Write For The Learning Professional
The Learning Professional is the flagship publication of Learning Forward. The magazine is published six times a year and is included in all categories of membership in Learning Forward. Issues are organized around themes; each issue also includes non-thematic articles. Articles that are appropriate for an announced theme are more likely to be published. Upcoming themes and a submission form are listed below.
Learning Forward members and the field rely on The Learning Professional for practical articles about timely professional learning topics and strategies. The editors look for articles that reflect the Standards for Professional Learning and that are written in an engaging, complete, and concise manner.
The Learning Professional offers no payment for articles. The Learning Professional is not peer- or blind-reviewed. Decisions regarding publication are made by the editor and staff. We reserve the right to reject poor quality or untimely material, whether solicited or otherwise, at any time during the editing process. Initial acceptance of an article is not a guarantee of publication.
Manuscripts, editorial correspondence, and questions about submissions should be sent to christy.colclasure@learningforward.org.
The Learning Professional 2026 themes
AI in professional learning: February 2026
Artificial intelligence is rapidly shifting the landscape of education. What are the implications for professional learning? This issue will examine a variety of uses of AI in professional learning, from coaching to professional learning communities to online courses. Articles might share research, frameworks, personal experiences, and advice for how to – and perhaps how not to – integrate AI into professional learning. Authors are encouraged to cover advantages, limitations, and key considerations for users.
Submissions due December 15, 2025
The science of learning: April 2026
Research from neuroscience and cognitive psychology illuminates many facets of how we learn. Integrating that knowledge into professional learning is essential for ensuring that learning designs improve educators’ knowledge and skills and ultimately benefit students. This issue will explore advances in the learning sciences and how to apply them in professional learning. Articles might include how schools are designing their professional learning experiences in alignment with neuroscience principles such as minimizing cognitive load and chunking information, how professional learning can model science-based approaches to teaching and learning that educators can then apply with their classrooms, and stories of how schools are moving away from learning theories that have been debunked (e.g., learning styles). Real-world examples will be given priority, but theoretical contributions and advice are also welcome.
Submissions due January 15, 2026
Coaching for all: June 2026
High-quality coaching benefits educators in all roles including teachers, principals, central office leaders, and even coaches themselves. This issue will explore best practices and recent research in coaching. Articles might examine successful leadership coaching strategies, system-wide approaches that differentiate coaching by role, and support for developing coaching skills. Articles may provide advice for coaches and their supervisors or for the teachers and leaders who work with coaches. Tools and processes for supporting coaching are also welcome.
Submissions due March 1, 2026
Teacher voice: August 2026
Meaningful learning opportunities for teachers simultaneously address system-wide goals for rigorous student learning and encourage teachers’ agency and authority as experts. This issue will highlight approaches and examples of professional learning that embody that combination and foster teachers’ choice, leadership, and self-efficacy. Articles might address policies and structures that encourage teacher-driven professional learning, advice for facilitators about encouraging all teachers’ input and engagement, and how to overcome barriers to authentic teacher voice. Authors are encouraged to write from a variety of perspectives – teacher, school leader, professional learning facilitator, and beyond.
Submissions due May 1, 2026
Differentiating learning: October 2026
Differentiation is key for meeting all students’ needs but is often cited as one of the biggest challenges for educators. This issue will explore how professional learning can build educators’ capacity to differentiate instruction to students with neurodiverse profiles, varying levels of skill, types of language proficiency, and more. Articles might explore how professional learning approaches such as learning walks and coaching help teachers learn to differentiate instruction, how to build teachers’ capacity for implementing rigorous high-quality curriculum in ways that meet all students’ specific needs, and how differentiating professional learning can provide modeling for differentiating student instruction.
Submissions due July 1, 2026
December 2026
More information to come.
Submission deadline: September 1, 2026
Submission guidelines
The Learning Professional looks for brief (2,000-2,500 words) manuscripts that are helpful to practicing pre-K-12 educators and administrators, as well as those who support their work (e.g., nonprofit organizations, higher education). Published articles will have as their primary focus professional learning and may include the purpose and goals of the learning, what the learning looks like, the support and context related to successful implementation, who is involved, and the results and impact of the learning.
Our primary audience is education leaders, including superintendents and other district staff; principals and assistant principals; directors of professional learning, directors of curriculum and instruction, and other administrators responsible for professional learning; instructional coaches and other leaders of professional learning; lead teachers and classroom teachers; along with those who lead, conceive, or evaluate professional learning from organizations outside of schools or school systems, for example universities and non-profit organizations.
