While these guidelines are intended to answer frequently asked questions, they are not prescriptive in nature. The Teaching and Learning Enhancement (TLE) Team’s vision is for this blog to be an open, creative forum for students and staff – both internal and external to York St John University – to share their thoughts and ideas on teaching and learning-related matters. As such, if your idea does not fit with the guidelines below, please contact the TLE team to discuss suitability further.

Who can contribute?

We welcome contributions from anyone with an interest in interrogating current important issues in HE teaching and learning. This includes academic staff, professional services/support staff, current and former students, and external contributors from other institutions.

Please include a short bio (100 words) and, should you wish, a recent photo of yourself as part of your submission.

Collaborative submissions with multiple authors are also welcomed and encouraged!

Style and audience

The style of the blog is conversational, rather than formal. The target audience is a broad range of staff and students in Higher Education, across multiple disciplines, locations and institutions. As such, text should be written for a non-expert audience and using inclusive, respectful language. Please avoid jargon and/or subject-specific terminology, unless it is used in a context that is easy for a wide audience to understand. As a guide, aim to write in sentences of 15 words or less.

Length of blog posts

The suggested minimum contribution is 300 words, with a maximum of 800 words. These parameters are guidelines only – please contact the TLE team to discuss further if your contribution diverges significantly from the suggested length.

Format of contributions

Typically, blog posts take the form of continuous prose written in paragraphs, with a beginning, middle and an end. Please see previous posts on this site for inspiration if you are unsure about how to structure a submission. Alternative formats like videos, images and other types of creative piece will be considered, and can also be included alongside prose contributions if desired. You must have permission from the owner to use any images or videos you wish to include.

All content taken from external sources (e.g. references to publications, other websites or images) should be given credit via in-text citations and a reference list in YSJ Harvard format.

Editing

The TLE team may wish to make light edits for length, content and style. Any significant changes will be agreed with the author prior to publication.

How to submit

Please e-mail your proposed contribution in Word format (alternative formats are acceptable for non-prose contributions, e.g. videos) to the TLE team inbox. You can expect a response within 10 working days.

Publication of blog posts will depend on the current number of submissions. An approximate publication date will be discussed once your submission has been reviewed by the TLE team.

We look forward to receiving your content!

The Teaching and Learning Enhancement Team