Call for Special Issues
Below are special issues that are in development. More calls will be announced as they arise
NEW CALL FOR PAPERS: Special Issue on Cognitive Neuroscience Approaches to Learning Research
Learning Letters is excited to announce a call for papers for a special issue focused on "Cognitive Neuroscience Approaches to Learning Research". This special issue will explore the intersection of cognitive neuroscience and educational research, offering a platform multidisciplinary research that bridges educational, psychological, and neuroscientific perspectives.
Aim of the Special Issue
We seek contributions that highlight various cognitive neuroscience approaches within the learning science community. This special issue will present cutting-edge research and methodologies that inform learning across the lifespan, contributing to the broader understanding of how neural mechanisms underpin cognitive processes in educational contexts.
Suggested Topics of Interest
Authors are invited to submit papers on the following topics, although other relevant topics will also be considered:
- Multidisciplinary approaches linking educational, psychological, and neuroscience questions
- Latest developments in cognitive neuroscience methods informing learning processes
- Longitudinal studies on cognitive and neural processes related to learning
- Neural processes underlying the acquisition of reading, writing, and arithmetic skills
- Neural processes underlying learning difficulties
- How interventions shape brain structure and function
- Real-time studies of brain processes during learning
Educational Contexts
We welcome submissions set in diverse contexts, including:
- Formal and informal learning situations
- Laboratory and field settings
- Studies involving children, adults, and the elderly
- Academic skill learning, including reading, writing, and arithmetic
Submission Guidelines
- Articles should be concise, with a maximum of 2,500 words, focusing on results and outputs rather than extensive literature reviews and background.
- Each published article can be supported with a learning module in LIFT Learning, where authors can share additional background, engage in informal discussions, and present findings through videos and other resources. The Learning Letters editors will provide learning design support to help authors create engaging learning modules.
Deadline for Submissions
- *NEW DEADLINE* 29 November 2024: Title, keywords, and 200-250-word abstract must be submitted directly by email to the guest editors, Professor Jarmo Hämäläinen a.hamalainen@jyu.fi and Professor Yi-Fang Hsu yifanghsu@ntnu.edu.tw
- 13 December 2024: Notifications of abstract acceptance by this date.
- 31 January 2025: Drafts of full papers due. Please submit your full paper through the Learning Letters submission system: https://learningletters.org/index.php/learn/about/submissions
- April 2025: Publication of special issue
Where and How to Submit
- Title, keywords, and 200-250-word abstract must be submitted directly by email to the guest editors, Professor Jarmo Hämäläinen a.hamalainen@jyu.fi and Professor Yi-Fang Hsu yifanghsu@ntnu.edu.tw
- Drafts of full papers will be submitted through the Learning Letters submission system: https://learningletters.org/index.php/learn/about/submissions
Artificial Intelligence and Educational Assessment – Opportunities and Threats
Artificial Intelligence and Educational Assessment – Opportunities and Threats
As artificial intelligence (AI) technologies become more sophisticated and accessible, we are witnessing an acceleration in their transformative influence on educational assessment. AI offers the potential to personalize feedback, streamline assessment processes, and provide deeper, reportable insights into learner behaviour. It also brings forward concerns, including those centring on validity, assessment policy, academic integrity, equity, and the ethical development and uses of educational technology. This rapid evolution and its implications have led to concerns and aspirations among students, teachers, learning designers, administrators, and policy makers.
The rapidity and magnitude of AI’s impact on educational assessment create a timely imperative for careful, systematic exploration and critique of AI’s roles in relationship to educational assessment. In response to this priority, Learning Letters announces a call for papers for our special issue, Artificial Intelligence and Educational Assessment: Opportunities and Threats.
Aim of the Special Issue
We encourage contributions that investigate the practical implementation and scalability of AI-driven assessment solutions, offering valuable guidance for institutions and educators seeking to harness the full potential of these technologies while maintaining academic integrity and ethical standards. We invite researchers to submit their work to this special issue, contributing to the ongoing discourse and shaping the future of educational assessment in an AI-enhanced educational landscape.
Suggested Topics of Interest
Authors may use the following suggested topic areas as guidance, but we welcome author-initiated topics that are relevant to the aim of the special issue.
- Threats to the validity of interpreting assessment results shaped by AI.
- Opportunities presented by AI for innovating assessment task designs and methodologies.
- AI-enhanced formative assessment and AI-enhanced feedback
- Emerging tensions at the nexus of AI and assessment, including balancing perceived benefits and inherent risks.
- Emerging tensions around the promises and threats in equitable uses of AI, relating to educational assessment.
- Ethical concerns surrounding contemporary AI models and their uses of data.
- The challenges posed to academic integrity by AI: What are the risks, and how can they be mitigated?
- Policymaking imperatives in the meeting place of AI and assessment: What are foundational principles for schools, universities, and overarching entities? How should these be conceptualized and operationalised?
Educational Contexts
We welcome submissions set in diverse educational backgrounds, including:
- K-12 education
- Higher and further education
- Faculty professional development
- Vocational education and training
- Teacher education and development
- Educational policy, spanning institutional to national spectrums
- Development and implementation of educational technology
Submission Guidelines
Types of articles accepted
- Original and developing qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods research
- Rapid reviews
- Theoretical/conceptual pieces
Format, length, style
Articles are limited to 2,500 words in order to present succinct research. Supplementary material can be lodged in electronic format, including publication of data, scripts, and additional methodological procedures. Larger datasets must be deposited in recognised public domain databases by the author.
The 2,500 word limit is for the manuscript body. The abstract and references are not included in the word count. ALL other text is included. The word count is strictly enforced. Please keep figures and tables to a minimum.
Full submission guidelines may be found here: https://learningletters.org/index.php/learn/about/submissions
Key dates & deadlines
- 31 January 2024 (NEW DEADLINE): Submission of title, keywords and 200-250-word abstract.
- 9 February (NEW DEADLINE): Notifications of abstract acceptance by this date.
- 08 March 2024: Draft of full papers due.
- May 2024: Final versions of revised paper due.
- August 2024: Publication of special issue.
Where and how to submit
- Title, keywords, and 200-250-word abstract must be submitted directly by email to the guest editor, Associate Professor Chris Deneen: chris.deneen@unisa.edu.au
- Drafts of full papers will be submitted through the Learning Letters submission system: https://learningletters.org/index.php/learn/about/submissions
For questions regarding the special issue, please contact Associate Professor Chris Deneen: chris.deneen@unisa.edu.au