Highest consideration will be given to work that is aligned with the Standards for Professional Learning and can provide data demonstrating improvements in educator practices and/or student learning.
We prefer articles written in an informal, conversational style. Writers should avoid educational jargon and complicated phrasing. They should write in simple, direct sentences. When appropriate, writers may share their stories in the first person.
We discourage the use of lengthy quotations from other published work. References to previous research and writing should be in support of and woven into the writer’s unique arguments or insights. We look for articles that make a unique contribution and generally do not publish literature reviews unless they have a new and specific application or insight.
Writers should look for opportunities to break out interesting information into separate "sidebars'' to run with the main article.
If methodology is essential for understanding, please include that in a sidebar and not in the main text of the manuscript. Writers also can include a list of additional resources (books, articles, videos, web sites) that are not referenced directly in the article. Where appropriate, graphs and charts also can be used to illustrate key points. Writers should provide the raw data for such charts and not attempt to produce a publishable graphic on their own.
We ask that you not submit manuscripts that are currently under consideration or in process with another publication.
Submit your manuscript using the form below
Format for submissions:
No manuscript should exceed 12 pages, including references and charts. Please number the pages and include the author's name next to the page number on each page.
Cover page should include
- Suggested title of article. (Please note that all titles are subject to change by Learning Forward.)
- Writer's name.
- The theme and date of issue for which the manuscript is being submitted.
- Complete contact information for the writer(s), including phone, address, and e-mail address. This information is essential for follow up contact.
- Writer's current professional position. You may also identify any major articles or books you have recently published.
- A word count.
Learning Forward acknowledges every manuscript that is received. Writers should expect a confirmation message within several weeks of the manuscript deadline.
The Learning Professional editor and other staff review each submission to determine its appropriateness for The Learning Professional. Manuscripts are either accepted as submitted, returned for revisions, or rejected.
Queries
An early option for writers: Well in advance of the final deadline, writers can submit by e-mail a brief synopsis of a few hundred words regarding an article they would like to write. Either the editor or the director of communications of The Learning Professional will respond regarding the appropriateness of the idea and offer early guidance about producing such an article.
Style and references
Writers are responsible for providing complete and accurate references, as appropriate. For references, The Learning Professional adapts guidelines established in the most recent Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Please be sure to consult APA's 2020 revision of the manual; new requirements include noting a DOI number when applicable. Writers are expected to ensure that their references comply with those guidelines.
Cite references in text like this (Sparks, 1997) and list them in bibliographic form at the end of the article. See a recent issue of The Learning Professional for examples of citations.
Authors bear full responsibility for the accuracy of citations, quotations, and information supplied for figures and charts. For questions of spelling, we use Webster's Eleventh Edition Collegiate Dictionary.
Where appropriate, writers also can include a list of additional resources, even if they are not directly cited in the article.
The editing process
If your article is accepted, it will be edited for publication by the editor and managing editor and will also be copy edited.
During this process, the editor is likely to contact you to clarify certain points. Because we strive for high-quality writing, your article is likely to undergo substantial editing, including some rewriting and reorganizing. Remember that this is a normal part of the editing process for any publication with high standards. Don't be startled or upset that an editor is changing your article. The editor's goal is to produce the most readable and interesting article possible for the magazine's targeted audience. Your help and understanding in this process is greatly appreciated.
You will receive an edited version to review, correct, and approve. Typically, you will be asked to return the article within several days.
When you receive this final edited version, you also will receive a copyright form. Signing that form gives Learning Forward permission to print your article in The Learning Professional, to post it on our web site, and to use it for other electronic purposes. When signing this form, you verify that your work is original. Authors are responsible for citing other works as appropriate and seeking permissions to include artifacts or elements that are not original.
Photographs
The Learning Professional encourages writers to submit appropriate photographs to illustrate their articles. We prefer full-color, high-resolution (minimum 300 dpi) jpgs.
When a photograph has been accepted, please include a note with each photograph that:
- Identifies the individuals pictured;
- Describes what they are doing and where; and
- Names the photographer.
Writers are responsible for obtaining written permission for publication from the subjects of the photographs. If photographs have been published by a local newspaper or magazine, we will make the necessary contacts to obtain those photos if you will provide us with the appropriate information. The Learning Professional also will bear the cost of purchasing such photographs.
When your article is published
Writers in North America receive one complimentary copy of the issue containing their published articles. Those copies will be mailed as soon as they are received in The Learning Professional office. All other authors will receive a PDF of their article upon request. In addition, writers will receive instructions for purchasing additional copies if they wish to do so.
