PLTLIS encourages the submission of many types of work to Advances in Peer-Led Learning, APLL, ranging from vignettes to research papers (please see the Submission Types and Document Formatting section below). Practitioners or researchers practicing or investigating peer-facilitated learning models are encouraged to submit their work for consideration. Please make sure to read the guidelines carefully. Submissions with missing content based on the guidelines will be returned to the authors. Submit the completed work to the Editor-in-Chief via e-mail using journal@pltlis.org.

Cover Letter

The Corresponding Author must submit a cover letter/email message indicating that the submission is being sent exclusively to this journal and why the author(s) believe this journal is appropriate for the submitted work. The letter/email should indicate the type of submission. Any conflict of interest must be disclosed here; for example, if there is a connection between an author and a commercial product used or reported.

Institutional Review Board Approval

Studies which involve human subjects must include explicit assurance that the work was approved by all appropriate Institutional Review Boards (IRB) or equivalent body. This should include the IRB review number(s), unless the work is exempt according to the US Department of Education guidelines. If the institution(s) do(es) not have an IRB, the assurance should be provided by the institution’s employee in charge of overseeing responsible and ethical conduct of research and scholarship. If the study was conducted outside of the United States, authors must also abide by their equivalent policies for ethical and responsible research. Please contact the Editor-in-Chief for questions on appropriate assurances of compliance.

Peer Review and Acceptance Process

All submitted work is subject to peer review. The Editor-in-Chief will initiate the peer review process. The reviewers will assess and provide written feedback and recommendations to either accept the submission as is, accept with suggested revisions, provide feedback for improvements prior to resubmission, or reject with an explanation for the decision. The corresponding author can usually expect an initial response within 6-8 weeks from the Editor-in-Chief or designee. The Corresponding Author will be sent the Publication Agreement which must be signed and returned before publication.

Once the submission has been accepted, authors may be invited to write an abridged version of the work for inclusion in the PLTLIS newsletter, The Peer Leader. Images may also be used in the PLTLIS newsletter.

 

Article Publication Charge

Authors will be expected to pay a fee of $300 for each submission that is accepted for publication. Contact the Editor-in-Chief to determine whether you may qualify for a discount or waiver of this fee.

Open Access Publication

Advances in Peer-Led Learning is an open access journal; the content is freely available without charge to readers of the Journal.  Users may read, download, distribute, copy, print, link to the published text of the articles, or use them for any legal purpose without asking prior permission from the publisher or from the author(s). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

 

 

Submission Types and Document Formatting

This document provides details for the types of submissions and their formatting requirements. Submissions should: (1) clearly address an issue or concern in education or an educational research question; (2) clearly show the connection between the problem or question, methodology, methods, and the interpretation of the data collected; (3) describe the transferability or applicability of the ideas presented in the submission to other educational settings; (4) make reference to the appropriate educational literature. 

Only carefully formatted and proofread documents will be accepted. Write clearly and simply for an audience that may have limited exposure or knowledge of peer-led learning and may not be well-versed in the specifics of the discipline in which PLTL or other peer-led interventions have been incorporated. Define any technical terms deemed to require clarification when they are introduced. Utilize acronyms after first use of a term that will use the acronym thereafter. Submissions may include video or audio links.

Submissions should include an abstract and identify keywords. The abstract must be no more than 200 words.

 

Research Articles

A Research Article reports on the results of an original study. The study can be based on any quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods design. The abstract should include the date(s) and location(s) of the study. There should be separate sections for the Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion, and include appropriate subheadings. A statement acknowledging the approval by the Internal Review Board (IRB) or equivalent body must be included. Pilot studies and preliminary results may be considered.

Literature Reviews or Meta-Analyses

Reviews can be quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods. Section headings should include Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion.

Essays

This classification includes current and important topics related to teaching and learning using peer-facilitated practices, like PLTL. The submission can take the perspective of personal experience or history, and describes a specific challenge, approach, or connection to peer-led learning. Resources that are mentioned must be cited.  

