Domains and origins of information and knowledge encountered by pre-service teachers during professional experiences in Helsinki and Johannesburg

ABSTRACT This article reports the results of a study on the domains and origins of information and knowledge that primary pre-service teachers utilised during their professional experiences in teaching schools at the University of Helsinki (UH) and the University of Johannesburg (UJ). The professional experience at both universities focuses on the collaborative planning of lessons in a variety of school subjects. These programs also emphasise the importance of reflection in active learning from practice. The pre-service teachers’ experiences were captured in randomly selected situations during a professional experience period by applying the experience sampling methodology (ESM). Altogether, 364 pre-service teachers responded to the (mobile) questionnaire 3,707 times. They reported similar frequencies of collaboration and reflection on their teaching in both universities. In 67% of the situations, UH pre-service teachers planned, taught or reflected on their teaching, whereas 28% of the situations at UJ comprised these activities. The self-reports were in line with the aims of the professional experience at each institution. However, the pre-service teachers at both seldom discussed knowledge from their university courses during their professional experience.


Introduction
This article reports on a study about the types of information primary pre-service teachers encountered or the types of knowledge they used in different learning and interaction situations during their third-year professional experiences in teacher training schools at the University of Helsinki (UH) and the University of Johannesburg (UJ). In the professional experience, situational information is encountered and processed, as is emphasised in socio-constructivist "meaning-making of information" models (Feinam-Nemser, 2001). In other situations, such as problem-solving or lesson planning, pre-service teachers must use knowledge they obtained earlier in their education. In addition to the domains and origins of information and knowledge used, we examined the kinds of social interactions and activities in which the students were engaged in randomly selected situations. We were also interested in how the pre-service teachers' experiences aligned with the aims of their professional experiences.
We define information as systematically obtained and organised data related to a certain context, whereas by knowledge we mean the combination of information and experience that is gained through learning and yields to understanding (Liew, 2007;Rowley, 2007). Within the professional experience, information is converted into teacher knowledge through reflection (Hiebert et al., 2002). Teacher knowledge can be employed in various decision-making situations in a teacher's profession (Shulman, 1992). Professional reflection is one of the key goals of the professional experience, and in the professional experiences, it usually takes place in the interaction between the pre-service teacher and the mentor or peers. In mentoring situations, the pre-service teacher may gain information related to various topics from the mentor, and through a systematic personal reflection process, that information can be converted into widely applicable teacher knowledge.
Both universities have established a strong university ("teaching school") partnership. In Helsinki, this was founded almost 50 years ago -and 12 years ago in Johannesburgbecause such a partnership is known to provide opportunities for "quality" experiences (Gutierrez & Nailer, 2021). The third-year professional experience was selected because its aim in both universities is to support pre-service teachers in combining subject matter knowledge and pedagogical knowledge in collaborative observing, planning, teaching and reflection situations. The aim is to support pre-service teachers in reflecting on their professional experiences in general and on their personal learning through mentoring. Another reason for focusing on the third-year professional experience is the possibility that it affords to link theory and the professional knowledge encountered at university lectures with the practical knowledge learned at teaching schools (Stenberg et al., 2016). In general, teachers' knowledge covers pedagogy, subject matter, curriculum and learners (Grossman et al., 2009), as described in detail in the literature review section.
Cohen (Sayag) et al. (2013) and Lawson et al. (2015) have emphasised the lack of quantitative and comparative research on experiences and learning during professional experience periods; most studies in the field have been small-scale qualitative case studies. Le Cornu (2016) follows Southgate et al. (2013, p. 20), who argue that "professional experience requires a systematic research approach that would build a robust empirical and theoretical basis on which to collectively argue about its function, forms and impacts." Several other scholars have called for systematic, comparative research on professional experience (Cochran-Smith et al., 2015;Nuttall et al., 2006;Zeichner, 2010). This study aimed to obtain an integrated picture of professional experience and the information and knowledge with which pre-service teachers engage in random situations during their professional experience in two different contexts. The study also aimed to locate the origin of this information and knowledge, such as from a mentor teacher or a university lecturer, and to find out with whom the pre-service teachers were working in different situations.
Data were collected in professional experience situations by employing the experience sampling method (ESM; Csikszentmihalyi & Schneider, 2000;Hektner et al., 2007). ESM is used to collect data on what people do, feel and think in-the-moments of having an experience. We suggest that this method reduced bias in the responses because participants were not asked to recall an experience, as is necessary for surveys or interviews, but to report it directly and in the moment (Mulligan et al., 2005). This type of in situ information could help teacher educators at both universities develop professional experience programs. The following questions guided the study.
What types of social interactions, activities and information and knowledge do preservice teachers experience? Moreover, what are the origins of this information and knowledge from randomly selected professional experience situations at UH and UJ? In detail, four questions are answered: (1) What types of social interactions did the pre-service teachers report in each situation? (2) What activities were they engaged in during a situation?
(3) What domains of information and knowledge did they experience in the situation? (4) What was the source of the information and knowledge (e.g., university program, school mentor, peer) in the situation?
These research questions include two traditional professional experience-related research topics. Questions 1 and 4 query the nature of the mentoring offered by the mentors and university teachers during the professional experience. Questions 3 and 4 explore the link between theory and practice. The literature review that we conducted for this study conceptualises the domains and origins of teacher knowledge and, as a part of this process, analyses the types of social interaction, including pre-service -mentor interaction, and the activities that support the preservice teachers in learning from practice. Therefore, the nature of mentoring and the linking of theory and practice are also analysed in the section "Origins or sources of teacher knowledge."

