Introduction
[1.1] One can argue that “hacking” is an essential element of what we do as researchers and pedagogues. (1) At its core,
hacking involves taking what already exists, and then adding small or large improvements to make it work better for you. A
hacker is neither wholly derivative nor wholly original; hacking entails both an indebtedness to those who have come before
and a willingness to question existing methods and perspectives.
[1.2] At the 2013 meeting of the Society for Music Theory, the four of us presented three “hacks” to the music theory class:
standards-based grading (SBG), just-in-time teaching (JiTT), and the inverted classroom. Standards-based grading connects student