Curriculum Design: Materials

This classification includes specific materials used for PLTL or other peer-led group discussions, or for preparation of instructors or related personnel in any role (supervision, mentorship, pedagogical training, etc.). Research method and training method essays will be accepted. These should be written for the purpose of instructing other practitioners how to replicate the curriculum innovation. The submission should include a one-page summary with the context, goals, outcomes, and timelines when applicable. The activities should be written with the intent of instructing other practitioners on how these activities can be replicated. Three suggested types of submissions include:

• Lessons and Activities

Submissions that describe innovations in facilitation or activity design should describe pedagogical approaches that address learning objectives or outcomes. Lessons included in the submission must be field-tested by the authors and contain detailed instructions with supporting materials that allow other practitioners to replicate the activities.

• Content Knowledge Applied in Emerging Areas

Submissions that describe the content knowledge of a lesson may focus on emerging areas in one or more disciplines. This type of submission should organize the content knowledge for the purpose of making specific recommendations for connecting this content within the context of a peer-facilitated workshop. Authors should provide resources to explore the selected topic further.

    ·         Educational Tools and Strategies

Submissions should describe, examine, evaluate, and instruct how to use a particular educational tool in peer-facilitated sessions. Explicit instructions with supporting materials that are field tested will allow other practitioners to replicate the strategic use of these educational tools in peer-facilitated sessions.

Case Study Vignettes

Case study vignettes can cover experiences in peer-led group discussions, prep meetings, program administration, and other settings. The experiences can be from the perspective of the peer facilitator, instructor, learning specialist, staff, or related personnel. The aim of the vignettes should be to inform other practitioners about the experiences within a program.

Gallery Submission

These submissions with images (figures) pertain to peer-led learning. The corresponding author must submit the appropriate consent form for each identifiable human subject in an image.

Video/Audio Submission

An author may submit a video or audio file (podcast) that pertains to peer-facilitated learning or other topics related to peer leadership, including administrative or organizational issues. The corresponding author must submit the appropriate consent form for each identifiable human subject in the file. Contact the Editor-in-Chief for instructions on transmission of the file.  

Meeting Reports

Reports or transcripts of meetings related to peer-facilitated models should be analytical, relevant and/or practical, not simply summative. A key element of this type of submission is relevance to the target audience. Prospective authors are encouraged to contact the Editor-in-Chief in advance to discuss the suitability of a meeting report for submission.

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor are submitted to clarify or discuss a publication in the Journal.

Announcements

This Journal accepts announcements of meetings, workshops, and conferences, as well as funding opportunities and fellowships open to readers.

Other Types of Submissions

Submissions that do not fit one of the above types may be considered for publication. To discuss details, please contact the Editor-in-Chief.

Sponsorships

Please contact the Editor-in-Chief if interested in advertising products or services of interest to readers.

 

Questions?

Specific submission questions may be referred to the APLL Editor-in-Chief, at journal@pltlis.org.

 

Formatting Guidelines

This document provides details for formatting requirements. Only carefully formatted and proofread documents will be accepted. Write clearly and simply for an audience that may have limited exposure or knowledge of peer-led learning and may not be well-versed in the specifics of the discipline in which PLTL or other peer-led interventions have been incorporated. Define any technical terms deemed to require clarification when they are introduced. Utilize acronyms after first use of a term that will use the acronym thereafter. Submissions may include video or audio links.

Type Font, Margins, Line Spacing, Page Numbering and Special Features  

Use the following settings: 12-point font, Times New Roman, and [under page setup] the margins are 1 inch for top, bottom and both sides.

Spacing: Single space between lines. Before and after paragraphs: 0. Double space between sections and subsections (Press Enter key twice).

Changing margins and/or fonts interferes with the automated process used by the publisher. The default specifications can be reset under the font and page setup menus from within Microsoft Word. Do not number the pages of the text and do not use pagination, headers, footers, or endnotes. 

A template will be used to accomplish formatting for the final version of the article. The final copy is nonstandard, and authors should not try to anticipate it by incorporating special features. 