Literature review
The core aim of the professional experience offered in Helsinki and Johannesburg is to learn how to, in collaboration with other pre-service teachers, apply pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) to the planning of lessons, to teaching and to reflection (see below section entitled Aims of professional experience . . .). Professional experience allows pre-service teachers to learn from practice. Therefore, the framework this study applies for teacher knowledge includes interpretations of domains or types of teacher knowledge and this knowledge in the context of professional experience. However, we have researched not only the randomly observed knowledge that preservice teachers applied but also the information they encountered (see Methods section). We understand pre-service teachers' learning in line with Vázquez-Bernal et al. (2021), who emphasised that their learning is influenced through dialogue between their reflective thinking and their actions, such as social interactions and activities, during the professional experience.

Domains of teacher knowledge
We focus here on the knowledge teachers need to effectively plan, organise and assess their teaching (Verloop et al., 2001). In this study, we used the institutions' professional experience aims as a basis for classification of information pre-service teachers encountered or knowledge they applied in a variety of situations. The aims of third-year professional experience in the two universities relate to the observation, planning and teaching of lessons in various school subjects and to reflection on preservice teachers' experiences and teaching. These aims are introduced in detail later in this paper. Shulman (1987) provided a classical framework for analysing and comparing preservice teachers' views on topics they encounter during professional experience. Shulman's simple model was selected as a framework for this study because of the ease with which it allows the aims for professional experience in both universities to be interpreted. Differentiating the domains of teacher knowledge is often challenging because the work of a teacher is complex, and in one situation, several types of knowledge may be required (Guerriero & Deligiannidi, 2017;Hargreaves, 1996). Shulman's model divides teacher knowledge into subject matter (content) knowledge (SMK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and general pedagogical knowledge (GPK). Although Shulman's model was formulated in the 1980s, we argue that it has remained relevant and aligns with models by several other authors, such as Arnold et al. (2012), Carlsen (1999), Hashweh (2005) and Verloop et al. (2001). In addition to these three main areas of knowledge, a teacher needs contextual and curriculum knowledge when planning a lesson (Gess-Newsome & Lederman, 1999). Therefore, we included these topics in the questionnaire. However, general views about the curriculum and learners were not included in the aims of either program's professional experience. SMK includes conceptual, factual and procedural knowledge in a specific domain, such as mathematics. A teacher needs to understand the nature of SMK, that is, the epistemological and ontological aspects of the subject matter (Shulman, 1987). In the case of early grade teachers, we have argued that different types of teacher knowledge culminate in the integrated knowledge of literacy, language and mathematics, with a strong emphasis on how children learn (Henning et al., 2015).
PCK is the synthesis of the knowledge needed to teach a certain topic. Carlsen (1999) referred to such knowledge as an amalgam of SMK and the knowledge of pedagogy. PCK is "the knowledge that teachers bring forward to design and reflect on instruction" (Gess-Newsome, 2015, p. 36). It includes the following areas of teacher knowledge: 1) teaching or instructional strategies or teaching methods, assessment strategies and collaboration strategies; 2) student interest, motivation and the learning of conceptual and procedural knowledge and skills; 3) learners, (mis)conceptions, experiences and thinking skills and the cognitive and affective demands of tasks and activities; 4) the resources available to support teaching and scaffold learning; and 5) curriculum knowledge and goals for student learning (Abell et al., 2009;Loughran et al., 2008). Carlson and Daehler (2019) emphasise the complex layers of knowledge and experience that shape and inform a teacher's practice throughout their professional career: collective PCK (cPCK), personal PCK (pPCK) and enacted PCK (ePCK). Due to the collective nature of PCK, it is common in teacher education programs that pre-service teachers guide one another as peers in discussions and reflections and that mentor teachers and university teachers do likewise. In the European tradition, especially in Germany, France, Finland and the other Nordic countries, the term "didactics" or, more precisely, "didactical transformation" (in German, didaktische transformation; Kansanen, 2002) refers to processes that are similar to those included in PCK.
The third main category of teacher knowledge is general pedagogical knowledge (GPK; Gore & Gitlin, 2004). Morine-Dershimer and Kent (1999) argued that general pedagogical knowledge consists of the following knowledge areas: 1) classroom management and organisation, 2) instructional models and strategies and 3) classroom communication and discourse. However, the domains of teacher knowledge overlap, and in a situation it is challenging what exact domain a preservice teacher employ.

