Student teachers' development of learning-focused conceptions

•We investigated how to educate student teachers towards learning-focused teaching.•Conceptions of learning and teaching play a major role in learning-focused teaching.•The designed learning environment: authentic context and task, reflective dialogue.•Conceptions were changed after participation in the designed learning environment.•The change in conceptions was towards more learning-focused conceptions.

Student teachers' conceptions of learning and teaching influence the way they approach situations in teaching practice. To provoke a focus on student learning in student teachers during teacher education, new learning environments are needed. This study reports on results of a newly designed learning environment characterized by the use of authentic contexts, authentic tasks and reflective dialogues. Questionnaires, drawings, metaphors and learner reports were used to gain insight into the development of student teachers' conceptions and the influence of the learning environment on this. Results indicate that the learning environment contributed to more learning-focused conceptions of learning and teaching.