Textbook and journal authors usually learn useful fundamental approaches and tricks about teaching their subject. Sharing these ideas and becoming known as an educational expert in addition to being a subject material expert will increase their reputation as a scholarly teacher and may help with promotion and tenure. In addition, writing disciplinary education articles can help textbook authors increase adoptions and sales. Learn a step-by-step procedure for developing, writing and publishing a disciplinary education paper, including methods for negotiating the hazards of the peer review process. @ Copyright 2015 Phil Wankat

1. Educational Publishing in Your Discipline
Phil
Wankat
Dis-nguished
Professor
Purdue
Univ.
Editor
Chemical
Engineering
Educa0on
TAA
Conference,
Las
Vegas,
June
20,
2015

2. Why publish in disciplinary education journals?
Altruis-c
Reasons
1. Help
improve
educa-on
in
your
discipline
2. Want
to
share
effec-ve
teaching
methods
you
have
learned
3. Well
help
focus
your
teaching
improvement
efforts.
Career
Reasons
1. Helps
integrate
your
teaching
and
scholarship
and
can
give
you
a
campus
reputa-on
as
a
scholarly
teacher
2. May
help
with
promo-on
&
tenure
(P&T)
3. OQen
easier
to
earn
reputa-on
in
educa-on
than
in
research
4. Textbook
authors:
Reputa-on
as
both
an
educa-onal
expert
&
a
content
expert
can
increase
adop-ons
&
sales.
5. Educa-onal
publishing,
including
textbooks,
was
the
difference
that
made
me
a
dis-nguished
professor.

3. Why should you listen to me?
Editor, Textbook author, Author book for hire

4. Examples: Disciplinary Educational Journals
• CEE,
Educ.
for
Chemical
Engineers
•
J.
Chemical
Educa-on,
Educ.
in
Chemistry,
Physics
Educ.,
J.
Biological
Educ.,
Research
in
Science
Educ.,
J.
Geosience
Educ.,
Astronomy
Ed.
Review
• J.
Engineering
Educ.
(JEE),
Prism,
European
J.
Engr.
Educ.
(EJEE),
Intl
J.
Engr.
Educ
(IJEE),IEEE
Transac-ons
Educ.
(IEEE
Trans),
Technology
&
Engr.
Teacher
(TET),
Advances
Engr.
Educ.
• American
J.
Health
Educ.,
Medical
Educ.,
Nurse
Educ.
Today,
Nurse
Educ.
in
Prac-ce,
Pharmacy
Educ.,
Optometric
Educ.,
• Art
Educ.,
English
Educ.,
English
Educ.,
History
Educ.,
History
Teacher,
J.
Poli-cal
Science
Educ.,
Intl.
J.
Social
Educ.
• College
Teaching
–
all
disciplines.
Academe
–
AAUP
-­‐
issues
• Teaching
Journals
Directory:
h^p://cetl.kennesaw.edu/teaching-­‐journals-­‐directory

5. Where you publish can be important. Research
tier 1 or 2; Sub-discipline, Electronic-only
journal; Conference Proceedings, Magazine

6. Journal Differences
• Sub-­‐discipline
journals:
Tend
to
be
more
technically
oriented.
– Include
course
&
curriculum
development
– Authoring
a
paper
does
not
require
special
educa-onal
research
tools
• Electronic
only
journals:
OQen
thought
of
as
lower
quality,
but
may
not
be.
– Unfortunately,
there
have
been
a
number
of
predatory
journals
that
are
electronic
only.
The
journals
I
list
are
not
in
this
category.
• Magazines:
Prism
is
the
ASEE
magazine.
It
is
not
peer
reviewed
and
mostly
contains
ar-cles
by
professional
writers.
Since
all
ASEE
members
+
members
of
congress
&
other
opinion
leaders
receive
a
copy,
it
is
widely
read.
– For
8
years
I
co-­‐authored
a
column
in
Prism
on
Teaching.
Despite
being
limited
to
one
page
and
no
cita-ons,
it
was
fairly
widely
cited
and
reproduced.
I
was
invited
because
Prism
editors
thought
I
would
deliver
columns
on
-me.
– Not
peer
reviewed,
would
not
count
for
P&T,
but
many
more
readers
than
a
typical
research
paper.
Definitely
helped
my
name
recogni-on.

