Teaching Practice Briefs
The ACES Teaching Practice Briefs present concise scholarly summaries and practical guides that describe teaching innovations and instructional strategies pertinent to counselor education.
Briefs provide creative, evidence-based practices to promote high quality teaching, inclusive learning environments, curricular transformation, and excellence in counselor education instructional design. TPBs offer counselor educators (a) quick reference guides on a variety of topics pertaining to teaching strategies, learning environments, and translating community engaged practices to classroom settings, and (b) creative, evidence-based ideas for counseling instruction from within counselor education and across educational or helping disciplines. All briefs are masked and peer-reviewed prior to publication.
Plans for the TPBs were guided by the 2021-2022 ACES Teaching Committee and the selected co-editors, Dr. Clare Merlin-Knoblich and Dr. Javier F. Casado Pérez. The editors, along with the TPB Editorial Board, will publish two issues of TPBs each year in Winter and Summer. The call for the second issue has closed.
Inquiries about the TPBs may be sent to teachingbriefs@acesonline.net.
Call for Vol. II, Issue I Teaching Practice Briefs
Do you have an innovative teaching practice to share about doctoral counselor education? Are you looking for a professional peer-reviewed publication outlet for such teaching practices? If so, ACES invites you to submit a Teaching Practice Brief to its new resource for counselor educators, the ACES Teaching Practice Briefs (TPBs).
The theme of the third issue of the TPBs is Critical Topics in Doctoral Counselor Education. We invite scholars to share their best teaching innovations and instructional strategies that prepare doctoral students to respond to critical social issues as disciplinary leaders.
For a full description of the issue theme and submission requirements, please click here. The deadline to submit briefs for consideration in the third issue of the TPBs is September 1, 2023. All submissions will be anonymously peer-reviewed and accepted briefs will be published in early 2024.
Briefs and inquiries may be submitted to teachingbriefs@acesonline.net.

Inaugural Issue Theme
Antiracist Teaching and Fostering Inclusive Classrooms
The term “antiracism” has been used increasingly in the past few years in counselor education and other settings; yet, little literature has explored what this idea means in practice in the counseling classroom. Williams, Byrd, and Washington (2021) describe antiracism as a conscious effort – actions that counter racism and its impact on the lives of racially minoritized communities. They call for counselor education to contend with its established cannon, which centers Western European contributions to curricular material and instructional designs, and open avenues by which counselor educators may critically innovate teaching informed by critical race theory (Crenshaw et al., 1995; Delgado & Stefancic, 2017). Meanwhile, counselor education scholars continue to highlight the challenges faced by counseling students who identify as Black, Indigenous, or people of color (e.g., Basma et al., 2021; Hipolito-Delgado et al., 2021; Seward, 2019). In this issue, the TPB Board and Co-Editors seek briefs that feature evidence-based and creative teaching innovations and instructional strategies focused on antiracist teaching and fostering inclusive counseling classrooms. Teaching innovations and instructional strategies may be those that promote the inclusion of racially minoritized learners, those designed to intentionally create inclusive, anti-oppressive learning spaces, or those specifically targeting racialization and race-based stress in the classroom.
*See references below
2022-2023 Teaching Practice Briefs Editorial Board
Melissa Fickling,
Northern Illinois University
Ileana Gonzalez,
Johns Hopkins University
Marty Jencius,
Kent State University
Isak Kim,
University of Nebraska – Omaha
Dan Li,
University of North Texas
Ye (Agnes) Luo,
Tennessee Technological University
Kristin Rabb,
University of Rochester
Monique Rodriguez,
University of New Mexico
Suzy Thomas,
St. Mary’s College of California
Karen Cathey,
Winona State University
Assistant Editor of Copyediting
Leigh DeLorenzi,
Rollins College
Assistant Editor of Copyediting
Javier Casado Pérez,
The Pennsylvania State University
Co-Editor
Clare Merlin-Knoblich, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Co-Editor
Tamika Jackson,
College of William & Mary
Editorial Assistant
Teaching Practice Briefs Format and Author Guidelines
Briefs, minus the title page and references, must be between 6 and 8 single-spaced pages in length. Additional writing style and citation guidelines must follow the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.).
Briefs should be formatted for anonymous peer review and the title page should be submitted as a separate document. Brief abstracts should be a maximum of 100 words. The structure of submissions must adhere to the following TPBs format:
I. Author and Affiliation (separate title page conducive to blind peer review)
II. Abstract
III. Introduction
A. Relevant research and literature support
B. Rationale or knowledge gap
C. How the teaching innovation/instructional strategy addresses the need/knowledge gap
IV. Description of teaching innovation/instructional strategy
A. Application of the topic to counselor education
B. Ethical considerations for responding to learning diversity, classroom diversity, and fostering inclusive learning environments
C. Demonstrated reflexivity and intrapersonal awareness of the author(s)’ about potential impacts on the classroom
D. Suggested resources for implementation
V. Evaluation of effectiveness of teaching innovation/instructional strategy.
VI. Assessment tools/methods used in teaching innovation/instructional strategy to assess student learning
VII. Implications
A. Unanswered questions and/or limitations
B. Future directions for practice and research
VIII. References
All submissions can be directed to teachingbriefs@acesonline.net.
