This paper contributes to the knowledge on supportive mentoring practices in student teachers’ practicum by exploring the ways that mentoring conversations structured around a specific observational tool built on the theoretical concepts of professional noticing and collaborative reflection might support professional learning in student teachers’ practicum. An observation-grounded mentoring framework (OMF) was designed and examined in an intervention study conducted in Norway. The study used Van Es and Sherins’ framework of learning to notice (2002) in the analysis of the intervention. School-based mentor teachers and student teachers in eight practicum groups participated in the study. Data was collected from interviews, worksheets and reflective texts. The findings show that structuring mentoring conversations around observation descriptions can support student teachers’ learning to notice by helping them identify noteworthy classroom interactions and reason about what is noteworthy with peers and mentors. Moreover, findings suggest that observation-grounded mentoring conversations can nurture deeper understandings of teaching and learning and boost awareness of the purpose of teaching. The paper underscores the importance of supporting noticing development in initial teacher education and recognises the potential contribution observational tools can make. © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
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