Pedagogic practices in the context of students’ workplace learning: a literature review

ABSTRACT

Pedagogic practices at workplaces are provided to support students’ vocational education. To contribute to the understanding of supporting workplace learning, the focus of this literature review is to operationalise how pedagogic practices play out in practice. An overview is provided of pedagogic practices applied at workplaces to support students’ vocational learning. Included studies provide descriptions of manifestations of pedagogic practices enabled by experienced colleagues, such as supervisors, in the context of students’ workplace learning. Three sets of relevant search terms were defined, including synonyms and related definitions of ‘pedagogic practices’, ‘supervisors’ and ‘workplace learning’. Forty-seven studies were selected, retrieved and processed qualitatively. Findings represent a comprehensive overview of fourteen categories of pedagogic practices. Three perspectives on supporting students are discussed: demonstrating vocational activities, stimulating vocational participation, and entrusting vocational activities.

KEYWORDS:

• Workplace learning
• vocational education & training
• mentoring
• learning in the professions
• pedagogy
• vocational & educational guidance

Introduction

Students’ vocational education at workplaces includes learning-by-doing and engaging in practice-based experiences (Dornan and Teunissen 2014; Sommer 2014). For students, working together with experienced colleagues is a common practice to learn the expertise that is needed to become a vocational practitioner (Lave and Wenger 1991). Workplace learning occurs via social interactions (e.g. Gowlland 2014). However, the learning potential of work placements should not be taken for granted (e.g. Goller et al. 2020). Instead, students’ learning experiences depend partly on pedagogic practices enabled by experienced colleagues at work, and educational interventions are sometimes warranted (Mikkonen et al. 2017; Sommer 2014).

Research has been previously conducted to study various aspects of pedagogic practices to support students’ learning at workplaces. At work, students’ vocational education occurs in authentic contexts that offers opportunities to observe, imitate and participate in work processes. Supervisors’ support of workplace learning includes sharing understandings, facilitating opportunities for students to participate and reflect actively, and providing direct guidance-oriented interactions (Billett, Harteis, and Gruber 2014; Ruoranen, Antikainen, and Eteläpelto 2017). Direct guidance might be especially needed in the challenging context of workplace learning (Gowlland 2014; Schaap, Baartman, and De Bruijn 2012).

The rationale for undertaking this literature review is to deepen the understanding of pedagogic practices that support students’ vocational learning in the context of authentic work practices. In authentic workplaces, pedagogic practices are embedded in real-life conditions. There are several useful frameworks for understanding pedagogic practices (e.g. De Bruijn 2012; Mikkonen et al. 2017). De Bruijn (2012) distinguishes five pedagogic strategies: modelling, guiding, monitoring, scaffolding and coaching. Mikkonen et al. (2017) described pedagogic practices in their literature review as supervisors’ monitoring of students, providing explanations, scaffolding, and facilitating observations. However, they do not readily provide insights into how pedagogic practices play out in practice. For example, it would be of value to specify how ‘supporting reflection’ or ‘providing emotional support’ are adopted in work situations. To better know how supervisors could adaptively respond to students’ vocational learning, there is a need to provide an overview of pedagogic practices as they are applied in specific contexts at workplaces. In current literature study, research articles that describe manifestations of supervisors’ pedagogic practices will be reviewed in an in-depth manner.

Understanding pedagogic practices to support vocational learning at workplaces

Across countries, the process of learning a vocation is organised differently, and shaped by both educational and economic systems (De Bruijn, Billett, and Ontstenk 2017; Billett 2011). To investigate pedagogic practices at work, we include all students’ vocational education and training (VET) that occurs at workplaces. In vocational education systems, most schools organise workplace affiliations (Billett 2011). In some contexts, students predominantly learn a vocation through school based education. In other, students spend most of their indenture in workplaces as apprentices without much interference from schools (e.g. Gowlland 2014). In yet other contexts, it is common to obtain work experience, such as employed clinical experience, early in formal education (e.g. Yardley, Teunnissen, and Dornan 2012). By using the term students, we refer to all student-practitioners, like apprentices, interns, trainees, and starters in different stages of their career path to become vocational practitioners.

Thus, current literature review focusses on how students are supported to become vocational practitioners at work in the context of vocational education and training programmes. We acknowledge that vocational education could take place both in school and at work sites (e.g. Bouw, Zitter, and De Bruijn 2020), and it is essential to study pedagogic practices in relation to learning at the boundary of school and work. However, current literature review is not aimed at clarifying this relationship. Instead, we choose to draw attention to vocational learning occurring at workplaces, outside educational institutions.

Principles of workplace learning

Learning at workplaces has a centuries-old tradition of learning through practice, for example, during internships, apprenticeships, or clerkships (Guile and Griffiths 2001; Tynjälä 2008, 2013; Wenger 1998). This learning is commonly termed workplace learning. Two principles are central in this study of workplace learning. First, workplace learning is shaped by and embedded in situated work contexts. Second, social interaction is an essential part of workplace learning. In this way, we mainly interpret workplace learning from a socio-cultural perspective (e.g. Lave and Wenger 1991; Leont’ev 1978; Vygotsky 1986). Following the first principle, workplace learning cannot be dissociated from the context in which it occurs. Processes of workplace learning are part of activity systems and are mediated and formed by cultural and historical artefacts (Leont’ev 1978). Such a view implicates that supporting workplace learning is collectively shaped by ‘how we do things around here.’ Consequently, students’ learning and participation is embedded in local work contexts and dependent on participation of the learner in work-related activities (Gowlland 2014). The second principle stresses that social interactions are fundamental to workplace learning. Through social engagements as legitimate peripheral participants in workplaces, students gradually become members of communities of practice (Lave and Wenger 1991). Social interaction with significant others creates a potential for learning that would not exist without these interactions (Vygotsky 1986). In other words, the process of becoming vocational practitioners at work involves social participation and interaction (Gowlland 2014). Therefore, we define pedagogic practices in the context of workplace learning as being shaped by social invitations of experienced colleagues to participate, observe and listen in everyday work activities.

Experienced colleagues as significant others

The important pedagogic role of the significant other is stressed through Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development (Vygotsky 1986). This refers to the distance between what active engagement with others helps learners achieve, compared with what they can achieve independently. The proximity of experienced colleagues is a core condition to realise supported participation. For instance, access to colleagues, such as supervisors, allow students to discuss and further develop newly acquired working strategies (Goller et al. 2020). Thus, for supervisors, workplace learning includes making overt the hidden knowledge that students may not be able to acquire alone (e.g. Ruoranen, Antikainen, and Eteläpelto 2017).

Since students’ learning is situated in vocational communities and embedded in social systems, supporting workplace learning should be seen as collective in nature (e.g. Lave and Wenger 1991). Experienced colleagues are mutually tasked to guide students’ ability to participate in vocational activities and to gain various relevant learning experiences (Billett 2002; Dornan et al. 2007). Nevertheless, students are commonly adjacent to experienced colleagues who have been given a task to actively support students in their learning (Billett 2002; Mikkonen et al. 2017; Nieuwenhuis et al. 2017). Those experienced colleagues are often named supervisors, workplace educators, mentors, tutors, coaches or preceptors. The underlying meanings and activities of these concepts differ from each other, but they all intend to provide pedagogic support to students’ workplace learning (e.g. Mikkonen et al. 2017). In this study, we choose to use the term experienced colleague or supervisor to refer to all significant others in vocational communities that provide pedagogic practices for students.

