[Smt-talk] [Smt-announce] CFP: Engaging Students, a crowdsourced ebook on music pedagogy

Tue Jul 9 07:14:50 PDT 2013

Dear Kris and all:

Thanks, Kris, for such a thoughtful and detailed response to my somewhat 
"flip" comments -- in contrast to my snap judgement and too-harsh 
appraisal of TED talks (they really are very interesting and often 
inspiring), this all seems well-considered indeed.  I encourage you to 
work with the Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy website and related 
materials (http://jmtp.ou.edu/), where Steve Laitz and supporting cast 
are doing great things, the MTO site and related activities 
(http://www.mtosmt.org/index.php), which have taken off in new 
directions under Yonatan Malin, and even check into the new College 
Music Symposium site, for much of interest (see, for example, 
http://symposium.music.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=1094:why-is-there-such-a-mismatch-between-academia-and-the-music-industry?&Itemid=129).

I look forward to the day when we have "google earpieces" that can 
instantly conjure up whatever excerpt we require, in audio and 
midi-reduced-texture form, to buttress our lectures!

Dave Headlam

On 7/2/13 11:51 AM, Kris Shaffer wrote:
>
>
> Dear Members of the Old Guard,
>
> I appreciate the critical thoughts that Dave puts forward in regards 
> to the /Engaging Students/ ebook project (though, it seems, not 
> exclusively in regards that project). However, as far as our project 
> is concerned, there is little that is new besides the technology. This 
> project seeks to leverage new technological possibilities to promote 
> the free exchange of ideas. We also seek submissions that, in 
> particular, center on undoing some of the negative aspects of the 
> factory model of education, in favor of an older, more lab-, 
> tutorial-, or apprenticeship-like approach. As for the review process, 
> we are simply making use of tools like email, file sharing, and short 
> essays to expedite the review process, providing something a little 
> more like pre-publication department colloquia to those who do not 
> have such a luxury. Versions of this model has been used effectively 
> by multiple scholarly publications of late, two of which were 
> mentioned in the original call for submissions. We are attempting to 
> think critically about both the old and the new, in order to find the 
> combinations of tools, techniques, materials, and publication models 
> that best suit our various pedagogical and professional settings. 
> These, I believe, are quite old ideas (and, where not current, I hope 
> will be the "next new thing").
>
> With that in mind, let this whippersnapper offer a few more specific 
> responses to Dave's email.
>
> First, this project in no way subverts well considered thought 
> processes. In fact, we hope that this project will attract a large 
> number of submissions from those in teach-heavy positions that have 
> many years of experience and many kernels of wisdom to share. I can 
> speak from my experience of the last two years that a heavy teaching 
> load in a position where only teaching and service count toward 
> promotion can make it difficult to put out substantial research papers 
> on pedagogical topics. Maintaining a blog is also a significant 
> undertaking. However, writing 1500 words during July for a project 
> with a wide distribution potential should be both feasible and, we 
> hope, attractive. Many of those who have been working for years "in 
> the trenches" in teaching colleges have myriad well considered, 
> time-tested ideas to share with the rest of us. We hope that they will 
> be attracted to this model of publishing.
>
> Second, let me point out that for an idea to be time-tested, it needs 
> to be put to the test. The traditional model of publication is one way 
> to vet ideas. However, we believe that such vetting processes can also 
> be done collaborative and in the open. In fact, we have seen that work 
> in our own careers, as those of us who work in relative isolation as 
> theorists and instructors of theory have shared ideas via blogs, 
> social media, unconferences, and even SMT-talk. The feedback received 
> both from critics and from others who have been following similar 
> lines of inquiry have helped us to better our approaches. In this 
> project, we will only publish essays that the reviewers find to have 
> merit. In some cases, that merit will be long experience and 
> successful vetting. In other cases, that merit will be theoretical or 
> hypothetical, and we will offer the idea to the community for further 
> critique and exploration. Those ideas that prove their merit will 
> certainly last longer in public memory than a tweet. Those that put 
> forward a viable hypothesis but do not ultimately prove meritorious 
> may fade from memory, but we will be the better for having considered 
> it, tested it, and found it wanting.
>
> Lastly, there may be some confusion as to what the inverted class is 
> (which, I should make clear, is not by any means the sole topic of 
> /Engaging Students/). It is, in many ways, the antithesis of the 
> online course. Using the inverted-class model for several semesters 
> now has given me a much greater connection with my students, and a 
> deeper engagement with the music from both me and my students. We 
