This article presents a conceptual framework that relates facts about the student teaching experience to what ought to be learned. Two cases of student teaching illustrate how the relative influence of program, setting, and participant interaction shape opportunities for learning. Suggestions for teacher educators are offered. (Author/MT)

This paper suggests that the conception of teacher thinking must be expanded beyond planning and decision making. People's ordinary conception of thinking includes imagining and remembering, judging and interpreting, as well as aspects of caring and feeling. To understand the scope and meaning of teachers' thought researchers must broaden and…

This paper examines the area of teachers' practical arguments (arugments consisting in the search for a plan of action), considering questions such as: How does rationality manifest itself in practice, and in specific human practices like teaching? Is practical reasoning in teaching moral? Do values of theoretical reasoning, such as universality,…

The realities of teacher preparation are not self-evident. Researchers, educators, and policymakers need a framework to describe what goes on in teacher education programs and to determine how they do or do not measure up as preparation for teaching. This paper presents such a framework. The framework rests on a conception of the central tasks of…

The concept of knowledge utilization and the nature of practical decisions are analyzed to investigate how research knowledge and effective teaching practice are related. It is argued that the personal commitments of teachers, common sense, and normative requirements can also be valid bases for action. The author points out that an over-reliance…

This paper presents a conceptual framework that relates empirical aspects of student teaching (facts about the experience) to considerations of value (what student teachers ought to learn). First, the report explains what is meant by calling student teaching an "occasion for teacher learning." Next, based on observational and interview…

The limitations and unique contributions of experiential learning across the learning-to-teach continuum (pretraining phase, preservice phase, inservice phase/on-the-job learning) were examined. Three vignettes are presented that describe specific examples of firsthand experience: student teaching, exploratory field experiences, and the field as a…

A study was conducted by a researcher who observed the mathematics education class and the field experiences of one preservice student teacher. The teacher educator and the target student were the key participants. The focus of the study was on the transition from student to teacher, and on the initial trials of being a teacher. Insights were…