This study examined the ways in which PDS participants use language to co-construct knowledge about literacy teaching and learning during debriefing conversations following shared instructional experiences in K-3 classrooms. The debriefing conversations were part of a collaboratively developed pedagogical model situated in a literacy methods course. The primary data sources for the study were transcriptions from one collaborative planning conversation and six debriefing conversations. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were employed (1) to understand how participants used language during debriefing conversations and (2) to identify the focus of the debriefing conversations as they related to Bransford, Darling-Hammond, and LePage's (2005) Framework for Understanding Teaching and Learning. The study was conducted during year four of a five-year design-based project. The goal of the project was to engage in continuous improvement to enhance, for all stakeholders in the PDS, the potential for professional growth. Findings reveal that, despite varied uses of language to explore literacy teaching and learning, participant interactions largely reflected institutionalized discourses of pre-service teacher education. Additionally, findings provide insight about the focus of debriefing conversations as they related to research on relevant knowledge in pre-service teacher preparation. Most importantly, the study demonstrates that pedagogical innovations in PDS settings can be continuously improved through collaborative design-based processes.