Origins or sources of teacher knowledge
Regarding the different domains and origins of knowledge and information, we refer to those learning and interaction situations and sources where primary pre-service teachers encounter information or use knowledge. In pre-service teacher education, these may include lecture notes, academic literature and school textbooks. In the teaching experience period, one expects that students would learn from planning, teaching, reflection and discussion sessions with peers and mentors. Beijaard et al. (2007, p. 105) argued that the "way of knowing" or the origin of teacher knowledge is crucial for a teacher and teacher education. They stressed the importance of knowing how pre-service teachers learn. In this regard, Hiebert et al. (2002) described the ends of the continuum regarding the sources and the development of teacher knowledge as practitioner and professional knowledge. According to Pendry and Husbands (2000), professional knowledge is built on research-based knowledge of teaching, learning, engagement, learning environments and individual differences among learners and is characterised by generalisability and scientific principles. In their view, pre-service teachers become familiar with generalised knowledge in lectures and workshops by reading scholarly books, utilising the research literature and conducting small-scale educational research projects (Gitlin et al., 1999). Pre-service teachers encounter practitioner knowledge during the professional experience.
To develop teacher knowledge, Hiebert et al. (2002) identified the essential features of knowledge that are constructed from professional experience: it is linked with practice and grounded in a real-life context; it is specific, concrete and detailed; and it addresses specific problems related to real-life processes that exist in the classroom (Hiebert et al., 2007). According to Verloop et al. (2001), practitioner knowledge gained through everyday experience is ultimately transformed into professional knowledge by making it public and easily accessible. Hiebert et al. (2002) suggested that communication and reflection could support this transformation.
"Reflective practice" has become part of the teacher education discourse. Briefly, reflection refers to the process in which an experience is recalled, contemplated and evaluated, usually in relation to the aims of a specific activity. In teacher education, reflection activities aim to bridge the gap between university courses and schoolbased practices. However, there are various levels, forms and models of reflection that focus differently on learning about planning and teaching and on the relationship between the different elements that constitute teacher knowledge, as well as on how these are captured and understood during teacher education (Brookfield, 1995;Loughran et al., 2008). Reflection models could be linked, for example, to Kolb's model of a learning cycle (Korthagen & Vasalos, 2005) or to the inquiry process (Rodgers, 2002). In teacher education, pre-service teachers are considered reflective practitioners when they are able to connect theory and practice (Harford & MacRuairc, 2008;Pedro, 2005).
However, one of the main challenges in initial teacher education is finding an intersect between theory and practice (Cochran-Smith et al., 2015;Korthagen, 2016). According to Snow et al. (2005), pre-service teachers are often unable to combine diverse types of knowledge or to link theory and practice, and they see theory mainly as untransformed "declarative knowledge." In this context, the role of the mentor teacher, who can model adaptive teaching best practices, is integral. Darling-Hammond et al. (2005) argued that high-quality mentoring combined with experiences that are conducive to learning in classrooms can create moments in which experience can be "theorised." Although this combination of theory and practice has been recognised as essential in professional experience, it is considered problematic in many pre-service teacher education programs because of the poor or lack of mentoring (Vick, 2006). Consequently, the placement site and its mentor teachers are critical for pre-service teachers' learning from practice (Jamissen & Phelps, 2006;Payne & Zeichner, 2017). Qualified mentor teachers should be more than experienced teachers and should understand how teachers' practical experience and researchers' theoretical insights are linked during professional experience (Tonna et al., 2017), and they should help pre-service teachers to transition between university studies and professional practice (Liu & Milman, 2013;Sato, 2014;Stanulis & Ames, 2009).
The emphasis on mentoring and reflection is an important characteristic of teacher education at UH and UJ (Lavonen et al., 2019). At these institutions, teaching schools are part of the faculties of education. Consequently, there are many opportunities to draw connections between theory and practice. Despite having the opportunity to benefit from mentoring, some pre-service teachers see such activities merely as tasks to complete and to tick off the list, not as specific types of learning experiences (Cameron-Jones & O'Hara, 2006).
In addition to reflection, other types of activities could facilitate integration of theory (professional knowledge) and practice (practitioner knowledge) during professional experience (Allen & Wright, 2014). For example, Darling-Hammond (2017) suggested that theory and practice could be integrated through thoughtfully designed coursework that integrates practice experiences with on-campus courses.
Several types of social interactions occur during professional experience. These are classified along a continuum from instructor-directed and studying in small groups (preservice teacher-negotiated) to pre-service teacher-directed (Fairbrother, 2000). An instructor could be a university teacher or a mentor teacher who has been supervising or coaching, guiding and counselling pre-service teachers during planning or reflection sessions. Pre-service teacher-centred learning and working occurs when they are planning or reflecting on lessons or when they are learning individually through, for example, reading and writing.

Aims of professional experience at the universities of Helsinki and Johannesburg
In Finland's decentralised education system, teachers are the main actors in the planning of local curriculums and student assessment and grading. There is no national or districtlevel testing in compulsory education (Niemi et al., 2012). In South Africa, the National Department of Basic Education (DBE) prescribes a single universal curriculum -the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS)-for all primary schools. Consequently, the school system is centralised, and teaching is monitored by district officials in public schools. Nationally administered testing has been conducted since 2014 (Kanjee & Moloi, 2014).
Pre-service teachers are trained in Finland in a five-year master's degree program. In South Africa, primary school teachers are educated in four-year bachelor's degree programs. At both universities, professional experience is organised through a university-associated teacher training school. This type of school has been part of the University of Helsinki since 1972, and a similar institution was established at the University of Johannesburg in 2010. Several local adaptations were made in Johannesburg to adopt, but not imitate, the Helsinki model. For example, at the University of Johannesburg, the role of university lecturers in the mentoring process is more precisely defined than in the Helsinki program. Moreover, the professional experience period is split into shorter periods that are spread throughout the year.
The duration of the full-time third-year professional experience in Helsinki is eight weeks (40 days/320 hours). Pre-service teachers teach a total of 50 lessons in pairs in five different school subjects, following the lessons of mentor teachers and other pre-service teachers. The aim is to apply the knowledge learned from theoretical studies. After a lesson has been taught, pre-service teachers reflect in pairs or groups with the mentor teacher (Husu et al., 2008;Stenberg et al., 2016). At the end of the professional experience, the pre-service teachers complete a final written reflective report. The specific professional experience period (10 credit points) in the third year is aimed at supporting preservice teachers in the following activities: • Analyse learning processes and learning environments (GPK) • Analyse and implement different pedagogical approaches, teaching methods and learning materials while teaching and learning school subjects (PCK) • Develop readiness for collaborative planning processes in primary education (PCK) • Develop readiness for co-teaching and to support different pupils' needs in learning (PCK) • Analyse and reflect on one's own teaching in the context of school curriculums and the personal and official aims of professional experience (PCK) The duration of the full-time third-year professional experience in the teaching school in Johannesburg is three weeks (15 days/90 hours). Pre-service teachers observe classrooms, assist as necessary and plan and teach 10 lessons in three different subjects under the supervision of classroom teachers, who are also regarded as mentors. The pre-service teachers work in groups of 10. A schoolteacher and a university lecturer collaborate to assess the school lesson and provide feedback. Pre-service teachers also assess each other's work. The aims of pre-service teachers' learning during their professional experience are as follows: • Identify, recognise and analyse teaching and learning in different classrooms (PCK and GPK) • Analyse how learners' development intersects with the expectations and implementation of the school curriculum (PCK) • Design and implement age-and grade-appropriate pedagogical approaches and methods accompanied by suitable learning support (PCK and GPK) • Participate in group planning for professional experience, thus learning to work collaboratively (PCK) The two professional experience programs have much in common. The present study was designed to capture both similarities and differences as experienced and reported by preservice teachers to determine how learning in professional experience resonates with two different (but similar) groups of future teachers.

