This text reports a study of 20 student primary teachers, 10 on a conventional PGCE course and 10 on a school-based articled teacher training course. By documenting their learning experiences over a two year period, the authors explore the factors that facilitate or impede the students' learning as teachers. In drawing upon these case studies together with existing theoretical models of professional development, the authors distinguish several key characteristics of learning to teach and discuss the implications of these for the design of effective school-based teacher education courses.