Improving my practice

A pre-service teacher at Darwin High School works intensively with her supervisor to improve her teaching practice in her major subject – Music. In a senior school classroom she learns to cater for students who are learning at different music levels, teaching between two to four different sets of curriculum content during the same lesson. The specific teaching and learning strategies that she acquires through feedback from her supervisor are designed to enable her to master this particularly complex learning situation. She uses the feedback to shape her lesson plans and to gain confidence in her teaching abilities.

Darwin High School is one of only two government schools in Darwin that cater purely for senior students at years 10–12. The school is relatively large in comparison with other Territory schools. The student population is comprised of many different cultural backgrounds, with a large number of overseas students. At the school, the pre-service teacher is working with a supervisor who already has a program in place that caters for music students working at different levels within the one classroom.