Visible Pedagogy
Call for Contributing Writers and Guest Editors
Fall 2018

The Graduate Center’s Teaching and Learning Center (TLC) is seeking contributors to its blog, Visible Pedagogy. We are looking for both contributing writers and guest editors for the current academic year who are committed to exploring teaching and learning at CUNY and beyond. Authors will write a series of posts over the remainder of the academic year on a topic they define, and Guest Editors will curate a series from authors they recruit.

The choice of topic is open, but the proposed series of posts should be linked by some unifying theme or rationale. Writers are welcome to consider the TLC’s 2018-2019 workshop tracks (Aesthetics, Mindfulness, Community, and Planning) in proposing topics, but we are also interested in areas not covered by current TLC programming. For instance, new instructors might reflect on the challenges of teaching for the first time, while more experienced ones might think more deeply about a particular aspect of pedagogy, including methods, approaches, or technologies. Writers may also consider a particular question or challenge within higher education to explore in relation to their classroom practices. Applicants are encouraged to look at the past series of topics covered by our contributing writers.

Authors must be interested writing for a general audience in higher education and be willing to engage with the TLC Staff in the editorial process. Basic familiarity with Google docs and WordPress are preferred. Interested applicants should email the materials below to Visible Pedagogy Editor Kaitlin Mondello at tlc@gc.cuny.edu by Friday, October 19.

Application procedures for the two programs are below.

1. Contributing Writers

Selected writers will commit to writing, revising, and publishing 4 blog posts of approximately 500-750 words between November 2018 and May 2019.

Please email a merged pdf or Word doc. with the following materials:

• a 250-500 word description of your proposed series of posts, its rationale, and your reasons for wanting to write it
• a sample of your non-or-para academic writing (preferably, a previous blog post or other public-facing writing on a digital platform), not to exceed 1500 words
• a brief 2-page CV
• a syllabus from a course that you are teaching (or plan to teach), or a sample assignment or other teaching artifact

2. Guest Editors Series

Visible Pedagogy is piloting a Guest Editors program. To apply as a guest editor, you should follow the same guidelines above for contributing writers, including proposing a series of related posts around a specific topic, BUT rather than author all four posts yourself, you will recruit three other writers to write one post each on your topic. These writers must meet the same eligibility requirements as other contributing writers. You will be responsible for writing your own introductory post to the series and to work with the other three writers on their posts for continuity and quality. Groups of more than four will be considered if there is a desire to co-edit or co-author. This pilot program is modeled on proposing a conference panel or guest editing a special edition of a journal, and is designed to give graduate students additional experience and practice with these forms, as well as to examine a single topic from multiple perspectives.

The fall will be devoted to the development of the series, which will be published in the spring. The VP editor and TLC staff will work closely with the Guest Editors and their contributing writers. Editors and writers may be from the same department, but interdisciplinary perspectives are welcomed. Guest editors should secure commitments and topics from their contributing writers PRIOR to submitting the application to the TLC. While the submission materials should follow the same guidelines as for contributing writers (from the guest editor(s) only), please include the names, disciplines, and topics for each contributing writer in your application for a Guest Editor series.

Criteria for Selection

All applications will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

• The clarity, creativity, and feasibility of the proposed series
• The style and quality of the writing
• The originality of the viewpoint(s) being represented
• The role of the proposed series in the balance of perspectives and disciplines on the blog

To qualify, all applicants must be enrolled at the Graduate Center during the Fall 2018 semester. This opportunity is open to both Doctoral and Masters students. Contributing writers will be paid an honorarium of $500 ($125/post for 4 posts); guest editors will be paid $250 total for their own introductory post and editorial work with contributing writers; contributing writers working with a Guest Editor will be paid $125 (for one post). All funds will be disbursed as a lump sum as financial aid. In addition, writers and editors will have the chance to participate in public conversations about teaching at CUNY; to share their work with a community of fellow instructors; and to contribute to the scholarship of teaching and learning in an open and networked space.

Selected writers and editors will be asked to meet with TLC Director, Luke Waltzer, and Visible Pedagogy Editor, Kaitlin Mondello, in the fall to discuss the series and determine a publishing schedule.

About VP

Visible Pedagogy is a blog dedicated to advancing and expanding conversations about teaching and learning at CUNY, edited by the staff of the Teaching & Learning Center at The Graduate Center, and collaboratively authored by CUNY faculty, staff, and students.

We are interested in both the theory and practice of teaching and learning. Our Reflective Practice series brings these ideas together as CUNY instructors reflect critically on ideas, issues, or challenges they’ve encountered in their teaching careers and their classrooms.