What happens when tranquil universities and schools full of energetic kids decide to become partners?

You get professional development schools, a melding of two different cultures.

These schools mix the abstract education theory popular at universities and the concrete reality of 30 noisy kids bouncing around a classroom.

"You bring theory and practice together," said Joan Karp, chairwoman of the education and liberal studies program at CSU Channel Islands in Camarillo, whose partner is nearby University Preparation School.

Ventura County recently added its third professional development school — Moorpark's Flory Academy of Science and Technology, whose partner is California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.

In addition, Manzanita School in Newbury Park is in its second year as a partner of Pepperdine University. University Prep, a charter school, has been paired with CSU Channel Islands since 2001.

Everyone involved in professional development schools benefits — from kids to teachers to university faculty, educators say.

Despite all the benefits that professional development schools provide, educators say it can be difficult to create them. That's mostly because pairing universities and K-12 schools sometimes creates a culture clash, said Kathy Church, an associate professor at Pepperdine and coordinator of the professional development school at Manzanita.

"Bringing those worlds together, getting people to trust each other, takes time," Church said.

At professional development schools, student teachers get a slightly different education than they'd get at a traditional school.

For one thing, the teachers in training spend an entire school year at one campus, rather than dividing their year between two campuses, which is more common. That means that they get a feel for the rhythms of a school year, seeing what happens when kids return from winter break or when it's testing time.

"You get the full school year experience, which is eye-opening, as opposed to just eight-week blocks," said Heather Goehring, who was a student teacher at Manzanita last year.

Plus, professional development schools typically have more student teachers at one time than traditional schools — about 10, as opposed to two or three. That means that the student teachers tend to be more involved in the school and have more opportunities to work with colleagues, Goehring said.

In addition, at professional development schools, student teachers rotate among more grades, so they see a wider range of teaching styles than they would at a traditional school. That helps them mold their own style of teaching, Goehring said.

"They really work with you on identifying who you are as a teacher," said Goehring, who is now teaching in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Meanwhile, the master teachers who work with the teachers in training get another adult in the classroom, someone who can help when they want to divide kids into small groups or tutor a child who is struggling.

Student teachers also bring in the latest thinking on education, said Genevieve James, a fifth-grade teacher and coordinator of Flory's gifted and talented program.

"They bring fresh new ideas, different ways to do it," James said. "They come in with new technology. Their schooling is more up to date."

University faculty say they benefit by getting in touch with what's happening in classrooms today.

Michael McCambridge, an education professor at CLU for six years, is working with kids at Flory to put on a play about the 13 colonies.

"It's important that I stay in the game," said McCambridge, a former theater teacher. "The danger of teaching in (universities) is pontificating about what you remember."

And the kids?

They get more attention, which often translates into more learning — and that, educators say, is the goal.