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The aim of this research is to better understand the development of the professional skills of elementary school teachers. We look into the origins of their training to shed light on how these competencies are developed. We do this by studying the actual performances of trainees in the classroom in order to identify the critical factors which lead to success or hamper professional development. In this article we specifically study how pedagogical know-how is acquired by the novice teacher when confronted with unforeseen classroom events. Our study shows that the ability to reflect upon and clarify the relevant problem-space which organizes and gives meaning to the target knowledge is a skill indispensable to professional development. Our experimental approach uses pre-service training as a platform for observation.