The purpose of these briefs is to summarize educational psychology research in an easily digestible form for teachers, administrators, and other educational community members, focusing on implications for evidence-based practice. The goal is to share research based practices with teachers, school leaders, and the academic community. Briefs, which are peer reviewed by members of the division, will be 2 pages but can reference longer documents. The authors must be willing to work with Division 15 and with professional organizations, such as the National Education Association, in preparing and formatting the brief and developing dissemination strategies. Division 15 members and others (who are willing to join Division 15 or collaborate with a Division 15 member) are encouraged to submit proposals for briefs that offer immediately useful information to practitioners on timely topics. A template highlighting key elements and length of final briefs can be found here: https://apadiv15.org/wp-
Potential authors outside of Division 15 are encouraged to find a Division 15 collaborator. Email the Committee Chair, Alysia Roehrig at [email protected], if you are looking for a collaborator. Potential authors are also encouraged to send a short abstract (approx. 250 words) of their brief idea to the Chair for initial feedback before submitting a proposal. Note that briefs do not need to be based on a single publication (though they could summarize the practical implications of a published synthesis paper or other paper in progress). The key is that the recommendations made in a brief are based on a solid evidence base (multiple studies).
In 2024, preference will be given to proposals that support the rehumanizing and replenishing themes of President Dionne Cross Francis (see: https://apadiv15.org/wp-Proposals for briefs should contain the following: (1) How the authors frame the problem being addressed, (2) summary of some of the major research findings (2 or more examples), (3) summary of some of the implications for practice (2 or more examples), (4) specification of the primary and secondary audiences that would be addressed (e.g., teachers, administrators, parents, policy makers, professional development providers), (5) the author(s)’ qualifications for writing the brief (including previous research publications, experience writing for educators, etc.), and (6) the names and contact information of 2-3 other experts in the field who could be invited to review the brief. Proposals should be 1-3 pages in length, single spaced, and should be submitted by August 15, 2024. Although no funding can be provided to aid in the preparation of briefs at this time, writing a brief does offer a service opportunity that can have potentially significant practical impact as well as being a peer-reviewed publication.