To create Healing Earth, IJEP followed a four-step 'Ignatian Pedagogy Process' which is a  way of learning and a method of teaching developed by the Roman Catholic Society of Jesus that emphasizes learning through a sequence of 'seeing', 'judging', reflecting', and 'acting'.

Healing Earth uses this basic Ignatian Pedagogy framework. Students are first invited to “see scientifically’ and relate what they see to their own experience. Next, they are asked to reflect on the values (“evaluate ethically”) and meaning (“reflect spiritually”) that emerge in the study of environmental science. Finally, they are challenged to take the knowledge you have gained and act to heal the Earth (“act effectively”). Each chapter of Healing Earth is designed to build these four skills in sequence.

Following these four steps leads to a deepened 'second seeing' of the environmental challenge which, in turn, invites another round of scientific assessment, spiritual and ethical judgment, action, and evaluation. This is consistent with Father General Adolfo Nicolas' 2010 call in Mexico City to "promote in creative new ways the depth of thought and imagination that are distinguishing marks of the Ignatian tradition." The purpose of the four-step Ignatian Pedagogy Process is to arrive at an integrated presentation of the environmental challenge that is scientifically accurate, spiritually rooted, morally focused, and action oriented.