Abstract
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 laboratory for courses in educational foundations and methods of teaching. The vignette analysis is guided by three questions: (1) What is the preservice teacher learning in the here and now of each experience? (2) How do these lessons of experience relate to the central purpose of teaching, that is, helping pupils to learn things? and (3) To what extent do these lessons foster the capacity to learn from future experience? The analysis draws on studies of the social psychology of judgment, reinforcement theory, and research on teaching and teacher education. It identifies three pitfalls that arrest thought or mislead prospective teachers into believing that central aspects of teaching have been mastered and understood (the familiarity pitfall, the two-worlds pitfall, and the cross-purposes pitfall), and concludes with a discussion of how these pitfalls of experience in teacher preparation can be overcome. (Author/JD)