A study examined the processes associated with the transition of a classroom teacher from the elementary setting to the higher education setting. As integral elements of this transition, the study examined the participant's personal practical theories (PPT's) that guided his elementary teaching, the level of congruence between the PPT's and the participant's elementary and university practice, and the evolution of his PPT's as a result of his new instructional setting. The research design consisted of a qualitative case study analysis. Primary data collection consisted of field observations and formal interviews with the participant over a 5-month period. Secondary data sources included informal observations and interviews, audio recordings, artifact collections, other interviews, and the investigator's reflection record of his own theorizing of the transitional process he was experiencing. Results indicated multiple influences on the participant's instructional pattern as he made the transition from elementary to university setting. Although a high level of congruency was identified between the participant's PPT's and elementary practice, a lower level of congruency was identified between his PPT's and university practice. The lower level was due, in part, to the participant's perception of his new instructional task, his instructional experiences at the university level, the types of instructional support strategies provided by the university, and the participant's instructional planning at the university. Based on findings, an evolved set of PPT's was identified which guided the participant's university instruction. Three tables of data are appended. Contains 23 references. (Author/BT)