Shared concerns : investigating instrumental teachers' discussions in an asynchronous web forum

![CDATA[Instrumental music teachers generally work in professional isolation in an environment where there is little or no communication between staff and little access to professional development. Whereas instrumental teachers are highly trained and experienced as performers, they rarely have had any training as teachers and the isolated nature of their profession means that they infrequently have opportunities to see how others teach. This study investigates a four-week discussion and collaboration between ten experienced instrumental music teachers utilising an online discussion platform. The study aimed to firstly, determine issues of significance to experienced teachers who are teaching high school aged students and to explore the similarities and differences between this teaching cohort and the findings of research into instrumental teachers operating at a tertiary level. Secondly, it aimed to ascertain whether an asynchronous online forum could become an effective medium for shared reflection and group problem solving. Results suggested that experienced teachers of high school aged students are concerned with matters involving student retention such as inspiring students, strategising practice and making the repertoire for the instrument relevant to students who have no previous exposure to this. The asynchronous online forum allowed peer scaffolding of knowledge as the discourse moved from a sharing of experiences to more significant negotiations of meaning with only minimal focusing of the issues by the researcher.]]