Manifestations of pedagogic practices

Pedagogic practices are means by which learning experiences can be enriched to promote students’ learning. These are manifestations of what supervisors enact through activities and interactions to promote students' engagement in learning experiences at work. Purposes of workplace learning vary from vocational orientation, to acquisition of competences, and participation in vocational communities (Nieuwenhuis et al. 2017). To grasp the diverse manifestations of pedagogic practices at workplaces, it would be interesting not only to gain insight into which activities supervisors undertake, but also to understand their reasons and motives for doing so (Khaled, Mazereeuw, and Bouwmans 2021). Supervisors’ intentions to intervene can either be practical, cognitive or affective in nature (Yardley, Teunnissen, and Dornan 2012). Nevertheless, we realise that intentions and reasons of supervisors’ activities will remain partly invisible, or even non-existent, in literature descriptions of pedagogic practices.

Workplace learning differs from learning in school contexts. However, frameworks for pedagogic strategies in vocational school settings could help to grasp pedagogic practices in work settings. De Bruijn (2012) differentiates modelling, guiding, monitoring, scaffolding and coaching as pedagogic strategies. For instance, through observations and imitations, students are modelled by experienced colleagues what their work entails in specific vocational contexts. Learning arises through processes of observation, imitation and practice that comprise everyday work activities (Billett 2004). Furthermore, using scaffolding strategies is aimed at facilitating students’ self-regulative learning processes. This requires fine-tuned support based on an ongoing diagnosis and prolonged monitoring to generate insights in the learner’s level of understanding and changing performance (De Vos et al. 2019). In addition, experienced colleagues, who coach students, intend to enhance their reflection level by asking critical reflective questions and elaborating situational feedback (Billett 2004; Tynjälä 2013). Specifying how manifestations of pedagogic practices are described in literature, will lead to a better understanding of supporting workplace learning in practice.

Research question

Students’ workplace learning, including apprenticeships, internships, or clinical experiences, is guided by experienced colleagues. They invite them to engage and participate in learning experiences at work. This literature review will deepen the understanding of the supportive role of experienced colleagues at work. To provide a comprehensive overview into how pedagogic practices play out in practice, we gather literature descriptions of pedagogic practices at a micro level. These descriptions include applications of guided learning, teaching methods, and De Bruijn’s (2012) pedagogic strategies. We will review descriptions of supervisors’ activities and interactions in the context of VET students’ workplace learning. The main research question of this systematic literature reviews is: Which pedagogic practices applied by experienced colleagues at work in the context of students’ vocational education can be identified and illustrated?

Methods

The research method is based on procedural steps for systematic literature reviews (Petticrew and Roberts 2006).

Search strategy

Based on our research question and theoretical framework, a combination of synonyms and related definitions of three sets needed to be evident in the search: (1) pedagogic practices, (2) experienced colleagues, and (3) workplace learning (Appendix A). Students’ learning in the context of vocational education and training programmes was considered as a fourth set of search terms. However, based on trial searches, this fourths set was discarded since it resulted in the leaving out of relevant articles. Four databases were selected to ensure a broad range of studies from a variety of occupational fields.

In addition to identical sets of terms for seaching in titles and abstracts, the search string included database-specific key terms. The first set included search terms related to ‘pedagogic practices’. In addition to general terms such as ‘teaching methods’, ‘educational strategies’, and ‘instruction’, we included De Bruijn’s (2012) pedagogic strategies as search terms. The second set included the terms ‘supervisors’, ‘educators’, ‘mentors’, ‘tutors’, ‘coaches’ and ‘preceptors’ to specifically search for provided support by experienced colleagues. The third set included various forms of ‘workplace learning’, such as ‘learning at work’, ‘internship’ and ‘apprenticeship’. To capture relevant articles that use different terms than the ones we specifically searched for in titles and abstracts, we used Descriptors in ERIC, MeSH-terms in PsycINFO and PubMed, and Headings in Cinahl. For example, the Descriptor ‘workplace learning’ and MeSH ‘teaching’ are linked to the related term ‘training’. All search terms were carefully selected and tested in trial searches for relevance and added value. The search was conducted in 2017. Results were limited by only selecting peer-reviewed journal articles written in English.

Selection procedure

The procedure comprised three stages (Figure 1). First, studies were identified from database searches and duplicate citations were excluded. Second, titles and abstracts of studies were screened to identify potentially relevant studies. Third, full text studies were retrieved to determine whether they should be included. Articles were only included if they provided thick, situated descriptions of pedagogic practices at workplaces facilitated to support students’ learning. Studies had to include descriptions of how pedagogic activities play out in situated work contexts. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were explicated and discussed within the research group (Appendix B).

Figure 1. Study selection process.

For quality reasons, 10% of the titles and abstracts were screened by the first two authors (LC & AK). After screening 330 titles and abstracts independently, the researchers achieved an observed agreement of 95% and an acceptable Cohen’s kappa of 0,82. Titles and abstracts of the remaining 2987 studies were screened by the first author. Of 374 studies, full-texts were retrieved and screened using the criteria for inclusion. To ensure objectivity, 15% of the full-text studies were screened independently by two researchers. Eventually, we included 47 studies published between 1992 and 2016.

Data analyses

In 47 studies, 525 extracts were coded at fourteen categories of pedagogic practices. Initially, results sections of the included 47 studies were read and reread carefully to select extracts. Meaningful extracts included a statement, or several related statements, that in coherence describe the manifestation of a pedagogic practice. Each extract provided a thorough description of pedagogic practices, embedded in work contexts. Thorough descriptions of pedagogic practices included situation-rich and specific descriptions of how experienced colleagues contribute to students’ vocational education at workplaces through activities or interactions. Next, extracts were coded by using the same words and short phrases as formulated by the authors of the original studies (Miles, Huberman, and Saldana 2014). Extracts were for instance coded as ‘Write down specific example of students’ teaching to talk about what could have been better’ or ‘Question about provided care intended to force connections between clinical encounter and prior knowledge’.

After coding eight studies, the 75 extracts coded so far were thematically analysed. While aiming to cluster, we approached relevant extracts of pedagogic practices inductively by letting thematic categories emerge from the data. Simultaneously, we took our theoretical framework into consideration to unify and interpret categories we encountered. Consensus was reached and thirteen categories of pedagogic practices were validated. To achieve reliable categories, multiple researchers were involved (Poortman and Schildkamp 2012). This was accomplished by three rounds of ordering and discussing the 75 coded extracts within the research team. In the first round two authors discussed collaboratively the meanings and clustering of extracts (LC & LN). Next, two authors independently clustered all 75 extracts of eight studies in these preliminary categories (LC & AK). Lastly, differences were discussed with all authors until consensus was reached and thirteen categories were defined. At a later stage, by debating questionable coding of extracts, a fourteenth category emerged to capture all manifestations of pedagogic practices. Subsequently, coded extracts of the remaining 39 studies were allocated at fourteen categories. To continue ensuring reliability of the coding process in the last phase, four studies, including 44 extracts, were coded independently by two researchers (LC & AK).

Results

Included studies

Analysis yielded descriptive information for 47 included studies (Table 1; complete overview and references are provided in Appendix C). Since we looked for thorough descriptions of how pedagogic practices play out in practice, all studies used qualitative research methods, such as interviews and observations. It is notable that studies in medical vocations and teaching are primarily present. These vocational domains are known to publish more on pedagogic practices at workplaces than other vocational domains.

