We present the results of a study on the didactical knowledge development of pre-service secondary mathematics teachers participating in a methods course. In this course, we expected pre-service teachers to learn and use a series of conceptual and methodological tools that could help them in the design of didactical units. We coded and analyzed the information contained in the transparencies used by the teachers while presenting their solution to a series of tasks proposed in the course. Four stages of didactical knowledge development were identified and characterized. The evolution in teachers’ performance over time is described based on those stages.