Suffolk Reporter

The Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) at Stony Brook University has launched a new international, peer-reviewed, open-access journal named the International Journal of Transformative Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (IJTTL). The journal aims to enhance teaching and learning practices globally.

The inaugural issue, titled "Mapping and Reimagining the State of Higher Education," is now available online. It includes seven articles on diverse topics such as health inequities, virtual exchange programs, and artificial intelligence. IJTTL serves as a platform for faculty, researchers, graduate students, and educators worldwide to contribute to transformative education research.

Yiren Kong, founder and editor-in-chief of IJTTL, led the journal's creation. Kong emphasized the need for a platform that allows educators to share their research ideas. "When we spoke with faculty, we realized that many of them had ideas for educational studies but lacked a dedicated platform to share their research," said Kong. "This journal was born out of that need — to provide a space where their voices could be heard and their work could have a broader impact."

Kong joined Stony Brook in 2022 as a postdoctoral researcher and now works as an educational research and grant development specialist at CELT. He collaborated with colleagues Kimberly Bell, associate editor; Rose Tirotta-Esposito, CELT Director; and Hyunjin Jinna Kim to establish IJTTL.

The team worked with Stony Brook University Libraries and publisher Academic Commons on the academic publishing process. Kong shared that it was a lengthy endeavor: "We spent a year and half defining the scope, setting up the infrastructure, and ensuring everything was in place from copyright policies to submission guidelines."

The first call for abstracts attracted submissions from scholars across various institutions. Following a rigorous review process, the inaugural issue was published in January 2025. Although still early days for the journal, reception has been positive. "We've shared information about IJTTL at different academic conferences and educational forums," said Kong. "There is a real demand for a platform like this."

Stony Brook faculty have already contributed to IJTTL. Shyam Sharma's article provides insights into pedagogy within the Program in Writing and Rhetoric. While CELT supports faculty research contributions are voluntary: “We don’t want to pressure anyone to publish with us — we want this to be an inviting and inclusive platform for educational discourse,” noted Kong.

IJTTL plans to publish at least one issue annually with another edition expected before fall semester begins. As momentum builds around IJTTL's mission of improving teaching practices through research-informed approaches becomes clearer.

“This is a movement toward more research-informed student-centered approach higher education,” stated Kong.

“A huge thank you Yiren leading effort!” said Tirotta-Esposito adding achievement highlights exceptional talent within team marks important step positioning CELT leader educational research strong commitment improving reflected look forward valuable contributions academic community.”

For those interested contributing visit website find more information about submission guidelines opportunities involvement future editions publications emerging scholarship fields transformative teaching learning environments academia beyond

— Beth Squire