We are excited to announce a new class of paper in the journal: a Curated Collection, which is similar to an editorial for a Special Issue, but is instead based on our existing archive of papers that we have published in PRIMUS.
The goal of a Curated Collection is to help identify connections between and among PRIMUS papers and to organize the PRIMUS archive for readers. Since not all of the big themes in the journal are represented in Special Issues, and some themes have continued to develop since the publication of a special issue, Curated Collections will help readers organize, identify, or navigate select cohorts of papers from among the more than 1500 papers we have published to date. Curated Collections may also connect a selection of papers to a larger trend emerging in the scholarship of teaching and learning, or have a broader point to make that references several PRIMUS manuscripts.
In a Curated Collection, the guest editor(s) select a topic or theme, search through the PRIMUS archives for relevant papers, and write a novel editorial synthesis about this collection of papers. Each such editorial will appear as a published article in the journal (with its own DOI). For example, see this extensive Curated Collection on Assessment, curated by Associate Editor Brian P Katz (BK). We also have two Curated Collections in development: one the role of narrative in the teaching and learning of mathematics, and another on teaching modeling in applied mathematics. At a recent board meeting, some suggested ideas for other Collection themes included: statistics, quantitative literacy, placement, just-in-time teaching, teacher preparation, and learning proof.
PRIMUS aspires to regularly publish Curated Collections. These collections will normally be edited by people with interest and expertise in the area the collection addresses. Authors wishing to curate a collection need to first submit the proposal form to the editorial team for review; upon approval, they may then formally submit the Curated Collection for review via ScholarOne. There’s now an option for a Curated Collection submission as the first step in submitting a new article:
With over 30 years of published papers in our archives, we are excited to have Curated Collections that point readers to papers that deserve even more attention, that show the connections and synergy among papers published over time, and that help readers put the good ideas in these manuscripts into practice.
If you are unsure whether an idea you have is best suited for a Curated Collection or a Special Issue, feel free to reach out to a member of the PRIMUS Editorial Team.
[Post main author: Editor-in-Chief Matt Boelkins]