| Historically, most schools employ only one music teacher per specialty; therefore, student teachers in music education work in relative isolation during their student teaching experience. Student teachers often have to attend a seminar once a week at their institution during the student teaching experience, yet this is not always the appropriate environment or time for certain questions that arise during student teaching. A space outside of the classroom that is consistently available regardless of location and time would be helpful to student teachers (Hew & Cheung, 2003b) during their student teaching experience. Additionally, there are few established forums for the professional development of these music student teachers where they can share information and ideas to improve their practice.;One of the ways to address the absence of more traditional professional development opportunities for student teachers is to make online forums available to them. However, not enough is known about how student teachers in music education learn to access and make use of such online forums to share reflections, ideas, and concerns important to their practice. Therefore, this study examined how nine student teachers engage in an online community of practice dedicated to them and how this, in turn, impacted their student teaching experience.;The data were gathered from interviews, document support, and the Critical Incident Technique, and yielded the following five major findings: all nine participants discussed or alluded to the benefits of a professional working relationship with one's cooperating teacher and how this relationship positively impacted their student teaching achievements; each of the nine participants used The Trading Fours Online Project in different ways and for different reasons; the spectrum of days and times for The Trading Fours Wiki Discussion Board Posts illustrates the benefits of asynchronous online communication for this community; a majority of the posts on the Wiki focused on giving and seeking advice; each participant had his/her own needs throughout the student teaching experience, and these specific needs are illustrative of the individual's use of The Trading Fours Online Project and its impact on him or her as a student teacher. |
