This study aimed to examine whether principles of effective teaching constitute essential criteria for a systematic and successful analysis of lessons. After watching a video of a complete lesson, the participants (each of nine experienced and pre-service teachers) were asked to analyse this lesson in terms of effectiveness for pupils' learning in the form of an open dialogue. Their comments were analysed by means of a qualitative content analysis and revealed that the experienced teachers independently used the wide range of principles of effective teaching and differed significantly from the pre-service teachers in this regard. Particularly striking were the large differences in the activation of knowledge about these five principles: goal orientation, relating cognitive activities to prior knowledge, classroom climate/learning atmosphere, clarity, and using appropriate examples. These differences point to specific development tasks, in order to improve the analytical skills of student teachers within teacher education.