Exploring preservice teachers’ abilities to connect professional knowledge with lesson planning and observation

Preservice teachers often find it difficult to apply professional knowledge to their teaching practice. The ability to connect professional knowledge with one aspect of practice – lesson planning – was assessed with the Lesson Analysis and Plan Template in (N = 18) preservice teachers after one year of teacher preparation. Lesson plans were analysed using qualitative and quantitative analyses. The results suggest that the Lesson Analysis and Plan Template can reveal several aspects of preservice teachers' attention to connecting professional knowledge with their lesson plans as well as areas in which they would benefit from additional support. Furthermore, preservice teachers' connections were compared with their ability to connect professional knowledge with another aspect of practice – observations of teaching – using a validated instrument that assesses professional vision. The relationships found between planning and observation abilities suggest ways for teacher education programmes to bring professional knowledge closer to practice.