Table 1. Descriptive Information of Included Studies

Year of publication (N)	1992 – 1998 (7) 2000 – 2009 (16) 2010 – 2016 (24)
Country (N)	Australia (2) Canada (6) The Netherlands (2) New Zealand (1) Scotland (1) Sweden (5)	Sweden & Finland (1) Switzerland (2) Taiwan (1) United Kingdom (4) United States (22)
Occupation(N)	Athletic trainer (4) Car & industry (1) Midwife (1) Nurse (16)	Physician (14) Physician & dentist (1) Physiotherapy (1) Teacher (9)
Data (N)	Single methods: Documents (2) Interviews (25) Observations (3) Questionnaire (1)	Mixed methods: Interviews and documents (1) Interviews, documents and questionnaire (1) Interviews, documents and observations (1) Interviews and observations (12) Interviews and questionnaire (1)

Pedagogic practices supporting workplace learning

In the results sections of 47 studies, we found 525 extracts illustrating how pedagogic practices play out at workplaces. To operationalise pedagogic practices, these extracts were inductively coded in fourteen categories. Results are summarised in (Table 2). The subsequent paragraphs present the categories of pedagogic practices, sequenced from most to least coded. To elucidate embedded perspectives, results are presented with citations, such as interview quotes and observational field notes.

Table 2. Pedagogic practices applied at workplaces in the context of students’ vocational learning.

Experienced colleagues at work:		N coded extracts (in N studies)
Demonstrate vocational activities	Are observed and imitated by students Show skills, give instructions or articulate steps out loud to expand students’ vocational knowledge and to introduce vocational activities Model vocational competence and attitude, e.g. to trigger students’ vocational beliefs	144 (38)
(2) Promote comfort, supportive learning environment	Build confidence in relationships to create an approving atmosphere and supportive learning environment Allow students to learn from mistakes and show mutual respect to make students feel comfortable at workplaces	80 (29)
(3) Be there, beside student	Stand beside students to provide help, or take work over, when support is needed Are nearby students, or check in at regular intervals, to monitor students’ participation in work activities	58 (27)
(4) Entrust independent practice	Consider their confidence in students for entrusting independent practice to them Decide when it is safe to entrust more responsibilities to students Allow students to work independently to develop autonomy in students’ vocational learning	38 (17)
(5) Allow students in community	Contribute to an approving learning climate when they recognise students as legitimate members of vocational communities Allow students access to work specific attributes Appreciate students as valuable members of communities when stimulating professional and social incorporation Enable multiple experienced colleagues to collectively contribute to students’ vocational learning within the community	35 (19)
(6) Work and learn in collaborative relationships	Work and learn together with students Make students feel taken seriously in collaborative relationships Open up to learn from students’ insights and innovative approaches Treat students as equal partners when sharing insights, discussing ideas and making decisions.	28 (14)
(7) Select suitable activities	Create additional assignments or readings for students Weigh up risks and benefits in selecting authentic activities for students Select activities for students to afford suitable engagement in work	27 (18)
(8) Evaluate and reflect	Facilitate conversations about students’ learning progress, vocational development, feelings, values and growth Reflect on students’ experiences and beliefs to provide insights in their process of becoming vocational practitioners	27 (16)
(9) Question vocational knowledge	Ask specific, factual, questions to expand students’ vocational knowledge and stimulate them to make connections between theory and practice Ask open ended, why, or what-if questions to trigger students’ vocational reasoning	21 (11)
(10) Provide feedback	Provide situational feedback during or after work activities to improve students’ practicing and steer their daily work activities Use several ways of providing feedback, such as, giving direct hints or clues, providing nonverbal feedback, or telling students afterwards what was done well and what is needed to work on	19 (15)
(11) Diagnose competence	Gather information about students’ competence to enhance students’ learning experience Determine students’ strengths and weaknesses to know how capable students are to contribute in work activities	18 (11)
(12) Intend to fade support	Intend to step back and gradually fade support Intend to gradually relinquish lead-role to students and push students towards taking initiatives and having autonomy	12 (9)
(13) Determine learning goals	Share and discuss learning wishes and expectations to guide the way of working with students Clarify learning goals to plan students’ engagement in work activities	11 (10)
(14) Facilitate simulated practice	Prepare students for authentic practice by providing opportunities to practice skills through simulations Stimulate students to rehears their vocational reasoning through discussing what-if scenarios	7 (4)

1. Demonstrate Vocational Activities

Experienced colleagues demonstrate daily work practices to students.

In the beginning student Sue accompanied preceptor Pat in her daily work on the ward. Sue could see the nursing actions that Pat performed and how these were done. Pat used to tell Sue what she was doing while she did her nursing work. (Öhrling and Hallberg 2000b, 27)

There are multiple ways of demonstrating vocational activities to students, such as letting students observe experienced colleagues who apply skills and articulate instructions at work. Experienced colleagues gradually introduce vocational activities to students. They first allow students to accompany them while performing their duties, before letting students partly take over or imitate certain activities. Vocational skills that are learned by students through observations and imitations are, for example, nurses listening through stethoscopes (Carlson et al. 2009), physicians providing gynaecologic surgical care (Sutkin et al. 2014b), and teachers grading homework (Cuenca 2011). Furthermore, experienced colleagues want to show their standards for vocational behaviour and beliefs to students, including demonstrations of ways to communicate, collaborate, solve problems, and handle stress. For example, experienced teachers wish to demonstrate to student-teachers how to cope with classroom discipline and routines (Koballa et al. 2008).

• (2) Promote Comfort and Supportive Learning Environment

Establishing close relationships with experienced colleagues enables students to feel comfortable during their workplace experience.

Marie’s mentor was willing to befriend her and this activity encourages students to feel welcome and confident in their environment and more able to ask questions or to reveal worries that they might otherwise contain. (.) Such relationships foster a warm and nurturing learning climate without the emotional deterrents of fear and shame. (Spouse 2000, 518)

Both experienced colleagues and students expect to have not only professional relationships, but also interpersonal interests in each other. For example, student-teachers describe their mentor-teachers as scouts, friends, or trouble-shooters (e.g. Evans-Andres et al. 2006). The interpersonal relationship with experienced colleagues contributes to students’ confidence. Furthermore, experienced colleagues who allow students to learn from their mistakes, give praise, and show mutual respect contribute to an approving atmosphere for students (e.g. Rhoads et al. 2010). For example, experienced colleagues enact an open atmosphere when stimulating students to ask them all sort of questions without fears (e.g. Hegenbarth et al. 2015). The need for experienced colleagues to provide supportive learning environments is also expressed in terms of protecting, sheltering, and preventing students from being overwhelmed or being engaged in unsafe experiences (e.g. Bourbonnais and Kerr 2006).

• (3) Be There, Beside Student

When working close by students, experienced colleagues are able to provide help when needed.

I try to let the athletic training student do as much as they can on their own and let them learn, while still being close enough to correct them if they are doing something incorrectly. (Mazerolle et al. 2012, 162)

Students are encouraged to learn through engagement in work experiences in the proximity of experienced colleagues. By being there, beside students, experienced colleagues monitor students’ actions. When students are directly observed, feedback can be given immediately and work can be turned over to, or taken over by, supervising colleagues (e.g. Piquette et al. 2015). For example, teachers are usually in the same classroom as student-teachers (e.g. Bower-Phipps et al. 2016). Additionally, physicians need to be in the proximity of student-physicians to answer their questions or take part in their clinical practice, both for patient safety as for teaching (e.g. Perron et al. 2009). Being there, beside students, could also be more subtle. For example, when experienced colleagues walk away from students, but check in at regular intervals. In some cases it only required the experienced colleague to be easily available whenever guidance was necessary (e.g. Harris and Naylor 1992). In nursing, supervisors describe their selves as invisibly present for student-nurses, without hovering over them in every situation (Carlson et al. 2009).

• (4) Entrust Independent Practice

A key consideration in entrusting independent practice is the confidence that experienced colleagues have in students.

