Advancing student teachers’ learning in the teaching practicum through Content-Focused Coaching: A field experiment

A pivotal role of cooperating teachers is to assist student teachers' planning, enacting and reflecting of lessons during the teaching practicum. This study evaluated training sessions in elements of Content-Focused Coaching: 59 cooperating teachers were randomly allocated to a training session in: a) pre-lesson conferences for joint lesson planning, b) core issues for lesson designs, c) both elements or d) another educational topic (control group). Effects on the quality of collaborative exchange in lesson conferences, student teachers’ competency gains, and instructional quality (as reported by pupils) were examined during a three-week teaching practicum. Implications for professional development programs are discussed.