Experience sampling methodology (ESM)
The experience sampling method (ESM) is used to capture experiences, behaviour or feelings across multiple real-time situations using self-reports (Hektner et al., 2007). Through an ESM questionnaire, pre-service teachers in our study were asked to report directly on the types of social interactions, activities, and information and knowledge they experienced in specific situations. They were also asked to report the origins of this information and knowledge. Consequently, the ESM questionnaire was designed to monitor pre-service teachers' momentary experiences and was delivered through smartphones (Katz-Buonincontro & Hektner, 2014;Litmanen et al., 2012). The pre-service teachers were asked to respond to the questionnaire twice a day in Johannesburg and three times a day in Helsinki in randomised situations over a two-or three-week period, depending on the duration of the professional experience at the respective universities. This ESM data -specifically the results of the single-frequency distributions and crosstabulations of the data -helped us evaluate how the practices in professional experience align with its aims. We decided to use quantitative ESM data collection because most studies in the field have been small-scale qualitative case studies. Another problem in the research on and evaluation of professional experience is the use of retrospective approaches, such as interviews, questionnaires and surveys. These ask pre-service teachers to recall their experiences of events that may have occurred days or weeks before. Consequently, ESM helps to reduce a general recall bias and specific instances that may overshadow "a true response" in a real situation (Hektner et al., 2007). However, ESM has disadvantages with respect to respondent burden, disruption and missing data. ESM messages also interrupt the activity in which pre-service teachers are involved, which may affect the responses. However, Hektner et al. (2007) and Jeong (2005) addressed these concerns, finding that they did not significantly affect the quality of the data, especially when compared with other data collection methods. The time required to complete the ESM questionnaire is another factor that influences the burden on respondents. For this reason, we limited the number of items and made several compromises to shorten the questionnaire. Due to the two-to three-week intensive data collection period and the burdensome influence of nonresponses, we offered cinema tickets to the participants in Finland in exchange for their active participation as Jeong (2005) has suggested. The South African pre-service teachers did not require an incentive.

The ESM questionnaire
The process of designing, refining and piloting the ESM survey items was iterative. In January 2018, in Johannesburg, a prototype ESM questionnaire was designed in a collaborative workshop based on the literature review, especially previous studies on the domains and origins of teacher knowledge. The aims of the professional experience in both universities influenced the preparation of the questionnaire. The prototype questionnaire, which was first prepared in English, was translated into Finnish by two researchers who were familiar with the professional experience in Helsinki. The translation process included back-translation.
The prototype questionnaire was tested in March and April 2018. The pre-service teachers answered the questionnaire three times a day in randomly selected situations between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. In Helsinki, 10 pre-service teachers responded 62 times, and the response rate was 48%. In Johannesburg, 61 pre-service teachers answered 68 times, but only three answered more than once; hence, the response rate was 8%. The low response rate in Johannesburg was partly a consequence of a weak Internet connection at the teaching school. However, by the time the main data were collected, several new wireless stations had been established.
The outcomes of the pilot test were analysed, and the questionnaire was re-designed in August 2018. There were several items with low frequency. For example, the item "Studying home language content" was selected only four times. Additionally, the questionnaire was deemed too long, and the pre-service teachers did not answer all the items. We decided to decrease the number of items and shorten those that we kept. Moreover, we grouped art subjects, visual art, music, sport and other art subjects under "art subjects," and we grouped science, history, geography and ethics under science "subjects." It was challenging to formulate concise and clear PCK-related items (Carlsen, 1999;Gess-Newsome, 2015;Shulman, 1987;Nilsson, 2008). In formulating the items, we considered the typical discourse related to PCK on each campus and decided that one item would describe planning according to the curriculum. Teaching and instructional strategies, assessment strategies and collaboration strategies were grouped as "teaching methods" because they were familiar to the pre-service teachers and their meanings included PCK-related aspects. The items related to GPK were more straightforward. We followed Morine-Dershimer and Kent (1999) in including "classroom management," "teaching methods" and "classroom interaction" as topics related to GPK. Consequently, "teaching method" included aspects of both PCK and GPK.
Regarding the source of teacher knowledge, we followed Hiebert et al. (2002), Korthagen (2001) and, Pendry and Husbands (2000). The following categories were included in the questionnaire: a course book or schoolbook, the Internet (web page and course platform), a university lecture or workshop, the university teacher during professional experience, the mentor teacher, other pre-service teachers, and the environment and nature. Most of the items belonged more to the professional type of knowledge (Hiebert et al., 2002). Another question about the origins of knowledge asked what the pre-service teachers were doing when they received the request to respond to the ESM questionnaire. Two of these origin categories, "participating in a workshop, tutor session/ groupwork" and "participating in a lecture," belonged to the professional type of knowledge. Other choices were possibilities for learning practitioner knowledge (Hiebert et al., 2002): "following a lesson," "planning a lesson," "teaching a lesson," "evaluating and reflecting on the teaching of a lesson" and "participating in an informal discussion related to the professional experience. " We included items that could indicate with whom the pre-service teachers interacted. These interactions were usually in small groups (Fairbrother, 2000), but a few were with university lecturers or mentor teachers who counselled the pre-service teachers during their planning or reflection (Stanulis & Ames, 2009). The questionnaire simply asked, "Who was with you?" and then presented multiple options.