Maurine [experienced teacher] shared, “I have learned to trust Loren [student] completely, I know that he is a dedicated person, his heart is really in this. I trust him and (…) I’m not going to worry about what the kids are doing. (…). I did feel some apprehension about leaving my students, worried that [some] would walk all over Loren. But, he has learned to handle them very well.” (Dever et al. 2000, 246-247)

When experienced colleagues have trustful relationships with students, they feel more confident when allowing them to engage safely in independent practices. Subsequently, experienced colleagues need to decide when it is safe enough for students to practice on their own. Important factors in these decisions are task complexity, students’ performance and previous experiences (e.g. Haitana and Bland 2011). For example, nurses’ sense of responsibility for patient safety weighs heavily in their decision to entrust greater autonomy to student-nurses (Haitana and Bland 2011). Similarly, teachers feel responsible for the education given to the children in their class (Aderibigbe et al. 2016). In the world of car mechanics, experienced colleagues consider the risk for students to burn themselves when entrusting them to work with hot metal pieces (Filliettaz 2011). Nevertheless, experienced colleagues emphasise the importance of entrusting autonomy to students and widen their scope of responsibilities at work. For instance, teachers explicate how they believe that entrusting autonomy to students provides opportunities for them to stand on their own feet and make their own decisions (Koballa et al. 2008).

• (5) Allow students in Community

Students are allowed as valuable partners of vocational communities when access is given to work specific attributes.

Providing student teachers with access to the tools to enact the practice of teaching were crucial in the ways in which Melissa and Nicole each experienced legitimacy during their field placement. As both participants noted repeatedly in their interviews, the things of teaching whether handouts, teacher’s editions, or computer passwords were extremely important in helping them feel like a teacher. (Cuenca 2011, 122)

Accepting students as community members is believed to contribute to an approving learning climate. The acceptance of students as legitimate members of vocational communities is related to responsibilities that are given to them by experienced colleagues. For example, experienced general practitioners who provide student general practitioners with their own consultation rooms symbolise students’ recognition as team members, which strengthens their confidence (Van der Zwet et al. 2011). Allowing students in communities includes both professional involvement, where students are given responsibilities to participate in authentic work activities, and social involvement. An example of the latter is a teacher who stimulated social involvement through inviting a student-teacher to participate in the organisation of a team bowling trip (Evans-Andres et al. 2006). Furthermore, Filliettaz (2011) emphasises how pedagogic practices could be collectively distributed, to enable various experienced workers to contribute to student’s integration as team partner.

• (6) Work and Learn in Collaborative Relationships

Students and experienced colleagues work and learn together, developing collaborative relationships.

A mentor (.) said, “This has been a give and take relationship. I have learned loads of new ideas from my intern.” An administrator in another school agreed, “The intern comes in with that enthusiasm and spark and innovative ideas. It renews the veteran teacher she is working with.” (Evans-Andres et al. 2006, 300)

Distinctions between experts and students become blurred when they are both learners in mutual processes. Experienced colleagues and students who work and learn collaboratively share insights, discuss ideas and, decide about work approaches as equal partners (e.g. Epstein et al. 1998; Hilli et al. 2014). Van der Zwet et al. (2011) illustrate how general practitioners take students seriously, and treat them as equal, through showing their vulnerability and sharing their uncertainties about patient care. Furthermore, when working in collaborative relationships, students are believed to contribute to the quality of work by means of innovative approaches or new ideas. For example, student-teachers share information about up-to-date science content (Koballa et al. 2008), student-physicians suggest a new use of antibiotics for urinary tract infections (Balmer et al. 2008), and student-nurses raise awareness of improving healthcare quality (Öhrling and Hallberg 2000a).

• (7) Select Suitable Activities

Experienced colleagues have to balance risks and benefits in selecting activities for students.

“You don’t want to assign the student to that patient. That patient’s actively dying. The family’s in there. They don’t want a lot of what they would call intrusion or interference in the care of that.” (Jeffers 2014, 458).

Experienced colleagues are tasked to select suitable work activities for students to participate in. For instance, physicians assign less complicated patients to student-physicians (Gonzalo et al. 2012), and a nurse suggests to a student-nurse to give a report during a quiet night shift when there are less patients to discuss (Öhrling and Hallberg 2000 c). Additionally, some experienced colleagues design assignments for students to enhance their learning. For example, teachers ask student-teachers to write detailed lesson plans (Bower-Phipps et al. 2016), and athletic trainers ask student-athletic trainers to seacrh for articles and present information to others (Mazerolle and Dodge 2015).

• (8) Evaluate and Reflect

Experienced colleagues support students’ learning at the workplace by facilitating evaluations and reflections of their learning experiences.

“After finishing each work day, I [preceptor] would encourage her [student] to write down what she learned during that day, what she did well, and what she needed to improve next time. (.) Just like writing a diary.” (Chen et al. 2011, 195)

Reflections and evaluations are provided to support students in their process of becoming vocational practitioners. Experienced colleagues engage in reflective conversations with students about their growth, feelings, values and vocational development. For example, discussions of video-recordings of students’ teaching are used to stimulate reflection (Bower-Phipps et al. 2016). Multiple studies in the medical context specifically highlight the importance of reflecting on mental aspects, by taking time to talk about work experiences with an emotional character (Jeffers 2014; Öhrling and Hallberg 2000b; Stenfors-Hayes et al. 2011). Studies further illustrate how teachers enable reflective conversations with student-teachers to explicate vocational beliefs related to their teaching experiences. These conversations include discussions about the effectiveness of group work, how to cope with cheating, and ways of helping children from various backgrounds (Aderibigbe et al. 2016; Bower-Phipps et al. 2016; Koballa et al. 2008).

• (9) Question Vocational Knowledge

While learning at workplaces, students are asked questions to expand their vocational knowledge.

While preparing an i.v. [intravenous] drip the preceptor asks, “How much potassium can you administrate i.v per hour?”. Student “It is 20 [mmol] isn’t it?”. Then the preceptor asks the student “What is the normal blood level for potassium?”. (Carlson et al. 2009, 524)

Studies illustrate various types and intentions of questions that are asked to students to recall or conceptualise their knowledge. Asking factual or conceptual questions to students enables experienced colleagues to know to what extent their knowledge has been developed. Questions are also asked to students to stimulate them to make connections between vocational encounters and prior knowledge. For instance, nurses question student-nurses regarding particular patient situations, ‘tell me about the airways, what do you see?’, ‘what medications will work for this patient?’ (Myrick 2002). Questioning is also used to to trigger students' vocational reasoning through asking open ended questions (e.g. Sutkin et al. 2014a). Price and Mitchell (1993) stress how physicians intend to challenge student-physicians’ higher order thinking through using ‘why’ and ‘what-if’ questions.

• (10) Provide Feedback

Experienced colleagues provide specific situational feedback to students during or after observing their work activities.

[A student] explained, “She [mentor teacher] would write down like a specific example or something that she would want to talk to me about after [observing me teach]. She would write it down and tell me what I did and what I could have done better.” (Rhoads et al. 2010, 1013)

Feedback is provided with the intention to improve students’ vocational practicing and steer their daily work activities. There are several ways of how experienced colleagues provide feedback to students. For example, physicians who give direct instructions or hints during work activities, such as ‘better do it this way’ or ‘remember to’ (Stegeman et al. 2013), or athletic trainers who provide formative feedback regarding students’ strengths and weaknesses, such a s ‘this is what you need to work on’, ‘this is what you are doing well’ (Aronson et al. 2015; Mazerolle et al. 2014). Examples of nonverbal feedback are also found, such as, physicians who pause, say nothing, when student-physicians give incorrect answers, to let them reconsider their clinical reasoning (Ende et al. 1995), or teachers who make eye contact with student-teachers to let them realise a child answered incorrectly (Cuenca 2011).

• (11) Diagnose Competence

Experienced colleagues gather information to diagnose students’ competence.

