We are excited to solicit short essays (approx. 2000 words) on the subject of student-centered learning for the fifth volume of Engaging Students: Essays in Music Pedagogy. Submissions are due June 30, 2017, and we hope to publish the complete volume online by August, in time for these essays to assist readers in their planning for fall courses. Engaging Students serves as an open-access, web-based resource for those teaching college-level classes in music.
Our format for scholarly communication is based upon collaborative and swift peer review. We take our inspiration from hack-a-thons, in which creative solutions to a problem emerge from working intensely together in a collaborative environment for a limited time. You will receive feedback on your manuscript within two weeks of the submission deadline. The revision process will consist of efficient online interactions between you and the editorial group.
We are looking to combine essays of both a philosophical and practical nature on a wide range of topics relevant to the teaching of music at the university level. These include (but are not limited to) assessment, learning outcomes, in-class and out-of-class activities, and technology. We are also interested in a balance between essays dealing with more general topics (for example, strategies for dealing with different learning styles in a variety of contexts) and those dealing with more specific topics (for example, guidelines for using a specific computer application that has proven especially useful in mastering a particular skill or concept). See previous volumes of Engaging Students for examples.
In terms of format, essays for this journal should be loosely modeled on what Dan Cohen, Executive Director of the Digital Public Library of America, calls the “blessay” (blog-essay). More information about the blessay format can be found on our style guide for authors.
Submissions will be selected and edited through a collaborative review process. The e-book will then be published with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license (CC BY–SA) that will protect authors’ rights while allowing for free and open online access. More information about creative commons licenses can be found here.
Those wishing to contribute to this publication should submit their essays by June 30, 2017. Detailed submission instructions (as well as additional information about licensing, the review process, our editorial team, and the project in general) can be found on the submission page.
Thank you,
The Editorial board of Engaging Students