Data collection
The Finnish and English ESM questionnaires were web-based. The invitation to respond in randomly selected situations was organised through WhatsApp. 1 The invitation included a short and encouraging message and a link to the ESM questionnaire, which made it possible for the pre-service teachers to answer the questionnaire directly on their mobile phones.
In Helsinki, the data were collected 1 November 2018-15 February 2019. In Johannesburg, the data were collected 10 January 2019-31 October 2019. These long spans were necessary because the data were collected during several professional experience periods. The pre-service teachers were asked to voluntarily participate in the data collection. According to the regulations of the Ethics Committees at the two universities, no specific ethical approval was needed for this type of data collection, which is regarded as part of teacher education program activities.
At UH, 74 pre-service teachers participated in three professional experience periods, and 71 (96%) answered at least 25 times out of a possible 45 times. Combined, they answered in 2,368 (82%) of a possible 3,195 data collection situations. At UJ, 290 preservice teachers answered the ESM questionnaire during six professional experience periods for a total of 1,339 times. They had the opportunity to answer 15 times in a twoweek period; consequently, the response rate was 31%. The smaller number of answers in Johannesburg was the consequence of short professional experience periods, lectures at the faculty during the afternoons and the challenges caused by weak Internet connections. These variations in the context and organisation of professional experience led to differences in the data collection at UH and UJ. In both cases, however, the data were collected in situations where pre-service teachers were following a lesson or planning, implementing or reflecting on a lesson.
There are several threats to the validity and reliability of ESM questionnaires (Hektner et al., 2007). In a traditional survey, several items or scales may be used to increase the validity and reliability of the measurement. In the ESM questionnaire, there is typically only one question measuring each issue. To support the pre-service teachers' understanding of the questions in the ESM questionnaire, this method was introduced to them at the beginning of their professional experience. The number of answers and the response rate are important metrics in ESM studies (Van Berkel et al., 2018). To increase the validity of the study, we collected a total of 2,368 ESM answers in Helsinki and 1,339 ESM answers in Johannesburg. Johannesburg's low response rate, which was primarily due to Internet connectivity issues, can also be considered a threat to the validity and reliability of the study.

Data analysis
A workshop on planning the data analysis was organised in Johannesburg in February 2019. Descriptive statistics were applied to observe the frequencies of the activities, topics of the activities, nature of social interactions and origin of the information. Furthermore, we applied cross-tabulation to explore how the topics were associated with the activities, types of social interactions and origins of the information. The chisquare test (χ 2 ) was used to test the hypothesis that the Helsinki and Johannesburg frequency distributions differed. Table 1 shows the frequencies of the types of social interactions that the pre-service teachers reported experiencing in randomly selected situations during their professional experiences at UH and UJ. The total number of specific types of social interactions was higher than the total number of responses. The reason for this is that different types of interactions could occur in the same situation. At UH, the pre-service teachers reported that working in pairs or in a small group (84.7% of all situations) was the most common social interaction, which occurred more frequently than in the UJ context (77% of all situations). The mentor teacher participated in interaction situations more often at UJ (42%) than at UH (24%). Table 2 shows the frequencies of the different types of activities reported by the preservice teachers. At UH, the pre-service teachers reported that they most frequently taught, planned teaching or reflected on teaching (67.3% of all randomly selected situations), which was more frequent than at UJ (27.9%). At UJ, the pre-service teachers most frequently followed a lesson (48.1% of situations). At UH, the pre-service teachers followed a lesson in only 4.3% of the randomly selected situations. Table 3 presents the cross-tabulation of the results shown in Tables 1 and 2, which allowed for detailed classification of the activities and interactions that pre-service teachers encountered during their professional experience. The frequencies of the most common situations are underlined. Table 4 shows the frequencies of the different types of information and knowledge with which the pre-service teachers were engaged. At UH, the pre-service teachers reported that they equally encountered SMK, PCK and GPK. At UJ, the pre-service teachers mainly encountered SMK. Table 5 shows the sources and origins of the knowledge that the pre-service teachers encountered in the randomly selected situations. The UH participants reported that they sourced knowledge equally from courses, schoolbooks, the Internet, mentor teachers and other pre-service teachers. The UJ participants reported that the main source of information was the mentor teacher. Table 6 presents the cross-tabulation of the information shown in Tables 4 and 5. In the UJ group, the pre-service teachers focused mainly on knowledge related to SMK. In the UH group, the pre-service teachers focused equally on all domains of knowledge. In addition, the UH participants accessed all domains/sources of knowledge equally.  Tables 2, 5 and 6 offer information about the linking of theoretical knowledge to practical situations during professional experience. In both universities, the level of participation in workshops and lectures was low during the professional experience. The number of situations where the origin of knowledge was a university lecture, a workshop or a university teacher was low in both universities. Tables 1, 3 , 5 and 6 offer information about the role of the mentor teacher during the professional experience. In both universities, the mentor teacher was the origin of information in about 40% of the randomly selected situations. During these situations, similar amounts of SMK, PCK and GPK were discussed in both programs. However, at UH, the mentor teacher was more frequently present in reflection situations than at UJ.  275.8*** All interaction situations 5002 1814 1) percentage of interaction situations is calculated from the total number of answers. * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001; N H = 2,368, N J = 1,339.