“I asked my colleagues what they thought about the performance of the new nurse I was teaching. Their different perspectives helped me determine whether I should speed up or slow down my teaching, and what content needed greater emphasis.” (Chen et al. 2011, 135)

Diagnosing students’ competence enables experienced colleagues to check how capable students are of performing work activities and to help them to enhance their learning experience (e.g. Stenfors-Hayes et al. 2011). For example, nurses diagnose student-nurses’ competence in psychosocial support to decide whether to let them participate in end of life care (Jeffers 2014), and students’ sense of responsibility to decide whether to let them give medications to patients (Bourbonnais and Kerr 2006). Students’ competence is assessed by listening to their reasoning, observing them, asking questions, or obtaining colleagues’ perspectives. Multiple studies explicitly mention the initial meeting as important for experienced colleagues to assess what students are capable of doing (Bourbonnais and Kerr 2006; Davis et al. 1993; Haitana and Bland 2011; Myrick 2002).

• (12) Intend to Fade Support

Experienced colleagues intend to fade their pedagogic support during students’ workplace experiences.

Margie explained her expectations for the growth in knowledge and teaching competence of the beginning teacher she mentored in these words, “He’s going to get more and more responsibility as we go along and then, you know, I’ll let go of the bike and let him ride”. (Koballa et al. 2008, 399)

Fading support includes a process of letting students go and pushing them towards taking initiatives and having autonomy in practice (e.g. Kennedy et al. 2007). Some studies describe a scheduled process of reversing roles where experienced colleagues start as role models the first weeks, and gradually give more autonomy to students (Bower-Phipps et al. 2016; Bradbury and Koballa 2008; Davis et al. 1993). Intentions to gradually reduce support seem related to expectations of growth in students’ vocational development. These expectations are not always met; for example, when student-teachers prefer to continue observing and relying upon expert-teachers, instead of gradually feeling comfortable in the classroom and taking more initiative in teaching (Bradbury and Koballa 2008).

• (13) Determine Learning Goals

Learning goals clarify learning wishes and expectations.

Most preceptors discussed with the student at the beginning of the nursing practice her/his goals. By asking questions, talking and listening, they obtained insight into the students’ previous experience and learning needs. The preceptors discussed, identified and accepted the students’ experienced primary needs for learning during one of the first days of practice. (Öhrling and Hallberg 2000c, 533)

Experienced colleagues and students determine learning goals together to guide their way of working and participation in daily activities (e.g. Velo and Smedley 2014). To identify learning goals, experienced colleagues sometimes use students’ study guides (Öhrling and Hallberg 2000b), or short questionnaires that cover areas such as students’ prior experiences and expectations (Carlson et al. 2009). However, the unpredictable context of workplaces asks for learning goals to be adapted to actual situations. For instance, the conditions for student-nurses’ learning needs are not always available on the ward (Öhrling and Hallberg 2000 c).

• (14) Facilitate Simulated Practice

Experienced colleagues encourage students to practice their skills in simulated situations.

ATSs [athletic trainer students] stated that their preceptor stimulated their critical thinking skills while having the students think through simulations. [.] “[My preceptor] would fake an injury and I would be responsible for doing a very quick evaluation and then getting the athlete off in the quickest time possible to not hold up the game any more than necessary.” (Aronson et al. 2015, 223-224)

By facilitating simulated practices, experienced colleagues tailor to students’ learning needs and provide opportunities to train their vocational skills and reasoning (e.g. Cope et al. 2000). Experienced colleagues facilitate simulated practices for students to prepare them safely for authentic practice and to usefully fill in quiet moments at work (Finnerty and Collington 2013; Mazerolle et al. 2012). For example, midwifes let student-midwifes practice their suturing skills on sponges (Finnerty and Collington 2013) and athletic trainers discuss what-if scenarios with student-athletic trainers to trigger their vocational reasoning (Aronson et al. 2015).

Conclusions

This literature review presents manifestations of pedagogic practices enabled by experienced colleagues at work in the context of students’ vocational education. We framed pedagogic practices as being shaped by social invitations of experienced colleagues to participate, observe and listen in everyday work activities. Fourteen categories illustrate a diversity of pedagogic activities, including how experienced colleagues are observed and imitated by students, collaboratively work and learn together with students, and select suitable activities for students to participate in. Although we identified fourteen separate categories to operationalise pedagogic practices, there seems to be overlap and interdependence between them. For instance, balancing risks and benefits in selecting tasks for students (category ‘select suitable activities’) is closely related to deciding when to entrust more responsibilities to students (category ‘entrust independent practice’). Through interpretation of the diversity, interrelatedness, and intentions of our categories of pedagogic practices we come to three perspectives on workplace pedagogy (Figure 2).

Demonstrate vocational activities

Pedagogic practices aimed at demonstrating vocational activities to students are found most in the literature review. This is in line with our conceptual understanding that students primarily learn at workplaces through observing and imitating experienced colleagues (Billett 2004,). Our findings illustrate that modelling is a primary job of supervisors (e.g. Mazerolle et al., 2015). They give instructions, facilitate simulations, ask questions and provide feedback. Furthermore, students observe and imitate how experienced colleagues communicate, collaborate, solve problems, and handle stress (e.g. Johnson et al. 1994). Supervisors’ demonstrations of vocational practices are embedded in students’ every day working life. For instance, surgeons talk out loud while operating (Sutkin et al. 2014a). Consistent with previous research, verbalisations make experts’ thinking accessible to students as they enact work tasks (Billett ; Gowlland 2014). Thus, demonstrating vocational activities, in its broadest sense, is common behaviour of experienced colleagues at workplaces.

Stimulate vocational participation

Students engage in daily work practices. Promoting comfort and a supportive learning environment are key variables in stimulating this vocational participation. In line with previous research, results of our literature review indicate that strong and trusting relationships intermediate students’ increasing level of vocational participation and a sense of belonging (e.g. Rowe, Jackson, and Fleming 2021). Findings on ‘work and learn in collaborative relationships’ relate relationship building with students’ social integration and participation in vocational communities. The latter is closely related to ‘evaluating and reflecting' on vocational development, which includes reflective conversations about students’ feelings, values and growth. Our review further reveals that experienced colleagues stimulate students’ participation through giving them access to daily work routines and through socially integrating them in vocational communities. What significantly contributes to students’ participation, is the access they are given to vocational attributes and tools, such as the teacher’s version of the school agenda (e.g. Cuenca 2011). This teacher’s agenda is a cultural attribute that embodies the teaching tradition and thus becomes part of the process of vocational participation and acculturation of student-teachers.

Entrust vocational activities

Results indicate the process where supervisors gradually fade their support and intend to push students towards having more responsibilities. In reference to ‘selecting suitable activities,’ experienced colleagues ensure a gradual build-up in students’ work activities. Our findings imply that experienced colleagues stand beside students to continuously diagnose and guide their vocational activities and provide immediate feedback and help when needed. Goals of learning are specified together with experienced colleagues. When entrusting responsibilities to students, experienced colleagues seem to wrestle with the level of autonomy to provide to students. They balance between competing interests of ensuring quality and safety at work, and entrusting students with appropriate and progressively greater responsibility. Although making mistakes should be part of learning processes, the stakes could be high with limited room for trial and error, especially in medical work contexts (Harteis and Bauer 2014; Van der Leeuw, Teunissen, and Van der Vleuten 2018).

Figure 2. Perspectives on supporting students’ vocational learning at work.

