Examining learning experiences designed to help teacher candidates bridge coursework and fieldwork

Given the scarcity of research on how teacher educators prepare teacher candidates to successfully bridge coursework and fieldwork, we conducted a case study of six literacy teacher educators to investigate how they described learning experiences designed to help teacher candidates navigate varied coursework and fieldwork. Teacher educators described intentionally creating learning experiences that connected coursework and fieldwork, but often lacked an explicit articulation of these connections to candidates. Few educators described learning experiences that engaged and supported candidates to critically examine encountered curricular contexts and then enact responsive literacy instruction using curricular materials from fieldwork.