Discussion
This study has focused on pre-service teachers' experiences in randomly selected situations, on relevant domains of information and knowledge and on the types of social interactions and activities they experienced. What were the origins or sources of the information and knowledge they encountered during their professional experience? What particularly interested us were experiences during planning and reflection situations (Carlson & Daehler, 2019;Tonna et al., 2017); we were also interested in how the practices aligned with the aims of the programs at each university. Data from the two different contexts show similarities in pre-service teachers' responses, indicating that pre-service teacher learning has some shared characteristics, regardless of the social -geographical context.
In summary, in both universities, approximately 80% of the pre-service teachers reported working in pairs or small groups. It is also notable that the mentor teacher participated in interaction situations more often in Johannesburg (42%) than in Helsinki (24%). However, in both universities, the mentor teacher was the primary source of information in about 40% of the randomly selected situations, and during these situations, approximately equal amounts of SMK, PCK and GPK were discussed in both institutions. At UH, the pre-service teachers reported that they most frequently taught, planned teaching or reflected on teaching (67.3% of all randomly selected situations), while at UJ, they mostly followed a lesson (48.1% of situations). The shared aim of UH and UJ for professional experiences is to achieve learning through a variety of activities. In the program at UH, the pre-service teachers reported that they generally encountered SMK, PCK and GPK equally. This knowledge was acquired from courses, schoolbooks, the Internet and the mentor teacher. It was evident from the UJ participants' responses that pre-service teachers in that program encountered, in general, mainly SMK, which was usually acquired from the mentor teacher. Thus, as reported in the randomly selected situations or "in-the-moment" experiences, there were differences between the domains and origins of knowledge and information. However, the detailed analysis below shows that, focusing on several essential experiences, such as possibilities to reflect, most differences were minor.

Interactions and activities during professional experience
During professional experience periods in pre-service teacher education programs, various types of interactions occur, and in this study, we captured their frequencies in the moment. As shown in Table 1, the pre-service teachers in both programs reported that they were in pairs or small groups in about 80% of the randomly selected situations. This is important because it highlights that paired or collaborative teamwork, planning, teaching and reflection are supportive of pre-service teachers' learning, as these situations allow them to share ideas and perspectives, negotiate meanings, learn from each other and receive peer support (Gardiner & Robinson, 2010;Smith, 2004). Walsh and Elmslie (2005) argued that through collaboration, pre-service teachers can achieve higher levels of performance, which better prepare them for their working lives (Murphy et al., 2009).
As Table 2 indicates, at UH, the pre-service teachers most frequently taught lessons, planned teaching or reflected on their teaching (67.3% of all randomly selected situations), which was much more often than that reported by pre-service teachers in Johannesburg (27.9%). However, in both settings, the pre-service teachers reported similar frequencies of reflecting on their teaching. This result is in accord with the main aim of professional experience, which is not only to practice teaching but also to learn from this practice. The pre-service teachers in both programs reported that 50% of the reflection situations were with other pre-service teachers. This type of activity is considered important for learning collectively. In this instance, cPCK featured quite prominently during the professional experience (Brookfield, 1995;Carlson & Daehler, 2019;Korthagen & Vasalos, 2005;Rodgers, 2002;Vázquez-Bernal et al., 2021).
Furthermore, the results of this study showed that a qualified mentor teacher understands how pre-service teachers' practical experience and the theoretical insights of researchers can be integrated during professional experience (Darling-Hammond et al., 2005;Jamissen & Phelps, 2006;Payne & Zeichner, 2017;Tonna et al., 2017). Although the mentor teacher participated in interaction situations more often at UJ (42%) than in the UH program (24%), this participation occurred mainly in the situations "following a lesson" in the UJ context and "teaching a lesson" in the UH context (Table 3).
Another important finding is that at UH, the mentor teacher participated in 34% of the reflection situations, while in the UJ context, they did so in only 11%. These interactions are deemed supportive, especially at UH, for learning collective PCK, which is emphasised in the aims of the practice (c.f. Carlson & Daehler, 2019). Although reflection is an important characteristic of teacher education in both universities, not all opportunities for reflection have been realised, especially in the UJ context.

Domains of teacher knowledge
In our previous survey, no pre-service teachers at either university mentioned learning SMK during their professional experience, except in reference to mathematics (Lavonen et al., 2019). However, based on the measurements of ESM situations, the pre-service teachers in both programs felt that they worked most frequently on SMK topics. This finding is important because previous findings showed that pre-service teachers in Johannesburg needed subject content enrichment (Henning et al., 2015). In Johannesburg, the pre-service teachers engaged more frequently in home language writing and reading teaching than did those in Helsinki, where these frequencies were lower because the pre-service teachers had practice-related home language writing and reading during earlier professional experience. Moreover, for most children in Finnish schools, their home language is also the medium of instruction. In South Africa, a country with 11 official languages, the study of the home language is complex because many children use a language other than their home language (Henning & Gravett, 2012;Pretorius & Spaull, 2016;Spaull & Kotze, 2015). At UH, pre-service teachers learn a range of subjects that are mainly related to art, science and history; in Finland, the tradition is to value all subjects equally, not only "key" subjects.
Pre-service teachers at both universities reported that they encountered PCK more frequently than GPK. This finding is in accordance with the aims of professional experience in both programs. However, at UH, the pre-service teachers experienced PCK-and GPK-related information more frequently than did those in Johannesburg. In particular, they encountered knowledge related to interaction and collaboration strategies, knowledge of learners and planning according to the curriculum, which have been described as essential domains of PCK (Abell et al., 2009;Gess-Newsome, 2015). This finding is in line with the reported frequencies of planning and implementing teaching in the UH program. However, this finding is contrary to our previous survey in which the pre-service teachers reported that they did not encounter pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) as often as did those in Johannesburg (Lavonen et al., 2019). We interpreted this finding to indicate that, for the surveys, the pre-service teachers could not recall real experiences that occurred within a complex period of learning. However, they summarised their memories on a general level, which in this case was the experience of applying general pedagogical knowledge in professional experience.

