Coherent Experiences: The New Missing Paradigm in Teacher Education

Abstract

In this essay, the authors contend that coherent experiences—experiences that build upon each other toward a consistent end and are intentional, continuous, unified, and clear—are the current missing paradigm in teacher education. A school-situated, cross-disciplinary approach to teacher preparation, in which teacher candidates are provided discipline-specific knowledge as well as high-quality discipline- and context-specific feedback, is discussed as a model for promoting coherent experiences.

Key words:

• curriculum and instruction
• elementary education
• language arts
• mathematics education
• teacher education/certification

Acknowledgments

The school-situated, cross-disciplinary model described in this article was developed while we were both Assistant Professors at the same institution. We have both since left that institution and wish to make it clear that we are not writing about the programs with which we are currently affiliated.