Submission Guidelines

Next Submission Deadline: December 23rd, 2023

The Journal of Learning Design and Leadership (JLDL) is an open access, informal peer-reviewed, multimodal publication. It publishes pre-print articles multiple times a year online within CGScholar and IDEALS.

To accommodate both platforms, works must be submitted as a Word document and an online version using CGScholar.

Important!

Manuscripts not conforming to the submission guidelines will be returned.

Do not submit works for review if they have been published (or are pending review for publication) in another scholarly publication

Review Rubric

Review these submission guidelines and the Review Rubric before, during, and after you draft your work. We do not repeat the submission guidelines on the rubric.

Only submissions receiving a rating of 3 or 4 on all rubric items will be considered for publication. Works receiving a 2 or less will not receive specific feedback. Conduct a self-review of your work before submitting to increase your chances of having your work selected for publication.

Work Type, Style, and Length

Short evidence-based scholarly papers, with the main body of the text (theories, key concepts, and critiques) in the range of 2,000 to 4,000 words, are encouraged. Special edition articles may include works between 5,000 and 8,000 words.

JLDL encourages a multimodal approach where authors use embedded media such as datasets, infographics, and videos. All media must be cited using APA Style 7 and relevance should be articulated in the body of the work. Tables and Figures should be numbered, labeled, and captioned consistently according to the submission template referenced above.

Scholarly Sources
  • Works should include at least 15 scholarly sources (i.e. from peer-reviewed journals).
  • Do not include white papers or non scholarly magazines or websites.
  • At least five (5) of the scholarly sources must be within the past five years as of the date the work is submitted for consideration.
Organizing and Drafting your Work

In addition to the rubric and each section on this page, works should consider the following general guidelines when organizing and drafting your work:

  • Works should be a synthesis of a diversity of sources, written in the voice of the literature.
  • Do not include paragraphs dedicated to a single source.
  • The author’s voice should not be present in the main body of the work (no inclusion of assumptions, opinions, or personal experience). Exceptions to this may be found in the introduction, gaps in the literature, and conclusion.
  • Avoid the use of first person.
  • Work should be void of any reference to experiential or course alignment.
    • While you are allowed to leverage a work produced during a regular course, you should not plan to submit the same exact work.
Writing Conventions

Reviewers and journal editors will only perform minimal editing of works. As this is a volunteer-run journal, authors are expected to thoroughly proofread and copy-edit their work. 

  • Be sure the work is free of typographical errors. 
  • Make sure the work is formatted using APA 7th edition, especially grammar mechanics (such as punctuation), citations, and references.  
  • Avoid writing in the first person (i.e., avoid using personal pronouns I, we, our, my, etc.). 
  • Avoid acronyms and abbreviations. But you may define acronyms and abbreviations on first use within a given paragraph. 
  • Use American English spellings. Examples: behavior, not behaviour; organization, not organisation; stabilize, not stabilise; acknowledgments, not acknowledgments; etc. 
Use of Media

Relevant media is encouraged, but not required

  • All embedded media must be cited in APA 7th edition as a caption or immediately below the media, even if created by the author of the work
  • Media should also be included in the References section with a header of Media
  • Note that videos can be embedded in the CGScholar version, but must be explained uniquely in the Word version of the work
  • The resolution for line diagrams must be set at 600 dpi at the time you create (set the export resolution from the software in which you create the figure to 600 dpi) the final file for publication. Subsequent increase of the resolution of a file will not improve quality. All lines and text must be clear and sharp.
APA 7th Edition for Citations and References
  • All tables, figures, and media must be cited properly using APA 7th Edition
  • Ensure that the APA references section includes the full journal citation, even if retrieved from a website
Submission Instructions

Manuscript Sections

Manuscript Structure

Works must be submitted in both Word format and online using the CGScholar platform, including use of the CGScholar structure tool.

Include a brief, yet descriptive and relevant title of your work and upload the JLDL icon as your work icon within CGScholar (About this Work — Info – Title/Work Icon).

Sections and subsections as outlined below:

  • Author Biography (CGscholar version only)
  • Abstract
  • Keywords
  • Introduction
  • [individually-named sections and sub sections relevant to the topic of the work]
  • Gaps in the Literature, if applicable
  • Conclusion
  • References (in the most current APA style)
  • Previous Usage (indicate if this work was originally drafted for a course, including the course title and code, the term, and the year) (CGScholar version only)
Author Biography Guidelines

The author biography should be 75 words or less and include your university and degree affiliation and general area of research or career interest. If you are an alumni, please indicate your graduation year. This is only included in the CGScholar version of the work.

Abstract Guidelines

The abstract should be approximately 200 words which summarize the manuscript precisely.

  • Place the abstract both within a section using the Structure tool and the Abstract element under About this Work – Info – Abstract
  • Include the abstract in the Word template according to the template instructions

Evaluative components in the initial screening process include formatting, clarity and style, relevance to scope and aim of journal, originality, and significance.

Keywords

Identify four to eight keywords relevant to your work

  • Place the keywords both within a section using the Structure tool and the Keywords element under About this Work – Info – Abstract
  • Include the keywords in the Word template according to the template instructions
  • One of your keywords must be your degree concentration, written as one of the following:
    • Curriculum and Instruction
    • Diversity and Equity
    • Education Administration
    • Education Psychology
    • Global Studies
    • Human Resource Development
    • Learning Design and Leadership
    • Special Education
    • If you are from a different program, please use your program name as a keyword
  • One of your keywords must be one of the following designations:
    • P-12 Education
    • Higher Education
    • Community Education
    • Workplace Learning
    • If your work is not one of these, please provide an alternative
    • If your work encompasses more than one, include multiples, which may cause you to exceed the eight keyword goal, which is fine
    • If your work doesn’t necessarily apply to any particular designation, then replace with general education