Discussions and implications

The rationale for undertaking this literature review was to deepen the understanding of pedagogic practices that support students’ workplace learning as part of their vocational education. A literature review was conducted to operationalise how supervisors’ pedagogic practices are applied in workplace practices. In line with our theoretical framework, supporting students’ vocational development includes supervisors’ intentional use of pedagogic strategies to improve students’ vocational education (De Bruijn 2012; Khaled, Mazereeuw, and Bouwmans 2021). Guiding, modelling, scaffolding, monitoring and coaching, are recognised as important practices for supervisors at workplaces (De Bruijn 2012). However, we gained insight into which activities supervisors undertake, but only party in their intentions for doing so. The incomplete overview of intentions and reasons for providing pedagogic practices, makes it inappropriate to relate De Bruijn’s pedagogic strategies (De Bruijn 2012) to our results. Moreover, students are not always explicitly being instructed following well-considered intentions. Especially at workplaces, they also learn through being invited to participate in everyday working life (Billett 2004). Thus, pedagogic practices presented in current article also include more spontaneous and facilitative guiding behaviour.

Reviewing how pedagogic practices play out in practice, enabled us to look beyond the existing frameworks (cf De Bruijn 2012; Mikkonen et al. 2017). Through approaching learning opportunities as being shaped in everyday working life, we indicated three perspectives on workplace pedagogy. Supervisors could be encouraged to reflect on their use of pedagogic practices to support students’ vocational learning from the perspectives of demonstrating and entrusting work activities, and stimulating students’ participation at workplaces. Pedagogic practices are partly obscured in daily work activities. Therefore, it is important that supervisors recognise the learning potential of daily activities and adaptively respond to it (Billett 2002; Sommer 2014; Van de Wiel et al. 2011).

Based on the socio-cultural perspective on learning where pedagogic practices are embedded in social interactions at work, we expected that supporting students’ vocational participation would be collectively taken up by the work community as a whole, and not only by single individuals (e.g. Billett 2002; Mikkonen et al. 2017). Remarkably, most studies refer to single designated experienced colleagues with the task to support students. Not multiple colleagues, but individual supervisors, mentors or preceptors are mentioned to support students’ workplace learning. An exception is the study of Filliettaz (2011), who describes how a student becomes an equal partner of the work team because multiple experienced colleagues together support his work and learning process. When students’ workplace learning will be perceived as responsibility for the vocational community as whole, we would perhaps advance understanding into how collective contributions could support students’ learning experiences.

We approached students’ participation at work as gradually being stimulated through perceived legitimacy conferred by experienced colleagues (cf. Lave and Wenger 1991). Promoting comfort, confidence, and relationships are found to be associated with students' engagement and participation at work. Furthermore, similar to assessment processes at work, experienced colleagues are continuously challenged with considerations of students’ needs and readiness (De Vos et al. 2019; Ten Cate 2013). Especially the perspective of ‘entrusting vocational activities’ involves considerations and diagnoses of students’ readiness in relation to provided autonomy. To understand the gradual perceived legitimacy of students at work, insights in entrustment decisions, such as the concept of EPAs, may help to appreciate how entrustment is an essential element in supporting workplace learning. EPAs (Entrustable Professional Activities) are work activities to entrust to students once they have attained sufficient specific competence (Ten Cate 2013). It would be of value to deepen insights into the complex role of supervisors’ balancing interests and decisions in the context of their applied pedagogic practices to entrust students’ vocational engagement at work.

Limitations

This literature review had some limitations. (1) We included peer-reviewed journal articles written in English, and excluded on forehand contributions in other languages and forms, such as book chapters. For example, Filliettaz and Billett (2015) provided insights into culturally-specific developments of traditions in learning through work in the Francophone world. Extending the inclusion criteria might have provided us some additional relevant sources. (2) The selection of articles does not include the most recent articles, since the literature search was conducted in 2017. We decided to check for recent journal articles in the vocational domain by taking samples in the Journal of Education and Work and the Journal of Vocational Education and Training. In these journals, we screened articles published between 2017 and 2020. None of these articles has led to a different understanding or expansion of the fourteen categories of pedagogic practices. Although we assume that saturation has been achieved, it would be interesting for researchers to further review the impact of recent developments on workplace pedagogy. (3) We aimed to include pedagogic practices situated in multiple occupations, but most articles describe practices in medical occupations, or in teaching. These vocational domains are known to support teaching and learning studies, and a culture of reflective practice. Consequently, the domains of medical vocations and teaching are more inclined to publish on pedagogic practices at workplaces than other vocational domains (e.g. Nieuwenhuis et al. 2017). Future research could explore similarities or differences between occupations. Different domains might offer students different pedagogic practices for learning at work (e.g. Virtanen et al. 2014). The categories and perspectives of pedagogic practices form starting points for further research. Field research is recommended to further explore how pedagogic practices are embedded in specific work contexts and contribute to students’ vocational education.

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to express their gratitude to Marije Faber, who provided assistance in the selection process of studies.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Appendix

Appendix Table C provides references for included studies in present systematic literature search

Appendix A.

Search terms.

	SET 1 Pedagogic practices	AND	SET 2 Experienced colleagues	AND	SET 3 Workplace learning
Search terms titles or abstracts	Pedagogic practice(s)		Supervisor(s)		Workplace learning
	OR Didactic/didactical		OR Educator(s)		OR Learning in the workplace
	OR Pedagogical/pedagogy		OR Mentor(s)		OR Learning at work
	OR Teaching method /methods		OR Tutor(s)		OR Internship
	OR Teaching strategy/strategies		OR Coach(es)		OR Apprenticeship
	OR Education(al) method/methods		OR Preceptor(s)		OR Clerkship
	OR Education(al) strategy/strategies				OR Clinical experience
	OR Learning support				OR On the job learning
	OR Guided learning
	OR Modelling/modelling
	OR Role model/models
	OR Monitoring
	OR Scaffolds/scaffolding
	OR Instructing/instruction
	OR Coaching
	OR Mentoring
	OR Teaching roles/
	OR Teaching behaviour/behaviour
	OR Feedback
*Descriptors Eric	OR Coaching (performance)		OR Mentors		OR Internship programs
	OR Career guidance		OR Supervisors		OR Apprenticeships
	OR Teaching guidance				OR Workplace learning
	OR Educational strategies				OR Clinical experience
	OR Role models
	OR Progress Monitoring
	OR Teacher role
	OR Teacher behaviour
	OR Feedback (response)
*Descriptors PsycInfo	OR Coaching psychology		OR Mentor		OR Internship programs
	OR Occupational guidance				OR Medical internship
	OR Teaching methods				OR Apprenticeship
	OR Role models
	OR Feedback
*MeSH PubMed& PsycInfo	OR Teaching		OR Mentors		OR Preceptorship
					OR Internship and residency
					OR Internship, nonmedical
					OR Clinical clerkship
*Headings Cinahl	OR Teaching methods		OR Mentorship		OR Internship and residency
	OR Role models		OR Supervisors and supervision		OR Preceptorship
	OR Feedback		OR Clinical supervision
			OR Student supervision

* The search strings for each database include identical general terms for searching in titles and abstracts plus database-specific terms to include the search of related terms.

Appendix B.

Criteria for study selection.

Criteria	Inclusion	Exclusion
	Peer-reviewed journal articles written in English
Workplace	Context of learning is an authentic workplace representative for the occupation being learned.	Context of learning in other settings such as in classrooms, simulated workplace settings, at home, or online.
Vocational communities	Support is provided by experienced colleagues, such as workplace educators, supervisors, preceptors, mentors.	Support is provided by peers, or at a distance from workplaces by school-teachers or through (online) tools.
Pedagogic practices	Rich, concrete descriptions of provided pedagogic practices illustrated in their situated context.	General descriptions of pedagogic practices, which are not situated in specific contexts.
Novices	Starters (such as trainees, apprentices, interns) who learn vocations through engagement in workplace activities. Including student-teachers, student-nurses and so on in the context of vocational qualification programs, and other beginning vocational practitioners.	Experienced vocational practitioners learning something new in their existing role. Specific groups of novices, such as special needs students or specific ethnical groups.
Quality	Research question and/or aim is defined. Research method is transparent and suitable to answer the research question. Transparent presentation of results.	Not clear what arguments and statements are based on.