> posted a few introductory resources 
> <http://flipcampmt.wordpress.com/inverted-class-resources/> on the 
> inverted class on the FlipCamp Music Theory website (including 
> collaborative notes from the unconference in the form of public Google 
> docs) that may be worth considering, and I have written a number of 
> blog posts 
> <http://kris.shaffermusic.com/tags/inverted-classroom/>about it as 
> well. However, like most things, seeing it in action is the best way 
> to learn what the inverted class is all about. I highly encourage 
> anyone who is curious about the inverted-class model to observe it in 
> action, if possible. I, for one, would be glad to have visitors, and I 
> know many others would as well. If no one in your department is 
> "flipping" their class, there is a good chance that someone in your 
> university is using some form of the model. (The time-tested, "peer 
> instruction" model, which has years of research behind it, is quite 
> popular in math and science courses.)
>
> Thank you for your consideration and your desire to maintain high 
> standards in our discipline and the way we seek to pass it on to the 
> next generation of musicians. I believe we all share that desire.
>
> In earnest (but with tongue firmly in cheek),
>
> Kris Shaffer, on behalf of the whippersnappers
>
>
> ---
> Kris Shaffer, Ph.D.
> Instructor of Music Theory
> University of Colorado--Boulder
> kris.shaffermusic.com
> Twitter: @krisshaffer
>
> On Tue, Jul 2, 2013 at 8:03 AM, Dave Headlam 
> <dheadlam at esm.rochester.edu="mailto:dheadlam at esm.rochester.edu">> wrote:
>
>     Dear next new thing-ers:
>
>     This all sounds cool -- but, in an obligatory old-guard reply --
>     what's the rush?  Do we want to create a music theory-based TED
>     world of sexy but not-road-tested (and in the case of most TED
>     lectures, hopelessly, romantically, pie-in-the-sky) solutions that
>     last as long as a Tweet?  Tonal Theory in ten Tweets?  Check out
>     http://www.digitalculture.org/hacking-the-academy/conclusions/#conclusions-howard
>     for cautions ("meet the new boss . . . "), and also check into
>     Dilbert's attempts at working from home for more cautions on
>     flipping classes -- and that's before online Netflix!! 
>     (http://search.dilbert.com/comic/Working%20From%20Home). I'm an
>     ipad-toting technology geek, but there's something to be said for
>     a well-considered thought process.  And don't forget to check with
>     your Provost on promotion requirements, which may not include
>     "change the world by Tuesday."
>
>     Otherwise, godspeed!
>
>     Dave Headlam
>
>
>     On 7/1/13 3:54 PM, Kris Shaffer wrote:
>>     Dear Colleagues,
>>     A new project has grown out of FlipCamp Music Theory, the
>>     unconference on the inverted music theory class that took place
>>     in Charleston last month. We are excited to solicit short essays
>>     (approx. 1500 words) on the subject of student-centered
>>     learning for a crowdsourced ebook, /Engaging Students: Essays in
>>     Music Pedagogy/. Submissions are due *July 15, 2013*, 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/ will serve as an open-access,
>>     web-based resource for those teaching college-level classes in music.
>>
>>     We envision a new format for scholarly communication 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, as well as the crowdsourced ebook, /Hacking
>>     the Academy/, and the open-access journal, /Hybrid Pedagogy/. You
>>     will receive feedback on your manuscript within a week 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.
>>
>>     For more information on the project and instructions on how to
>>     submit, please visit the complete call for submissions on the
>>     FlipCamp Music Theory website:
>>     http://flipcampmt.wordpress.com/2013/07/01/call-for-submissions-engaging-students-essays-in-music-pedagogy/.
>>
>>     Thank you,
>>
>>     the editorial committee:
>>     Sean Atkinson, University of Texas--Arlington
>>     Carla Colletti, Webster University
>>     Philip Duker, University of Delaware
>>     Gretchen Foley, University of Nebraska--Lincoln
>>     Anna Gawboy, Ohio State University
>>     Stephen Gosden, University of North Florida
>>     Bryn Hughes, University of Miami, coordinator
>>     Enoch Jacobus, independent scholar, Berea, Kentucky
>>     Brian Moseley, Furman University
>>     Meghan Naxer, University of Oregon
>>     Deborah Rifkin, Ithaca College
>>     Kris Shaffer, University of Colorado--Boulder, coordinator
>>     Kris Shaffer, Ph.D.
>>     Instructor of Music Theory
>>     University of Colorado--Boulder
>>     kris.shaffermusic.com
>>     Twitter: @krisshaffer
>>
>>
>>     _______________________________________________
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>>
>
>
>     -- 
>     Dave Headlam
>     Professor of Music Theory
>     Eastman School of Music
>     26 Gibbs St.
>     Rochester, NY 14604
>     david.headlam at rochester.edu
>     http://theory.esm.rochester.edu/dave_headlam
>
>
>
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-- 
Dave Headlam
Professor of Music Theory
Eastman School of Music
26 Gibbs St.
Rochester, NY 14604
david.headlam at rochester.edu
http://theory.esm.rochester.edu/dave_headlam

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