will live this week? What mindset will I practice?
• Practice B: Review your Week Script daily in under a minute. Place it where you’ll see it — journal cover, phone lock screen, or sticky note.

Insight #5: Witnessing turns reflection into growth

• Observation: Reflections grow richer when shared with another. Dialogue introduces perspective and expands interpretation.
• Insight: Social reflection creates deeper meaning than solitary reflection alone.
• Implication: Wisdom multiplies when witnessed. Sharing with a peer, mentor, or even a GPT coach turns reflection into a conversation rather than a monologue.
• Practice A: At the end of each week, highlight one unresolved question or prompt to carry forward. Phrase it as open-ended: “What am I still learning about…?”
• Practice B: For each reflection, write one identity-based statement: “I will become someone who…”. Track these intentions over time to see your growth arc.

The approach of gathering five complementary insights within the same Insight Generator Pro chat and then requesting that these be used to generate ten best practices has been widely adopted by the Self-Growth Community as a tool for encapsulating personal wisdom.

Tips on Surrendering Certainty

• Acknowledge your ego's insignificance: Understand that your ego is not as important as your growth and learning. By exploring new ideas, even if they challenge your existing beliefs, you open yourself up to new information and experiences that can help you evolve.

• Investigate alternatives: Instead of immediately dismissing a different perspective, take the time to investigate it. This could involve researching the new information, talking with colleagues who have different viewpoints, or simply asking questions to better understand the alternative perspective. This process of investigation shows that you value learning instead of just being right.

There are many stories and trends that we're keeping an eye on. We're happy to share these, along with links to learn more.

State Control Over Curriculum & DEI Restrictions

• Increasing number of states are passing laws or bills giving government or governing boards more control over curriculum design, general education requirements, and degree programs. These often come along with restrictions on DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) initiatives. Texas is considering laws to let governing boards override faculty councils and eliminate low-enrollment programs; Ohio has passed laws banning DEI-based hiring and enrollment criteria. AP News

Funding & Financial Stress at Institutions

• In the US, cuts to grants meant for minority-serving institutions are adding to financial uncertainty. AP News

Academic Freedom, Political Pressure, & Faculty Mobility

• Faculty in certain states are leaving or planning to leave due to what they perceive as political interference, threats to free speech, or decreasing support for tenure. Higher Ed Dive
• Laws restricting academic discourse and limiting what can be taught or expressed are increasingly part of the national debate. Human Rights Research.org

Generative AI & Synthetic Media in Education

• How institutions are adopting GenAI tools (for teaching, grading, student support) while balancing concerns of academic integrity, bias, oversight, and misuse. A paper from the ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency, June, 2024
• The emergence of deepfakes and synthetic media and how they might challenge verification of work and identities, but also opportunities for innovation in media, simulations, and digital learning. arXiv (pre-print)

Restructuring of Academic Programs

• In reaction to new laws (like Ohio’s Advance Ohio Higher Education Act), universities are suspending or merging academic programs, especially where there is overlap or low enrollment. University Herald

Campus Safety & Security Threats

• Reports of hoax threat calls (“swatting”) on campuses, particularly at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), causing class disruptions, lockdowns, stress among students and staff and how institutions are responding — updating protocols, calming concerns, investing in infrastructure and prevention. The Hill

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• Session 2: October 28 at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT
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