7. Educational Proceedings
• The
most
frequent
place
engineering
faculty
publish
are
in
conference
proceedings:
– Proceedings
ASEE
Annual
Conference
1300
–
1400
papers.
– Proceedings
Fron0ers
in
Educa0on
Conference
(IEEE
&
ASEE)
~150
papers.
– Peer
reviewed,
but
erra0cally.
– Both
conferences
are
publish
to
present,
but
paper
quality
varies
widely.
– All
papers
are
now
available
free
on
the
web.
• Contrast
this
with
the
~30
papers
per
year
in
JEE.
– Very
extensive
peer
review
• Proceedings
papers
cited
much
less
oQen
than
JEE
papers.
• Proceedings
papers
tend
to
be
dismissed
during
P&T.
• An
Aside
on
Books:
Textbooks
and
engineering
educa-on
books
are
extensively
cited,
but
not
included
in
SCI
or
Scopus.

8. Do Educational Publications Count for P&T?
• Maybe
• At
Research
1
Universi-es,
will
not
count
much
for
promo-on
to
Associate
Professor,
but
may
be
helpful
at
margin.
– Professors
hired
to
do
disciplinary
educa-on
research
are
excep-on.
• At
UG
ins-tu-ons,
will
bolster
teaching
side
for
all
promo-ons.
• At
Research
1
Universi-es
an
argument
can
be
made
for
promo-on
to
full
or
dis-nguished
professor
based
on
educa-onal
publica-ons
–
and
–
amazingly,
textbooks
count!
– Need
proof
of
external
impact
such
as
adop-ons.
• If
a
professor
has
good
teaching
ra-ngs,
educa-onal
publica-ons
can
help
one
receive
teaching
awards.

9. Do Educational Pubs help sell textbooks?
• Absolutely!
• I
am
invited
to
ins-tu-ons
based
on
educa-onal
publica-ons.
– Every
visit
is
a
chance
to
talk
about
textbooks.
– Professors
are
oQen
5
to
10
years
behind
on
what
is
in
my
text.
• Other
textbook
authors
(in
different
areas)
are
told
to
look
at
how
I
approach
example
problems.
This
can
lead
to
adop-ons
since
I
am
not
compe--on.
• If
the
word
gets
out
that
students
like
and
learn
from
your
textbook,
you
are
half
way
to
an
adop-on.
– S-ll
need
to
have
content
the
professors
want.
• Doing
the
study
and
research
for
educa-onal
publica-ons
will
improve
your
textbooks
if
you
follow
good
educa-onal
prac-ces.

10. Writing Education Papers – 1
Research
grants,
graduate
researchers,
and
teaching
-me
off
are
useful,
but
are
not
needed
–
do
a
project
to
improve
your
regular
teaching.
Then
write
about
that.
1. Have
something
worth
saying.
– New
curriculum
or
new
course
– New
teaching
method.
– Thorough
pedagogical
literature
review.
– Reduced
D,
F,
and
withdrawals
in
core
course.
– Well
thought-­‐out
opinion
piece.
2. Study
recent
issues
educa-onal
journals
&
find
two
targets.
– Ed
journals
have
become
more
scholarly
and
older
papers
may
not
be
representa-ve
of
what
is
published
now.
3. Actually
read
the
journal’s
guide
for
authors.
– Most
authors
do
not.

