Research indicates that learning about teaching methods is not the same as learning to enact teaching methods. In our mathematics and science teacher education programs, we employ a practice-based pedagogy approach requiring novice teachers to learn, practice, enact, and reflect on their teaching. This approach draws on work highlighting core instructional practices (Grossman et al., 2009a), the Cycle of Enactment and Investigation (Kazemi et al., 2009), and ambitious science teaching (Windschitl et al., 2012). This paper addresses how we implement these pedagogies in our context, the challenges we have encountered, and the adaptations we have made to optimize these practices.