Pre-service elementary school teachers maintain beliefs and conceptual knowledge not aligned to current standards that focus on conceptual understanding. Research indicates that university courses taught in an alternate base may have a positive impact on the conceptual understanding of content in pre-service teachers. This qualitative study investigated why pre-service teachers accept instruction in an alternate base. Researchers found that students who were exposed to this type of instruction experienced cognitive dissonance, which helped them more deeply understand the content. Consequently, prospective teachers felt they were more likely to be understanding of their students’ frustrations, and more capable of teaching the material.