11. Writing Education Papers – 2
4. Outline.
A
generic
outline
can
be
good
star-ng
point.
– Introduc-on
– Literature
review
with
both
subject
and
pedagogical
references
– Describe
course,
curriculum,
research,
etc.
with
emphasis
on
novelty
– Best
evidence:
improved
student
learning,
student
ajtude
surveys
common
– Discussion
and
further
improvements
5. If
your
paper
will
involve
student
data,
file
for
an
exemp=on
with
Ins=tu=onal
Review
Board
(IRB)
before
collec=ng
data.
6. Write.
– Get
something
down
on
paper.
Then
you
can
move
on.
7. Edit
and
revise.
– Proofread
and
spell
check.
Educa-onal
publica-ons
are
budget
opera-ons
and
cannot
afford
to
provide
editorial
services.
– Pull
out
the
guidelines
for
authors
and
make
sure
they
are
followed.
– Ask
a
colleague
to
read
and
comment.
– Polish.
Editors
dislike
receiving
rough
draQs.

12. Writing Education Papers – 3
8. Submit
– Follow
the
journals
rules.
Submission
is
usually
electronic.
Grit
your
teeth
and
do
it.
9. Although
few
authors
see
it
this
way,
editors
who
send
the
paper
back
with
a
request
for
polishing,
changes,
or
addi-ons
before
sending
it
out
for
review
are
doing
you
a
favor.
10. Follow
the
editor’s
advice.
You
want
the
editor
on
your
side.
Revise
and
send
paper
in
again.
– If
the
editor
states
the
paper
is
not
suitable
for
this
journal,
try
another.
11.
Wait

13. 11. Response from the Journal
• Editors
pay
a^en-on
to
reviews,
but
the
editor
decides.
• Read
editor’s
le^er
and
reviews
quickly
to
get
a
general
idea.
Then
read
the
le^er
very
carefully
– A
le^er
that
states,
“once
we
have
received
an
acceptable
version,
we
will
be
pleased
to
publish
your
paper”
or
something
similar
is
very
posi-ve.
– A
le^er
sta-ng
that
revisions
are
requested
and
implies
there
may
be
another
review
is
also
posi-ve
since
the
editor
is
asking
you
to
work
with
him
or
her
to
eventually
obtain
an
acceptable
version.
– A
rejec-on
with
encouragement
to
totally
rewrite
and
then
resubmit
is
not
posi-ve,
but
there
is
hope
since
the
editor
saw
some
worthwhile
parts.
– An
outright
rejec-on
with
no
encouragement
to
resubmit
means
you
go
to
your
second
choice
journal;
however,
use
the
reviews
to
improve
the
paper
before
submijng
again
–
the
same
reviewer
may
receive
the
paper.
• If
result
is
a
rejec-on,
it
is
healthy
to
vent
–
privately.
–
Write
in
Word,
NOT
e-­‐mail,
a
le^er
sta-ng
what
you
think
of
the
reviewers.
Do
not
send
it.
– AQer
an
hour
or
two,
it
is
-me
to
get
back
to
work.

14. 12. Responding to Reviews
• Occasionally,
all
reviewers
of
a
paper
accept
without
changes.
– Twice
in
twenty
years
of
edi-ng.
• Reviewers
comments
can
be:
– insighrul
or
dead
wrong,
– self-­‐serving
(cite
my
publica-ons)
– complimentary
or
nasty
– comment
on
English
only
(oQen
useful)
– suggest
a
lot
more
work
(if
they
are
correct,
but
you
do
not
want
to
do
the
work,
the
argument
that
this
would
greatly
lengthen
the
paper
oQen
works)
– contradict
other
reviews.
• To
deal
with
this
variety
– Listen
to
the
editor.
If
the
editor
says
pay
a^en-on
to
part
of
a
review
–
do
it.
– If
the
reviewers
are
correct,
make
the
changes.
– If
a
reviewer
claims
a
sentence
or
paragraph
is
hard
to
understand,
it
is.
Revise
– If
a
reviewer
is
wrong,
explain
respecrully
why
the
comment
is
wrong
– Contradictory
reviews
are
oQen
a
good
argument
for
not
changing
a
sec-on.