Origins or sources of teacher knowledge
In both universities, the pre-service teachers reported that the knowledge in 40% of the situations was of the professional type or that the source of knowledge was course books, web pages or university lectures and workshops. In the rest of the situations, as shown in Table 5, the source was reported as being situations related to professional experience (Korthagen, 2001;Hiebert et al., 2002;Pendry & Husbands, 2000). This finding indicates that the pre-service teachers were able to recall academic knowledge in professional experience situations. Table 6 provides information about the sources of different types of information and knowledge. In both universities, the pre-service teachers experienced SMK in about 40% of situations, PCK in about 35% of situations and GPK in about 34% of situations from books and the Internet. In the UH data, it was reported that the Internet was a more popular source, and among the UJ participants, books were more popular; this was likely due to weak Internet connections in Johannesburg. In both universities, what was learned in class played a minor role in the various professional experience situations: 12% in Helsinki and 5% in Johannesburg. It was evident from the responses that lecture and workshop content was not properly connected to professional experience, although this connection was prioritised within the programs at both universities (Husu et al., 2008). In Johannesburg, neither the structural integration of theoretical courses nor the professional experience helped to achieve this integration. At both universities, activities are needed to help pre-service teachers integrate the knowledge learned in university courses with their professional experience (Allen & Wright, 2014;Darling-Hammond, 2017). The roles of university lecturers and mentor teachers are important in achieving this integration of knowledge and practice. However, at both universities, the role of university lecturers is limited in this respect. We now realise that the designers of both programs should develop new activities and assignments that facilitate the integration of professional and practitioner knowledge in addition to reflection activities. There are promising opportunities for the development of such activities because teacher training schools are part of the faculties of education at both universities.
Another conclusion drawn from this study is that at UJ, a mentor teacher was present in 36-42% of the situations in which pre-service teachers encountered SMK, PCK or GPK. At UH, that percentage ranged from 23-26%. At UJ, another pre-service teacher was present in about 8-15% of the situations in which participants experienced SMK, PCK or GPK, while at UH, the percentage ranged from 19-20%. This finding indicates that a mentor teacher frequently supports the learning of different domains of teacher knowledge in both universities. However, the role of other pre-service teachers in encountering new knowledge was more important in Helsinki than in Johannesburg. Consequently, at both universities, the pre-service teachers gained different types of knowledge from diverse situations or from academic sources. However, especially in Johannesburg, the experience of knowledge alongside other pre-service teachers was significant. Gardiner and Robinson (2010) and Smith (2004) suggested that to support the sharing of ideas and perspectives, pre-service teachers must negotiate meanings and learn from each other.

Limitations of the study
ESM, a quantitative research methodology, offers quantitative data about students' experiences in various situations. Compared to surveys and interviews, it helps to reduce a general recall bias and specific instances that may overshadow a true response in a real situation (Hektner et al., 2007). However, ESM does not facilitate deep interpretations about students' thinking or their level of knowledge, and it does not allow for additional or clarifying questions, as is the case with interviews. For example, if respondents tick "classroom management" in the ESM questionnaire, we do not know if the student is receiving information about the importance of classroom management from the mentor teacher or if they are applying knowledge in the domain of classroom management and explaining to the mentor how they will support students' active engagement. However, ESM provides valuable quantitative and comparative data about with whom and with what students are working during their professional experience, the need for which Cohen (Sayag) et al. (2013) and Lawson et al. (2015) have emphasised in their research statements.
Our experience with intensive ESM data collection has shown that such a method requires an environment with the potential for trustworthy data. With a convenience sample such as ours, the results cannot be generalised to teacher education in general. However, we suggest that this limitation has been partially overcome, given the similarities in the results.
Although cultural differences could have influenced how the items were interpreted by pre-service teachers, this was not observed in either of the two contexts. Our preliminary study and the iterative development of the ESM instrument maintained only those items that were shown to be interpreted cross-culturally.
Another limitation of the study is the disruption of pre-service teachers' learning and engagement two or three times a day. However, we visited the teaching schools during and after the data collection, and the pre-service teachers reported that while learning was somewhat disrupted at the beginning of data collection, this did not occur later. The pre-service teachers got used to the interruptions and began to expect them. Also, as the ESM instrument repeated the same questions throughout the data collection, the participants became familiar with them. After a couple of data collections, the responses lasted only about two minutes. This may, however, indicate that the participants concentrated on the questions less in the latter response situations than they had at the beginning of the data collection. Technical problems, such as problems with Internet connection and low phone charges, occurred mainly in Johannesburg and influenced the response rate. In choosing the data collection method, we assumed that all students were able to use smartphones and the WhatsApp application. If that was not the case, those students were excluded from the data collection. Last, by choosing the structured form of the questionnaire with an indefinite "other" category, we may have missed some information.

