Bridging the gap between theory and practice is an important topic in German teacher education: How can trainee teachers be prepared for the requirements of their future job? One concept that has been discussed in depth is research-based learning: it promises to foster critical thinking and reflexion skills. In our paper, we discuss data from three settings of research-based learning in which students work in small groups of 2–4 persons on empirical data and/or discuss scientific publications. Using a conversation analytic approach, we ask how exactly students bridge the aforementioned gap – how they use biographical and/or professional knowledge from the epistemic domain school, and in what way these referrals are functional for the ongoing interaction in the small groups. We describe three practices and discuss them in terms of identity construction, knowledge communication and ‘doing togetherness’.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract