Recently, many insights have been gained into how to create powerful learning environments. The goal of learning how to teach in this way has important consequences for teacher training. Firstly, scholars indicate the necessity to work out a theoretical framework for the student-teachers which is sufficiently complete, but still manageable, and which is operationalised into concrete educational approaches. The current article presents such a framework, based on a literature study. Key teaching activities were described by means of 13 dimensions. Aiming at a gradually more complex model for use in teacher education, these dimensions were summarized in a model with four interconnected main dimensions. Possible conflicts between the instructional activities of the four main dimensions were indicated. Teachers have to search for appropriate balances within these dilemmas. The whole is conceptualized as an "equilibrium model for creating powerful learning environments". Secondly, based on this framework, instruments could be constructed which facilitate research into approaches within teacher training which encourage learning how to teach in this way. A questionnaire to evaluate the degree of creating powerful learning environments during internships was, therefore, constructed and validated. Analyses indicate a suitable degree of reliability and validity. Furthermore, a confirmatory factor analysis indicates that the assumed theoretical structure was reflected by the experimental data. (Contains 5 tables and 3 notes.)