Unit rationale, description and aim
Intending secondary Music teachers require a strong understanding of curriculum expectations, pedagogical approaches, and assessment practices to plan and deliver effective learning in Years 7–10. Junior secondary learners bring diverse cultural backgrounds, experiences, and levels of musical proficiency. Teachers therefore need the knowledge and skills to design learning that is coherent, engaging, and responsive to varied learner needs. This unit provides foundational disciplinary understanding and introduces key principles that underpin pedagogies in Music.
In this unit preservice teachers will build knowledge of curriculum structures, concepts, and terminology for Music Years 7–10, while engaging with evidence-based approaches to learning and teaching. Through modelling, practice, and collaborative activities, preservice teachers explore Music-specific pedagogies, including aural work, composition, repertoire selection, and inclusive strategies for practical classes. They design sequenced learning and assessment experiences, engage in microteaching, and use diagnostic, formative and summative approaches to evaluate learning. These experiences support development as a reflective, informed, and capable beginning teacher.
The aim of this unit is to develop preservice teachers’ disciplinary and pedagogical content knowledge to plan, teach, and assess Music effectively in junior secondary contexts, and make informed decisions that promote equitable participation, engagement, and achievement for diverse learners.
Campus offering
No unit offerings are currently available for this unit.Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from 糖心原创 with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
Describe the structure, intent and key features of...
Learning Outcome 01
Explain how students learn in Music and apply evid...
Learning Outcome 02
Analyse texts, pedagogical models and classroom re...
Learning Outcome 03
Design coherent unit and learning sequences in Mus...
Learning Outcome 04
Evaluate assessment strategies and feedback practi...
Learning Outcome 05
Content
Topics will include:
· Reflecting on prior experiences of teaching and learning in Years 7-10 Music
· Australian Curriculum and local curriculum iterations for Years 7-10 Music, including Cross-Curriculum Priorities and General Capabilities
· Theories of learning relevant to music classroom education
· Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) in music, including making and responding pedagogical frameworks, music specific pedagogies and culturally responsive pedagogy methods, collaborative learning and explicit instruction
· Designing units of work and related summative assessments for Music in Years 7-10
· Repertoire selection to support a sound to symbol pedagogy
· Teaching the language of Music; communicating in music, aural skills, performance, analysis, music literacy and composition
· Teaching strategies and approaches for Years 7–10 Music, including learning through making (Composition), explicit instruction of skills and techniques, visual and aural analysis and critique, and reflection
· Managing practical classes, including classroom movement, distribution, collection and safe use of instruments, monitoring noise and ensemble work.
· Strategies for monitoring and differentiating student learning in Music, including observations, process documentation, feedback and conferencing
· Classroom verbal and non-verbal communication for Music, including the Initiation-Response-Feedback (IRF) model, descriptive questioning, scaffolding, visual thinking strategies, thick-aloud modelling, metacognitive reflection and guided critique
· Ethical and professional resource selection and development for Music, including the use of generative AI in making and responding
· Roles and professional responsibilities of a contemporary teacher of Music, including curriculum alignment, assessment integrity, and student safety and wellbeing in physical and digital environments, including generative AI
· Digital technologies in the music classroom including emergent technologies such as generative AI and considerations for ethical, critical and creative engagement.
Assessment strategy and rationale
The assessment in this unit is designed to progressively build preservice teachers’ capacity to plan, teach, and evaluate Music learning in Years 7–10. A two-task structure provides coherence, clear developmental progression, and opportunities for feedback. Assessment tasks incorporate both formative and summative elements and reflect real world teaching activities, supporting your preparedness for professional experience. The ethical and
appropriate use of generative AI is scaffolded throughout the unit to support planning and resource development while understanding its limitations, documentation requirements, and the need for academic and professional integrity in teaching contexts.
Task 1 focuses on designing sequenced learning and assessment experiences to demonstrate understanding of curriculum structures, disciplinary knowledge, and inclusive planning for diverse learners. Task 2 builds on this foundation by integrating a skills audit, microteaching episodes, and a reflective evaluation of pedagogical decisions. This design mirrors authentic school practice, where teachers identify learner needs, plan responsively, trial strategies, and evaluate their impact on student learning.
To pass this unit, students need to complete both assessment tasks and achieve a combined grade of 50% overall.
