Submissions
Originality. All submissions must be original, unpublished work. Include an abstract in the manuscript, and enter complete author contact information in the submission form.
Anonymity. Please ensure your manuscript is free of any identifying information for blind review.
References and Citations. Cite all sources in APA 7. Provide a DOI for every work that has one (Crossref's Simple Text Query finds them for a whole list at once) and a verifiable locator for works without one. Before submitting, run your reference list through a citation checker (such as the free CiteCheck) and correct any DOI that does not resolve. If you used AI to help identify literature, verify that every reference it suggested actually exists — AI can produce plausible but fabricated citations. We never reject a reference for lacking a DOI; we ask only that every reference be verifiable.
The Ohio Journal of School Mathematics (OJSM) publishes work that supports the teaching and learning of mathematics across K–16 settings. We welcome manuscripts that explore classroom practice, instructional innovations, curriculum design, teacher preparation, technology integration, and other topics that connect mathematical ideas to pedagogy. Submissions should prioritize the human side of mathematics—how students and teachers engage with mathematical thinking—rather than focusing solely on mathematical content or proofs.
We also welcome experimental forms. Past issues have included creative nonfiction, currere, proofs without words, original children's picture books, and segmented essays. If a piece helps mathematics come alive for teachers and students, it belongs here.
OJSM is published three times a year (Spring, Summer, and Fall) by The Ohio State University Libraries on behalf of the Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Print ISSN 2472-5986 · Online ISSN 2472-601X.
How to Submit
Submissions are made through this site. Register for an account (or log in if you have one), then choose Start Submission from the menu and follow the prompts. You will be asked to enter authors and affiliations, upload your manuscript, and agree to the author agreement below. If you have an ORCID iD, enter only the number (for example, 0000-0002-1825-0097), not the full web address. There are no submission, processing, or publication fees.
Preparing Your Manuscript
- Submit as a Word (.docx) or PDF file. Double-spaced, one-inch margins, 11–12 pt font.
- Follow APA style (7th edition) for citations and references. Every reference must be verifiable: include DOIs where they exist. We check references before publication and will ask you to correct or remove any we cannot locate.
- Embed figures, tables, and graphs in the document at the point where they belong. Keep original image files; we may request them for typesetting.
- Do not include author names, affiliations, or acknowledgments in the manuscript file or its metadata. Author information is entered separately during submission so that review can be anonymous.
- Typical length is 2,000–6,000 words, but we are flexible for good reasons.
AI in the Publication Process
OJSM embraces the use of artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool to enhance the writing and communication process for both authors and editors.
OJSM's use of AI includes:
- Screening manuscripts for adherence to structural and content guidelines
- Checking references against bibliographic databases
- Summarizing and communicating feedback from review panelists
- Enhancing editorial communication with authors throughout the publication process
Encouragement for authors. We encourage authors to explore AI tools to support their writing and revision process. AI may assist with brainstorming and refining drafts; proofreading and editing; interpreting, organizing, and reporting data; and consistency checks across manuscript sections.
Transparency and disclosure. To foster trust and accountability, authors must disclose any use of AI tools in their manuscript. AI tools may not be listed as authors. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of all content, including any references an AI tool suggested. Submissions written with substantial AI assistance will be explicitly marked as such in publication.
Copyright and Licensing
Authors retain copyright of their work. By submitting to the Ohio Journal of School Mathematics, authors grant The Ohio State University Libraries, the journal's publisher, a non-exclusive right to publish and distribute the work and agree to its release under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0). Under this license anyone may copy, redistribute, adapt, and build on the work, for any purpose, provided the original authors and the journal are credited. Authors may deposit any version of their article in an institutional or subject repository, post it on personal or professional websites, and reuse it in their own later work, with a citation to the original publication. The journal charges no submission, processing, or publication fees.
License history
Articles published from Volume 101 (Fall 2025) onward are released under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0), as described above.
Articles published in Volumes 74 to 100 (2017 to 2025) were released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), and that license continues to apply to them. They may be copied and redistributed for non-commercial purposes, without changes, provided the original authors and the journal are credited.
Earlier issues, published in print before Volume 74, are archived in The Ohio State University Knowledge Bank (https://kb.osu.edu/handle/1811/78040). They are made available for research and educational purposes and are not published under a Creative Commons license.
Each article page states the license that applies to it.
The full agreement follows.
Author Agreement
This Author Agreement for Ohio Journal of School Mathematics ("Agreement") is entered into by and between The Ohio State University, on behalf of its University Libraries ("Publisher"), and the author ("Author").
For good and valuable consideration, Publisher and Author agree as follows:
Author hereby grants to Publisher the right to publish, reproduce, distribute, translate, transmit, and display their submitted work and an abstract thereof ("Work") in Ohio Journal of School Mathematics in whole or in part and in all formats and all media, as well as to ensure accessibility of works under University policy and current web accessibility standards. Author also hereby grants to Publisher the right for Publisher to enter into agreements with third parties that grant such third parties any or all of the rights that Author has granted to Publisher herein. The aforementioned rights may include the rights necessary to index and abstract the Work. The Author agrees that any subsequent publication of the Work will credit Ohio Journal of School Mathematics as the site of first publication and provide a link to Ohio Journal of School Mathematics. This Agreement is subject to the terms and expectations outlined on Publisher's website (http://go.osu.edu/publishing-services).
Author represents and warrants that: (1) they are the creator and rights holder of the Work; (2) Publisher's exercise of the rights granted to Publisher herein will not infringe or violate any copyright or any other right of a third party; (3) if the Work contains any third party content, they have obtained the unrestricted permission of the copyright owner or that use of third party material is allowed because the material is in the public domain or an appropriate fair use analysis has been performed and there is a reasonable belief that use is permitted; and (4) the Work contains nothing libelous or otherwise unlawful. Author hereby agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Publisher and its trustees, officers, employees, agents, and subgrantees from all claims related to Publisher's exercise of the rights granted to Publisher herein or related to the subject matter covered in Author's representations and warranties.
Ohio Journal of School Mathematics is published under a CC BY 4.0 license, to allow for certain types of reuse without permission. By submitting this agreement, the Author agrees to apply a CC BY 4.0 license to the Work upon publication.
This journal operates a double-anonymous (double-blind) peer review process: both authors and reviewers remain anonymous to one another throughout the review. Each manuscript is reviewed by two or three reviewers, and the editor makes the final decision.
Open Collaborative Review Option: For manuscripts that demonstrate strong potential but require substantial revision, the editorial team may offer authors the opportunity to engage in open (unblinded) collaboration with a reviewer. In this model, the reviewer's identity is revealed, and they work directly with the author to develop the manuscript through iterative feedback and revision. This collaborative approach is entirely voluntary and occurs only when both the reviewer and author agree to participate.
OJSM publishes three issues a year: Spring, Summer, and Fall. Articles are published online as soon as they are ready and are added to the current issue.
OJSM has never charged any submission or publication fees (and never will!).