Teaching Practice Briefs Guidelines for Reviewers
Reviewers are asked to follow the reviewer guidelines here when reviewing Teaching Practice Briefs. Authors may benefit from considering these guidelines prior to submitting their brief.

History of the Teaching Practice Briefs
In 2021, the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) governing council created the special committee on teaching. Committee members represented the five different ACES regions and included two ACES emerging leaders.
Over the course of the academic year, the committee worked to envision and establish the processes and procedures of TPBs. The committee created a guiding blueprint for the TPBs proposed content, structure, rubrics, and submission timelines. The committee also recruited co-editors and board members. Together with the committee, the co-editors revised the guiding document and developed the call for the inaugural issue of the briefs, which will focus on teaching innovations that center diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as antiracist instructional strategies. The inaugural issue is slated for publication in January 2023.
Calls for Briefs
Calls for TPBs will consist of two categories: Themed Issues and Open Submissions. The Editorial Team aims to publish biannual issues in January and June. Published issues will be housed on the ACES webpage (acesonline.net).
Themed Issues cover special topics in counselor education. Briefs will focus on such areas as innovative/emerging practices, evidence-based instructional design, assessment of teaching and learning, doctoral student preparation, program structure and culture, “In the life of…” – offering a window into the lived experiences of educators and supervisors who work across institutional types and/or from different positionalities, and more. Calls will be distributed in June, with submission due in September.
Open Submissions issues welcome entries on wide-ranging teaching innovations and instructional strategies in counselor education. Briefs may address any of the aforementioned topics, but Open Submission issues will be more expansive in scope. Calls will be distributed in October, with submission due in February.
Goals of the TPBs
- To function as the primary resource for innovative, antiracist, socially just, and evidence-based teaching and learning practices that promote quality instruction for all learners in counselor education programs.
- To present thought-provoking and applicable strategies that place anti-racist teaching practices and the development of culturally competent counselors, leaders, and advocates at the forefront of teaching and learning in counselor education.
- To provide evidence-based teaching and learning practices that draw from the wisdom of other disciplines including K-12 education and other professions.
- To help counselor educators implement emerging and innovative teaching strategies including how to translate community engaged work into classroom practices.
- To support counselor education programs re-envisioning how they articulate the concepts of critical self-reflection, bravery, inclusion, rigor, and quality in their curriculum, program function, and classroom practices including issues pertaining to student recruitment, retention, and program climate.
About the Co-Editors
The ACES special committee on teaching selected Dr. Javier F. Casado Pérez and Dr. Clare Merlin-Knoblich as co-editors for the inaugural TPB term (2022-2025).
Dr. Javier F. Casado Pérez
Javier F. Casado Pérez (they/them/elle) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Counselor Education at Portland State University. They earned their PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision from The Pennsylvania State University and MS in Mental Health Counseling from Monmouth University. Dr. Casado Pérez serves as Strategic Planning Chair for the Association of Multicultural Counseling and Development and is past chair of the Critical Methodologies Taskforce for the Counselor Education Qualitative Research Interest Network. They have published multiple peer-reviewed instructional articles and serve as a reviewer on the editorial boards for the Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development and Journal for Specialists in Group Work. They have appeared on “The Thoughtful Counselor” and “Leading Equity Virtual Summit,” and participated in the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) 2021 National Conference’s Presidential Session on “Practical Strategies for Inclusive Teaching Across the Counselor Education Curriculum.” They hold certificates in both Graduate and Online Teaching. Dr. Casado Pérez strives to bring a focus on equity-minded teaching to the TPBs, as well as an emphasis on liberatory and unsettling instructional frameworks.
Dr. Clare Merlin-Knoblich
Clare Merlin-Knoblich (she/her/hers) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Counseling at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She earned her Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision from the College of William & Mary and M.Ed. in Counseling from the University of Georgia. Clare is a former school counselor and researches social justice school counseling practices, including the meaningful multicultural education interventions and behaviors that school counselors enact. She also researches innovations in counselor education and supervision, including the flipped learning teaching approach, which she has published and consulted about with a range of outlets in higher education. Clare currently serves on the editorial board for Counselor Education & Supervision and has reviewed for the Journal of Multicultural Counselor and Development and the Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology. As the daughter of an educator, Clare is excited to serve in this co-editor role to promote and catalyze innovative practices in teaching. As the parent of a 2-year-old, she hopes the ACES Teaching Practice Briefs will contribute to more effective teaching that will benefit future generations of students, counselors, and clients.
Thank you to the ACES Special Committee on Teaching:
Krista Malott
Clare Merlin
Atsuko Seto
Donnette Deigh
LoriAnn Stretch
(Co-Chair)
Angela Sheely-Moor
(Co-Chair)