Conclusions and implications
This study was part of a partnership between the University of Helsinki and the University of Johannesburg that has been, since 2012, supporting the development of the aims and methods of professional experience, the training of mentor teachers to supervise professional experience and the role of university-affiliated schools in connection with professional experience and theoretical studies. We argue that the study further demonstrates how the improvement of pre-service teachers' learning from practice, as well as of their learning process, including reflection and use of various sources of information, can improve teacher education programs in two distinct cultural and geospatial areas of the world (Henning et al., 2015).
Although the contexts were different, there were similarities in the randomly selected situations that the pre-service teachers experienced. Participants in both programs reported that they collaborated with other pre-service teachers in pairs or small groups in 80% of the situations, such as in team planning, teaching and reflection. This type of consistent interaction with peers and mentors is supportive for pre-service teachers' learning through the dialogue between their reflective thinking and their actions (Vázquez-Bernal et al., 2021) and the learning of collective PCK, which is subsequently more easily discussed and communicated with colleagues at the school (Carlson & Daehler, 2019). Our findings are in line with Le Cornu's (2016) historical analysis of professional experience. She recognised that collaborative approaches to professional experience characterised the late 2010s.
In 40% of the situations, the pre-service teachers encountered professional knowledge in course books and web pages. In both countries, participants reported similar frequencies of reflecting on their teaching. This finding is in accord with the aims of professional experience, which emphasise learning from practice (Brookfield, 1995;Korthagen & Vasalos, 2005;Rodgers, 2002) and preparing pre-service teachers for employment (Murphy et al., 2009;Walsh & Elmslie, 2005). In this study, we argued that it is possible to adapt not only curriculum documents but also methods of working and learning in professional experience. For example, several local adaptations have been made in Johannesburg in the application of the teacher training school model developed in Helsinki.
In general, the results of this study showed that the pre-service teachers in Helsinki taught, planned their teaching and reflected on their teaching much more frequently than did those in Johannesburg. In line with this, pre-service teachers in Helsinki employed PCK more frequently than did participants in Johannesburg. In Johannesburg, the pre-service teachers more frequently followed lesson. Based on the research outcomes, we suggest that, in Johannesburg, a longer professional experience period would support deeper planning and the implementation of planned lessons. This period could also increase the time available for deep reflection on teaching experiences.
One of the traditional questions related to professional experience is how preservice teachers link theory and practice (Cochran-Smith et al., 2015;Korthagen, 2016;Snow et al., 2005). In Johannesburg, the integration of practice and theory is done more systematically, as part of the program, than in the Finnish model. In the former, the pre-service teachers spend the beginning of the week at the teaching school and the rest of the week at the university. In the Helsinki model, the pre-service teachers are away from their theoretical studies during the seven weeks of professional experience. Following, planning, implementing and reflecting on a lesson are the most obvious situations in which the integration of knowledge occurs. Unexpectedly, the findings of this study showed that these activities occurred equally in 67% of all situations. However, the pre-service teachers at both universities rarely discussed the knowledge learned in their university courses. Based on this finding, we conclude that theory and practice could be integrated better at both universities, although the thematic nature of practice and the focus on the PCK of school subjects helped in this integration, as Stenberg et al. (2016) have emphasised. Mentor teachers should be better prepared to support this integration, and they should understand how teachers' practical experience and the theoretical insights of researchers are linked during professional experience (Tonna et al., 2017). It is not enough that the professional experience be organised in a university-associated teacher training school -this is more like a first step towards better integration. Moreover, specific activities should be introduced into professional experience to facilitate the integration of theory and practice, as Allen and Wright (2014) and Darling-Hammond (2017) have suggested.

Ethics statement
In Finland, the research project has followed national ethical guidelines regarding scientific studies of human subjects set by the Finnish Advisory Board of Research Integrity (TENK, https://www.tenk.fi/en), which are in line with the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity of All European Academies (ALLEA) and the General Data Protection Regulation recently issued by the European Commission. The University of Helsinki Ethical Review Board in the Humanities and Social and Behavioural Sciences sanctions these national guidelines (TENK) and provides six descriptions of research designs that require ethical review (see https://www.helsinki.fi/sites/default/files/atoms/files/when_are_ethi cal_reviews_required.pdf, https://www.tenk.fi/en). According to these guidelines, this study did not require ethical review.
In South-Africa, the research project plan was submitted to the University of Johannesburg Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Education for permission and permission was given.
In both countries good scientific practices were followed and, the research plan was pre-examined and approved by the rectors of the teaching schools in Helsinki and Johannesburg. Since the participants of the study were pre-service teachers, adults, the research plan and practices were introduced to them. They had the opportunity to decline the participation in the study any time. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants. The data collection was integrated to the normal activities during the professional experiences. The rector and mentor teachers were informed about and agreed to the data collection schedule. Note 1. WhatsApp is an Android app that is free to download. It was used for secure group messaging. https://www.whatsapp.com/.

Notes on contributors
Jari Lavonen is a Professor of Physics and Chemistry Education, a Director of the National Teacher Education Forum, a Chair of the Finnish Matriculation Examination Board and a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Johannesburg. He has been researching both science and teacher education for the last 31 years.
Sarita Ramsaroop is a Professor and her main research focus is on student teacher engagement in coursework and fieldwork and strengthening school-university partnerships. Her other research area is in the teaching and learning of Social Science concepts in the primary school.
Anni Loukomies is a lecturer and teacher eduactor and a visiting researcher in the Department of Childhood Education, University of Johannesburg. Her research interests are primary and secondary school students' engagement in science learning, inclusive practices and coherence of teacher education.
Nadine Petersen is a professor and she is a National Research Foundation C2 rated researcher, with 21 years of experience in higher education. Her research interests are in teacher education where she focuses on pre-service teacher professional development and student enculturation.
Elizabeth Henning is Professor of Educational Linguistics at the University of Johannesburg's Soweto campus. She holds the South Africa Chair in "Integrated Studies of Learning Language, Science and Mathematics in the Primary school".