Cover Letter

The Corresponding Author must submit a cover letter/email message indicating that the submission is being sent exclusively to this journal and why the author(s) believe this journal is appropriate for the submitted work. The letter/email should indicate the type of submission. Any conflict of interest must be disclosed here; for example, if there is a connection between an author and a commercial product used or reported.

Section 1: Title, Author Information  

Center the title of the paper, Times New Roman, 12-point, bold, at the top of the first page of the submission, possibly continuing on successive lines (single-spaced).

Provide author information single spaced below the title, Times New Roman, 12-point, normal. 

List authors in the order the names should appear upon publication. On separate lines (single spaced and left-justified) include: 

1) author name (first name followed by last name), 

2) author affiliation (department, institution, and institution address) (may be multiple lines), 

3) contact information (telephone number), and 

4) e-mail address.

Repeat this block for each author of a multiple-authored paper.

Indicate the Corresponding Author for the submission.

Section 2: Abstract and Keywords

All submissions must include an abstract and identify keywords. Abstracts must be no more than 200 words, left-justified, Times New Roman, 12 point normal and 1.5 line spacing. Provide one paragraph as a brief overview, which should highlight the major sections of the submission.

At least five key words or phrases from the text of the article should be included in this section, left-justified, Times New Roman, 12 point normal, two double spaces below the abstract.

Section 2 should not exceed one page.

Section 3: Body of the Submission  

The main body of the text will start on page 3. The text may be organized into sections and subsections. The section headings are left-justified, Times New Roman, 12 point normal, underlined, with the first letter of the first word capitalized and all others in lower case. Do not use automatic enumeration provided by the word processor. Double space between sections and subsections. Indent paragraphs (five spaces) and use single space between paragraphs. 

Introduction

As appropriate, describe the submission, and why it was written. This section may include background, historical context or other introductory material.

Other Sections

Include other sections as appropriate for the submission type. The following are some suggestions: literature review, methods, examples, results, discussion, conclusion, and suggestions for future research.

The submission may include a formal methods section, where tools (questionnaires, interview questions, etc.) are described. The tools themselves as used in the study are to be submitted as part of supplemental materials in separate documents from the main submission. 

Citations in Text

Appropriately cite all references to other published works included in the paper, using APA style, Seventh Edition. Include a list of references as the last section in the paper (see below). Following APA style, references to published works of others in the text must be indicated by a citation consisting of author(s) and year in parentheses (for example: Eilon, Johnson & Smith, 1971; Davis, 1991). Any citation must have a full reference in the References section. For in-text citations with multiple authors, after the first use of the in-text citation use the abbreviated form of the in-text citation (for example: Eilon, et al., 1971).

Tables and Figures  

Include all figures and tables within the submission where the authors would place them. Make sure to provide clear figure numbers, and appropriate titles, using this format:

Table 1. Title

Tables must be listed sequentially. Abbreviations, terminology, and p-values should be consistent across all tables. Each table must have its own title above and any additional description below (in 10-point font) with an explanation of each abbreviation used (excluding standard statistical abbreviations), if applicable. Statistical significance should be denoted with an asterisk and explained in the description.

Figure 1. Title.

Figures must be listed sequentially. Abbreviations, terminology, and p-values should be consistent across all figures. Each figure must have its own title above and any additional description below (in 10-point font) with an explanation of each abbreviation used (excluding standard statistical abbreviations), if applicable. Statistical significance should be denoted with an asterisk and explained in the description.

Use a consistent number of decimal places. All table columns must have headings. Graph axes must be labeled. Keep graphs simple. Appropriate legends should be included (if applicable).

Acknowledgments

Provide acknowledgments immediately following the last paragraph. Funding sources for the study are acknowledged first followed by those individuals who contributed to the work.

 References  

List all articles, papers, and books referenced in the paper immediately following the Acknowledgments. Please refer to the latest APA reference guidelines (https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/apa_changes_7th_edition.html).