Integrating Graduate Coursework to Prepare Alternatively Certified Teachers

In this article, we describe our innovative work as teacher educators to integrate coursework for alternatively certified teachers. Rather than maintain boundaries among individual courses for new elementary teachers, explicit connections support first-year teachers' professional learning and aid in the immediate application to classroom practice. Ccurse integration included backward planning with shared goals, the combination of key topics and content, and the inccrporation of common assignments and related classroom tasks. The innovation reflects the function of collaboration in higher education, where teacher educators work together to improve the professional learning and performance cf classroom teachers.