15. What editors (or at least this editor) want
• A
sincere
effort
to
improve
the
paper.
– If
the
author
makes
75-­‐80%
of
the
suggested
changes
(including
trivial
typographical
errors
and
including
any
that
I
explicitly
asked
for)
I
will
usually
accept
the
paper.
• Authors
who
will
work
with
me
to
improve
the
paper.
• Common
courtesy
– Politely
asking
about
the
progress
of
your
paper
is
certainly
OK,
and
can
help
the
journal
catch
papers
that
have
slid
from
view.
– Cursing
and
harassing
the
managing
editor
and/or
the
editor
via
e-­‐mail
or
phone
will
not
get
your
paper
and
any
subsequent
papers
published.
• Honesty
– If
the
paper
was
presented
at
a
conference,
state
this
in
acknowledgments.
– If
a
conference
paper
was
published,
cite
that
paper.
– CEE
requires
that
conference
publica-ons
be
enhanced
with
approximately
a
third
of
the
paper
being
new
material.
– Do
not
cite
your
own
papers
if
you
would
not
cite
an
equivalent
paper
from
another
author.

16. Teaching books in your discipline
The
1st
edi-on
of
Teaching
Engineering
survived
for
22
years
–
the
last
18
as
free
on
the
web.
I
did
not
make
money,
but
I
earned
a
lot
of
good
will,
cita-ons,
and
renown.
Teaching
Engineering
is
the
most
adopted
book
in
this
area
(there
is
only
1
other
book).
Student
e-­‐book
Version
of
2nd
edi-on
is
available
through
Skyepack
for
$10.
Consider
wri-ng
a
teaching
book
for
your
discipline.

17. Questions

18. Preview of Optional Workshop
• Many
professors
think
that
publishing
educa-onal
papers
is
quite
different
than
publishing
disciplinary
research.
• This
is
true
–
in
most
disciplines
it
is
easier
to
publish
educa-onal
papers.
Only
hard
part
can
be
obtaining
IRB
approval
–
and
that
is
usually
only
needed
for
rigorous
research.
Classroom
research
usually
rates
an
exemp-on.
• The
goal
of
the
workshop
is
to
get
a^endees
started
on
a
project
to
publish
an
educa-onal
paper,
provide
personal
a^en-on,
&
develop
enough
momentum
that
you
will
finish.
• I
am
also
happy
to
discuss
wri-ng
a
book
on
teaching.
• AQer
a
short
break,
we
will
do
the
short
workshop
por-on.
• Note:
workshop
will
not
run
over
as
I
have
a
2:25
flight.

19. B
R
E
A
K
•
5
minutes

20. WORKSHOP
1. Decide
on
a
tenta-ve
topic
for
a
paper
– New
curriculum
or
new
course
– New
teaching
method.
– Thorough
literature
review.
– Reduced
D,
F,
and
withdrawals
in
core
course.
– Well
thought-­‐out
opinion
piece
– What
ever
2. Iden-fy
a
target
journal
and
a
backup.
If
no
idea,
go
to
h^p://cetl.kennesaw.edu/teaching-­‐journals-­‐directory
3. Study
the
target
journal’s
web
page
&
sample
issue.
If
the
journal
fits
your
tenta-ve
paper,
proceed
4. Read
the
journal’s
instruc-ons
to
authors.

21. WORKSHOP - 2
5. AQer
iden-fying
a
topic
and
target
journal,
outline
the
paper.
6. The
outline
will
focus
you
on
what
addi-onal
work
needs
to
be
done.
– Introduc-on
–
you
can
probably
write
this
now.
– Literature
review
with
both
subject
and
pedagogical
references
–
you
probably
need
to
do
a
review
of
pedagogical
references.
– Describe
course,
curriculum,
research,
etc.
with
emphasis
on
novelty
–
may
need
your
pedagogical
literature
review
to
see
what
is
novel.
– For
papers
about
course
or
curriculum
improvements,
evidence
of
student
learning
is
best,
but
if
not
available
survey
student
ajtudes
–
for
this
type
of
paper
probably
need
to
collect
some
student
data.
Before
star=ng
data
collec=on
file
for
an
exemp=on
with
your
local
IRB.
– Discussion
and
further
improvements
–
although
early,
good
-me
to
think
about
the
significance
of
your
results
and
what
next.
7. Devise
a
work
plan
to
do
what
needs
to
be
done.