Exploring discursive patterns in post-lesson mentoring conversations

Post-lesson mentoring conversations are critical for preservice teachers’ professional development. These conversations aim to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their lessons. However, the quality of these conversations is often problematic. This study builds on the theory of learning as discursive achievement to examine different discourse patterns in post-lesson mentoring conversations in Australia. The analysis identified five discourse patterns—evaluative, analytic, justificatory, directive, and normalising—in these conversations. It also revealed the features, proportion, interactions, and flexibility of these discourse patterns. This paper concludes that mentoring conversations should balance evaluation with development talk by using analytic and justificatory discourses. • Employed discursive approach to treat mentoring discourses as social practices. • Explored discourse patterns: evaluative, analytic, justificatory, directive, normalising. • Evaluative discourses were most common in Australian mentoring conversations. • Broadened discourse patterns, showcasing preservice teachers' agency. • Suggested flexible shifts in discourse patterns to boost mentoring conversations.