Development of preservice teachers’ competence in lesson planning: Analyzing learning opportunities, pedagogical content knowledge, and lesson-planning skills

Structured Abstract Background Teacher education aims to support preservice teachers in becoming competent lesson planners. However, it remains unclear how opportunities to learn (OTL) in university-based teacher education are related to their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and lesson-planning skills as facets of professional competence. Aims We examined two forms of OTL—content-related OTL in university coursework and in-school OTL during teaching practice—and related them to preservice teachers’ PCK and lesson-planning skills. Research questions focused on differences in lesson-planning skills across teacher education stages (RQ1), links between teaching-practice OTL and lesson-planning skills (RQ2), and the mediating role of PCK between coursework-related OTL and lesson-planning skills (RQ3). Sample We designed a cohort-sequential study with annual assessments throughout a five-year initial teacher education program. The sample comprised 441 preservice secondary school teachers of German in Germany, of whom 85 provided repeated measurements. Methods PCK and lesson-planning skills were assessed via standardized tests. The lesson-planning assessment used text-vignette items that captured decision-making in three planning situations. OTL were measured using self-report inventories. Results Lesson-planning skills were higher at later stages of teacher education (RQ1). More planning-related teaching-practice activities were associated with higher lesson-planning skills (RQ2). Evidence for PCK as a mediator of the relation between content-related coursework OTL and lesson-planning skills was mixed (RQ3). Conclusions University-based teacher education appears to support the development of preservice teachers’ lesson-planning skills. Lesson-planning skills were associated with both content-related coursework OTL and in-school teaching-practice OTL. PCK and lesson-planning skills were strongly correlated but theoretically and empirically distinct. Findings on mediation are tentative due to measurement limitations.