Overview of assessments
Hurdle Task: Music Self-Audit Students will comp...
Hurdle Task: Music Self-Audit
Students will complete a knowledge and skills audit based on your jurisdictional documentation to identify personal strengths and five (5) areas for development in teaching junior secondary Music.
Pass/Fail
Assessment Task 1: Planning a Unit of Work Stude...
Assessment Task 1: Planning a Unit of Work
Students will design a coherent Year 7–10 Music unit of work that aligns with curriculum requirements and leads to a selected summative assessment task. Apply evidence informed approaches to (1) develop aural skills, music literacy and analysis, composition and performance skills; (2) incorporate explicit instruction, experiential learning, differentiation and inclusive practices; and (3) justify curriculum, pedagogical and assessment decisions using relevant scholarly and policy evidence.
50%
Assessment Task 2: Repertoire File and Micro Teac...
Assessment Task 2: Repertoire File and Micro Teaching
Students will create a repertoire resource file for classroom music teaching. Provide a justified explanation for each choice. Then, select one piece from the resource file and create two micro teaching episodes using a spiral curriculum approach. Integrate music specific pedagogies to show the different learnings possible from the resource. Prepare a reflective evaluation video explaining your pedagogical decisions, use of resources, and impact on diverse learners.
50%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit is grounded in social constructivist approaches, emphasising active engagement, dialogue, and purposeful collaboration as ways for adult learners to build knowledge and professional capability. Learning activities support preservice teachers to connect theoretical perspectives with practical classroom application through modelling, guided practice, peer feedback, and structured reflection. Online lectures and readings provide key concepts and disciplinary foundations, while tutorials offer opportunities to trial and refine teaching strategies in supportive, interactive settings.
Because adult learners have varied experiences with Music and schooling, teaching approaches are designed to be flexible, transparent, and scaffolded. Strategies such as worked examples, explicit modelling, guided rehearsal, and structured peer collaboration help preservice teachers to build confidence when tasks involve performance, composition, or responding to musical elements. The unit also prioritises inclusive learning design, ensuring that teaching approaches are accessible to students with disability and neurodiverse learners through multimodal content, repeated practice opportunities, and options for differentiated participation in practical activities.
By engaging in planning, teaching demonstrations, and microteaching, preservice teachers build the communication, problem solving, and reflective skills required for junior secondary teaching. These strategies promote professional dialogue, ethical practice, and the ability to adapt teaching to meet diverse student needs in real classroom contexts.
Representative texts and references
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (n.d.). Australian Curriculum: The Arts, Version 9.0. https://v9.australiancurriculum.edu.au/
New South Wales Education Standards Authority. (2024). Creative Arts K–6 Syllabus (2024). NSW Curriculum. https://curriculum.nsw.edu.au/learning-areas/creative-arts/creative-arts-k-6-2024/overview
Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority. Australian Curriculum Version 9.0 in Queensland (ACiQ) - QCAA. https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/p-10/aciq/version-9
Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. (n.d.). Victorian Curriculum: The Arts, Version 2.0. Victorian Curriculum F–10. https://f10.vcaa.vic.edu.au/overview/aboutVictorian Curriculum F–10+1Victorian Curriculum+1
Recommended references
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Armes, J. W. (2020). Backward design and repertoire selection: Finding full expression. Music Educators Journal, 106(3), 54–59.
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Benjamins, L., Roland, S. L., & Bylica, K. (2022). The complexities of meaningful experiential learning: Exploring reflective practice in music performance studies. International Journal of Music Education, 40(2), 163-176.
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Brophy, T. S., (2019) Assessment in music education: The state of the art, in Timothy S. Brophy (ed.), The oxford handbook of assessment policy and practice in music education, Volume 2, Oxford Handbooks (2019; online edn, Oxford Academic, 8 Jan. 2019), https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190248130.013.75,
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Evans, C. M., & Taylor, C. S. (2025). Culturally Responsive Assessment in Classrooms and Large-Scale Contexts : Theory, Research, and Practice. (1st ed.). Taylor & Francis Group. Chapters 3 & 8
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Wise, S. (2016). Secondary school teachers’ approaches to teaching composition using digital technology. British Journal of Music Education, 33(3), 283–295. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0265051716000309