Fifty-seven elementary education students enrolled in methods courses were asked to respond to an open-ended questionnaire to identify what knowledge and skills had been learned as a result of participating in field experiences required in the courses. Students provided 516 individual statements, with 245 being knowledge statements, which included facts or concepts about teaching and learning in schools, knowledge of educational environments, and knowledge of self as a beginning professional, and 271 being skill statements, which included action by the student in professional activity, teaching in a particular content area, acting in context, and professional development. Knowledge statements were primarily associated with professional information related to teaching and content to be taught during field assignments. This is in contrast to knowledge identified by beginning field students who emphasized knowledge associated with career exploration and educational contexts. Skills developed made up more than 50 percent of students' statements and were directly linked to the delivery of classroom instruction in field sites. Field experiences just prior to student teaching seem to differ from those provided at the beginning of a teacher education program in terms of curriculum and instructional emphasis. (Contains 12 references.) (Author/JDD)