SCIPIE Connections: An Edited Series

SCIPIE Connections is an online edited series organized by the Scholarly Consortium for Innovative Psychology in Education (SCIPIE). The series is a collection of ideas and essays that synthesize empirical research with practice in the field of educational psychology. We especially welcome essays by doctoral students and pre-tenure faculty. Each published work describes psychological theory and supporting literature and applies educational psychology and related innovations in practical contexts. This outlet is meant to help readers recognize the value of educational psychology and to disseminate new ideas in the field.  

Who is our audience?

The field and beyond. Our goal is to publish short, impactful essays and ideas that appeal to both educational psychologists and general education practitioners. Submissions should be based on sound empirical research and include rich description of theory and illustrative examples. The writing should be enticing to scholars at all levels as well as teachers, students, and the general public. Thus, they should be written in a non-jargony and descriptive manner. The essays are published to the SCIPIE website and disseminated to our membership via our organization’s listserve, Facebook page, and twitter account.

Why should I publish in SCIPIE Connections?

SCIPIE Connections provides a forum for early scholars to make an impact with their new ideas. The edited series provides an outlet where scholars can share their innovations with SCIPIE members and established members of the education psychological community. As a submission undergoes revisions, our unique review process is managed as a conversation between the author and reviewer, providing an opportunity for valuable feedback. Published authors will receive a letter of acceptance from the editorial board and can monitor the number of reads on our website and social media channels to document their impact on the scholarly community.

Philosophy

Educational psychology has an identity crisis. Many people don’t know what we do or why it matters. Psychological theory can be used to change peoples’ thinking and solve problems. Our goal is to make that explicit and visible to a wide audience. Motivation, engagement, cognition, attitudes, beliefs, knowledge construction, and misconceptions, among other ideas, are concepts within education psychology that can be used to make positive change and move the broader field of education forward. Thus, authors should hook in readers with an interesting idea related to education and describe how the idea is informed by educational psychology and related scientific evidence.

Style: Be descriptive but succinct.

Write for the Everyday Psychologist. Although our primary audience is emerging and advanced scholars, we want students, teachers, administrators, and others to enjoy and learn from SCIPIE Connections as well. Therefore, be descriptive. Elaborate on the scientific concepts. Provide explicit real world examples that are meaningful to people.

Trigger and Maintain Reader Interest. Ignite curiosity through educational issues or everyday problems that are personally relevant to many readers. Readers will want to develop a new perspective on an issue or to learn how a problem can be solved. Use educational psychology theory and research to develop the concept or solve the issue of interest in your essay.

Essay Components

Every submission should include the following elements:

• Title: The title should grab the attention of readers while accurately reflecting the topic of your essay. Titles should be no more than 52 characters.
• Summary: The essay should start with a 100-word summary (separate from the body) that explains the focus of your essay. The summary should capture the hook of your submission and the key takeaway message, drawing in the reader.
• Main Submission: SCIPIE connections accepts two types of submissions: Essays and Ideas.
  • Essays are longer, more developed pieces that can be up to 4000 words. 
  • Ideas are shorter, catchier pieces and can be up to 2000 words.
• Image Embedding: Authors are required to submit an image with their essay. Authors can use their own images. Authors who do not have an image and encouraged to choose an image from Getty Images (http://www.gettyimages.com/) that captures the voice of their submission. Include the “embed code” for the image in your submission.
• Bibliography: Please include a complete, APA-style bibliography of all sources you consulted to complete your submission.

Draft Paper Format Guidelines

Every submission should be formatted according to the following guidelines:

• Title of Paper: The title must be centered with at least a one and one-half inch margin on the left and right.
  • Font: Times New Roman typeface is required, bold faced, 14 point.
  • Author and Affiliation: Submissions are done in a double blind. No author or affiliation information is to be included on any abstracts or draft papers. Auth or and affiliation are included on the submission form.
• First Page: The paper will be in a one-column format with left justification. There must be a one inch margin on the left, right, and bottom.
  • Font: Times New Roman typeface is required, 12 point, skipping one line between paragraphs.
  • Second and All Subsequent Pages: There must be a 1 inch margin all around (top, bottom, right, left) in one column format, left justification, skipping one line between paragraphs.
  • Font: Times New Roman typeface is required, 12 point, using only standard symbols and abbreviations in text and illustrations.
• Headings: Headings are not required but can be included. If used, headings must be left justified, lowercase, bolded, with the same font and size as the body of the paper. There must be only one blank line between the heading and the paragraph.
• Page Numbering: Do not number the pages.
• Biographical Information: APA Style 6th Edition

The Review Process

Submitting your essay or idea for review: Once you are ready to submit your work, click on the button below. From there you will then be prompted to complete a form with basic information about your submission.  Once the details of your submission have been addressed, you will then upload your file. Your file should be a .doc or .rtf file and should be formatted according to the guidelines described above. Submissions that do not conform to the guidelines will not be reviewed and returned to the author for resubmission.

Once your document has been submitted, you will soon receive an e-mail from the editor who will be reviewing your work.  The editor will provide an initial decision on the submission and assign a reviewer. Together, you and the reviewer will collaborate to make necessary revisions.  Upon completion of the reviewing process, your submission will enter into a brief copyediting phase with the editor and tech coordinator, and will be published soon thereafter. Once published to our website, a notification will be posted through our organization’s social media channels announcing the new publication.