  Preparing future physics teachers for the demanding nature of their
profession is an important and complex endeavor. Teacher education systems must
provide a structure for the coherent professional development of prospective
teachers. Worldwide, physics teacher education is organized in different ways,
but have to face similar challenges, like the relation between academic studies
and practical preparation. To meet these challenges, it is worth taking look at
different teacher education systems. In this chapter, we compare physics
teacher education in two countries, representing two different educational
traditions: Germany and the USA. Comparing different aspects of physics teacher
education (standards, organization and institutionalization, content of teacher
education, quality assurance), we describe both systems in their current state
and why they are organized in the way they are. In doing so, we identify
surprising commonalities but also different opportunities for both systems to
learn from each other.