Appendix C.

Overview of included studies.

Authors	Year	Title	Journal	Country	Methods	Occupation studied	Participants (n)	Pedagogic practices coded* (n)
Aderibigbe, S., Colucci-Gray, L., & Gray, D.S.	2016	Conceptions and expectations of mentoring relationships in a teacher education reform context	Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning	United Kingdom	Interviews	Teacher	Supporter teachers (6)	1(1), 4(1), 5(2), 8(1), 13(1)
Aronson, P.A., Bowman, T.G., & Mazerolle, S.M.	2015	Evaluating perceptions of culminating clinical education experiences of senior athletic training students	Athletic Training Education Journal	United States	Questionnaire	Athletic trainer	Senior students (19)	1(2), 3(3), 8(1), 10(1), 14(3)
Balmer D.F., Serwint, J.R., Ruzek, S.B., & Giardino, A.P.	2008	Understanding paediatric resident – continuity preceptor relationships through the lens of apprenticeship learning	Medical Education	United States	Interviews & observations	Physician	Preceptors (10) & residents (10)	1(3), 3(1), 5(1), 6(3), 12(1)
Bourbonnais, F.F., & Kerr, E.	2006	Preceptoring a student in the final clinical placement: reflections from nurses in a Canadian hospital	Journal of Clinical Nursing	Canada	Interviews	Nurse	Supervisors (8)	1(3), 2(2), 3(1), 11(4), 13(1)
Bower-Phipps, L., Van Senus Klecka, C., & Sature, A.L.	2016	Developing mentors: An analysis of shared mentoring practices	The New Educator	United States	Interviews (individual and focus group) & observations	Teacher	Mentors (4) & interns (4)	1(4), 3(3), 5(1), 6(1), 7(1), 8(2), 10(1), 12(1)
Bradbury, L.U., & Koballa Jr., T.R.	2008	Borders to cross: Identifying sources of tension in mentor-intern relationships	Teaching and Teacher Education	United States	Interviews & observations	Teacher	Mentors (2) & interns (2)	1(5), 2(1), 6(3), 7(2), 12(2)
Carlson, E., Wann-Hansson, C., & Pilhammar, E.	2009	Teaching during clinical practice: strategies and techniques used by preceptors in nursing education	Nurse Education Today	Sweden	Interviews (focus group) & observations	Nurse	Preceptors (29)	1(3), 2(1), 3(1), 8(4), 9(2), 10(2), 13(1)
Chen, Y.H., Duh, Y.J., Feng, Y.F., & Huang, Y.P.	2011	Preceptors’ experiences training new graduate nurses: A hermeneutic phenomenological approach	Journal of Nursing Research	Taiwan	Interviews	Nurse	Preceptors (15)	2(1), 4(1), 5(1), 7(1), 8(2), 11(1)
Cope, P., Cuthbertson, P., & Stoddart, B.	2000	Situated learning in the practice placement	Journal of Advanced Nursing	Scotland	Interviews	Nurse	Students (30)	1(1), 3(1), 4(1), 5(1), 9(1), 14(1)
Côté, L., & Laughrea, P.	2014	Preceptors’ understanding and use of role modelling to develop the CanMEDS competencies in residents	Academic Medicine	Canada	Interviews	Physician	Preceptors (20)	1(13), 2(1), 7(1), 8(1), 10(1)
Cuenca, A.	2011	The role of legitimacy in student teaching: learning to feel like a teacher	Teacher Education Quarterly	United States	Interviews & observations	Teacher	Cooperating teachers (2) & students (2)	1(4), 3(2), 4(1), 5(2), 10(1)
Davis, S.D., Sawin, K.J., & Dunn, M.	1993	Teaching strategies used by expert nurse practitioner preceptors: a qualitative study	Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners	United States	Interviews (structured)	Nurse	Preceptors (11), physicians (4)	1(1), 2(1), 3(1), 4(3), 6(1), 7(2), 9(1), 11(1), 12(2)
Dever, M.T., Johnson, F.F., & Hobbs, D.E.	2000	A qualitative analysis of an intensive mentor-apprentice collaboration: MAC	Journal of Research and Development in Education	United States	Interviews & documents (personal reflection logs)	Teacher	Mentors (2) & apprentices (2)	1(9), 2(3), 3(1), 4(2), 6(5), 13(1)
Ende, J., Pomerantz, A., & Erickson, F.	1995	Preceptors’ strategies for correcting residents in an ambulatory care medicine setting: a qualitative analysis.	Academic Medicine	United States	Observations	Physician	Preceptors (11) & interns (11)	2(8), 9(2), 10(2)
Epstein, R.M., Cole, D.R., Gawinski, B.A., Piotrowski-Lee, S., & Ruddy, N.B.	1998	How students learn from community-based preceptors	Archives of Familiy Medicine	United States	Documents (critical incident descriptions)	Physician	Students (37)	1(10), 2(2), 4(2), 6(1)
Evans-Andres, M., Kyle, D.W., & Carini, R.M.	2006	Is mentoring enough? An examination of the mentoring relationship in the pilot two-year kentucky teacher internship program	The New Educator	United States	Interviews & surveys	Teacher	Principals (8), mentors (10), interns (21)	1(1), 2(1), 3(1), 5(1), 6(1), 10(1)
Filliettaz, L.	2011	Collective guidance at work: a resource for apprentices?	Journal of Vocational Education and Training	Switzerland	Observations (video)	Car & Industry	Apprentices (2) & multiple colleagues in observed workplaces	1(3), 3(1), 4(1), 5(7), 7(1)
Finnerty, G., & Collington, V.	2013	Practical coaching by mentors: student midwives’ perceptions	Nurse Education in Practice	United Kingdom	Documents (written or audio-diaries)	Nurse	Students (19)	1(3), 8(1), 10(1), 12(1), 14(2)
Gonzalo, J.D., Heist, B.S., Duffy, B.L., Dyrbye, L., Fagan, M.J., Ferenchick, G., Harrell, H., Hemmer, P.A., Kernan, W.N., Kogan, J.R., Raffert, C., Wong, R., & Elnicki, D.M.	2012	The art of bedside rounds: a multi-centre qualitative study of strategies used by experienced bedside teachers	Journal of General Internal Medicine	United States	Interviews	Physician	Physicians (34)	1(6), 2(1), 3(1), 7(1), 9(2), 13(1)
Haitana, J., & Bland, M.	2011	Building relationships: the key to preceptoring nursing students	Nursing Praxis in New Zealand	New Zealand	Interviews	Nurse	Preceptors (5)	2(3), 4(7), 11(1), 12(1)
Harris, D., & Naylor, S.	1992	Case study: learner physiotherapists’ perceptions of clinical education	ETTI Educational and Training Technology International	United Kingdom	Interviews, documents (diaries) & questionnaires	Physiotherapist	Students (23)	3(10)
Hegenbarth, M., Rawe, S., Murray, L., Arnaert, A., & Chambers-Evans, J.	2015	Establishing and maintaining the clinical learning environment for nursing students: a qualitative study	Nurse Education Today	Canada	Focus groups	Nurse	Preceptors (17)	2(3), 5(2)
Hilli, Y, Salmu, M., & Jonsén, E.	2014	Perspectives on good preceptorship: A matter of ethics	Nursing Ethics	Sweden & Finland	Interviews	Nurse	Preceptors (27)	1(1), 2(11), 5(1), 6(4), 8(1)
Jeffers, S.	2014	Nurse faculty perceptions of end-of-life education in the clinical setting: A phenomenological perspective	Nurse Education in Practice	United States	Interviews	Nurse	Nurse faculty (10)	1(2), 2(3), 7(1), 8(1), 11(1)
Johnson, L.R., Cohen, M.Z., & Hull, M.M.	1994	Cultivating expertise in oncology nursing: methods, mentors, and memories	Oncology Nursing Forum	United States	Interviews	Nurse	Experienced nurses (38)	1(5), 2(4)
Kennedy, T.J.T., Lingard, L., Baker, G.R., Kitchen, L., & Regehr, G.	2007	Clinical oversight: conceptualising the relationship between supervision and safety	Journal of General Internal Medicine	Canada	Interviews & observations	Physician	Interviews: physicians (12), residents (28), medical students (17), nurses (8) Observations: 12 teaching teams (88)	1(2), 3(6), 4(4), 5(2), 6(1), 12(1)
Koballa Jr., T.R., Bradbury, L.U., Glynn, S.M., & Deaton, C.M.	2008	Conceptions of science teacher mentoring and mentoring practice in an alternative certification program	Journal of Science Teacher Education	United States	Interviews & observations	Teacher	Mentors (6) & beginning teachers (6)	1(11), 2(4), 4(2), 6(3), 7(3), 8(4), 12(2)
Manyon, A., Shipengrover, J., McGuigan, D., Haggerty, M., James, P, & Danzo, A.	2003	Defining differences in the instructional styles of community preceptors	Family Medicine	United States	Interviews	Physician	Preceptors (14)	1(3), 2(1), 3(1), 4(1), 5(1), 11(2)
Mazerolle, S.M., Bowman, T.G., & Benes, S.S.	2014	Defining the engaging learning experience from the athletic training student perspective	Athletic Training Education Journal	United States	Interviews (online)	Athletic trainer	Students (21)	2(2), 3(2), 7(1), 8(1), 10(2)
Mazerolle, S.M., Bowman, T.G., & Dodge, T.M.	2012	Clinical instructional methods employed by preceptors in the clinical setting	Athletic Training Education Journal	United States	Interviews	Athletic trainer	Preceptors (24)	1(2), 2(3), 2(2), 8(1), 9(1), 10(1), 14(1)
Mazerolle, S.M., & Dodge, T.	2015	Role of clinical education experiences on athletic training students’ development of professional commitment	Athletic Training Education Journal	United States	Interviews	Athletic trainer	Students (17)	1(3), 2(1), 3(3), 7(1)
Myrick, F.	2002	Preceptorship and critical thinking in nursing education	Journal of Nursing Education	Canada	Interviews & observations	Nurse	Preceptors (6) & preceptees (6)	1(2), 2(2), 3(2), 5(1), 7(2), 9(3), 11(2), 13(1)
Öhrling, K., & Hallberg, I.R.	2000a	Nurses’ lived experience of being a Preceptor	Journal of Professional Nursing	Sweden	Interviews	Nurse	Preceptors (17)	1(2), 2(2), 3(1), 4(1), 6(1), 7(1), 8(3), 11(2)
Öhrling, K., & Hallberg, I.R.	2000b	Student nurses’ lived experience of preceptorship. Part 2 – the preceptor-preceptee relationship	International Journal of Nursing Studies	Sweden	Interviews	Nurse	Students (17)	1(5), 2(4), 3(3), 4(4), 5(2), 7(3), 8(2), 11(1), 13(1)
Öhrling, K., & Hallberg, I.R.	2000 c	The meaning of preceptorship: nurses’ lived experience of being a preceptor	Journal of Advanced Nursing	Sweden	Interviews	Nurse	Preceptors (17)	7(1), 11(2), 12(1), 13(2)
Perron, N.J., Sommer, J., Hudelson, P., Demaurex, F., Luthy, C., Louis-Simonet, M., Nendaz, M., De Grave, W., Dolmans, D., & Van Der Vleuten, C.P.M.	2009	Clinical supervisors’ perceived needs for teaching communication skills in clinical practice	Medical Teacher	Switzerland	Interviews (focus groups)	Physician	Supervisors (19)	1(1), 3(3), 7(1), 8(1)
Piquette, D., Moulton, C.A., LeBlanc, & V.R.	2015	Model of interactive clinical supervision in acute care environments. Balancing patient care and teaching.	Annals of the American Thoracic Society Journals	Canada	Observations	Physician	Residents (57), fellows (35) & attending physicians (19)	1(5), 3(2), 4(3), 9(3), 10(1)
Price, D.A., & Mitchell, C.A.	1993	A model for clinical teaching and learning	Medical Education	Australia	Interviews (small group discussions) & observations	Physician	Tutors (24)	1(1), 2(1), 4(1), 5(1), 9(3)
Rhoads, K., Radu, I., & Weber, K.	2010	The teacher internship experiences of prospective high school mathematics teachers	International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education	United States	Interviews	Teacher	Prospective secondary mathematics teachers (9)	2(3), 3(1), 10(1)
Rikard, G.L, & Veal, M.L.	1996	Cooperating teachers: insight into their preparation, beliefs and practices	Journal of Teaching in Physical Education	United States	Interviews	Teacher	Cooperating teachers (24)	1(2), 2(7), 3(2), 5(2), 6(2), 10(1)
Spouse, J.	2000	Bridging theory and practice in the supervisory relationship: a sociocultural perspective	Issues and innovations in nursing education	United Kingdom	Observations, interviews & documents	Nurse	Students (8)	1(1), 2(3), 5(3), 7(1), 13(1)
Stegeman, J.H., Schoten, E.J., & Terpstra, O.T.	2013	Knowing and acting in the clinical workplace: trainees’ perspectives on modelling and feedback	Advances in Health Sciences Education	Netherlands	Interviews	Physician	Trainees (22)	1(2), 9(1), 10(1)
Stenfors-Hayes, T., Hult, H., & Dahlgren, L.O.	2011	What does it mean to be a good teacher and clinical supervisor in medical education?	Advances in Health Sciences Education	Sweden	Interviews	Physician & dentist	Supervisors (15)	1(3), 8(1), 11(1)
Sutkin, G., Littleton, E.B., & Kanter, S.L.	2014a	How surgical mentors teach: a classification of in vivo teaching behaviours part 1: verbal teaching guidance	Journal of Surgical Education	United States	Observations (video) & interviews	Physician	Residents (5), fellows (3) & surgeons (5)	1(6), 9(2)
Sutkin, G., Littleton, E.B., & Kanter, S.L.	2014b	How surgical mentors teach: a classification of in vivo teaching behaviours part 2: physical teaching guidance	Journal of Surgical Education	United States	Observations (video) & interviews	Physician	Residents (5), fellows (3) & surgeons (5)	1(9), 5(1), 6(1)
Van der Zwet, J., Zwietering, P.J., Teunissen, P.W., Van der Vleuten, C.P.M., & Scherpbier, A.J.J.A.	2011	Workplace learning from a socio-cultural perspective: creating developmental space during the general practice clerkship	Advances in Health Sciences Education	Netherlands	Interviews (group)	Physician	Medical students (44)	1(4), 2(1), 3(2), 4(3), 5(3), 6(1), 10(2)
Velo, K., & Smedley, A.	2014	Using reflection to enhance the teaching and learning of midwifery students	British Journal of Midwifery	Australia	Observations & interviews	Midwife	Registered nurse midwife (1) & registered nurse/student midwife (1)	3(1), 7(3), 13(1)

* Note. Numbers of coded pedagogic practices refer to the following fourteen categories:

1. Demonstrate vocational activities

2. Promote comfort, supportive learning environment

3. Be there, beside novice

4. Entrust independent practice

5. Allow novices in community

6. Work and learn in collaborative relationships

7. Select suitable activities

8. Evaluate and reflect on vocational activities

9. Question vocational knowledge

10.Provide feedback on work activities

11. Diagnose competence

12. Intend to fade support

13. Determine learning goals together

14. Facilitate simulated practice