About Me

I have taught at Mills since 1996, when I was hired to teach in what was then called a "Cross-cultural, Language and Academic Development" (CLAD) teaching credential emphasis. This certification no longer exists in California. However, my Teachers for Tomorrow's Schools (TTS) colleagues and I decided to keep the CLAD courses we had developed. I carried out this project in two courses: EDUC 352-English Language Development and Content Instruction Methods for Elementary (catalog course description) and EDUC 353-English Language Development and Content Instruction Methods for Secondary (catalog course description). In addition, since the 2004 Fall Semester, I have been teaching courses for TTS graduates who come back to finish their master's degree in Education with an Emphasis in Teaching (MEET). Although I still see as my main area of expertise the preparation of teachers with attention to language development, teaching MEET students has provided me with opportunities to interact and learn from current teachers. Not surprisingly, this experience has also strengthened my practice in my ELD methods course. The course I included in this project is EDUC 207B-Inquiry into the Teaching Process: Practice into Theory (catalog course description). Much of my motivation for and interest in these courses stems from my own experience as a second language learner and a former elementary Spanish-bilingual teacher at Jefferson Elementary School in the Oakland Unified School District. Similarly, my interest in video and documentation of teaching and learning can be traced back to my involvement in a Title VII project during my last year as a teacher in Oakland in 1992. Although video technology then consisted of bulky cameras and tape decks, that experience introduced me to the potential of video as both content for teaching and medium for documentation. Several years later, while teaching at Mills, I became a Carnegie Academy for the Teaching and Learning (CASTL) Scholar. My CASTL project focused on developing content and approaches to use video for use in my courses. This project led me to experiment with ways to streamline the documentation and indexing of my students' learning. Though I continue to experiment with video along these lines, for the past three years I have relied on wiki pages (the same technology used in creating Wikipedia pages) to make readings, graphics, and other course-related content available to my students. In addition, the TikiWiki system I use to manage the wiki pages for my courses provides me with a way to create a record of my students' learning.* * I am grateful to Carnegie's Knowledge Media Laboratory's Toru Iiyoshi and James Morgan for all their support and patience in helping me learn to use this system as well as for letting me borrow KEEP server space. My Mills Web page

About My Program

The Teachers for Tomorrow's Schools (TTS) teacher education program is part of the Education Department at Mills College, in Oakland, California. Together with Anna Richert, Linda Kroll, and other colleagues (Dave Donahue, Ruth Cossey, and Vicki LaBoskey, primarily), we work to prepare both single and multiple subject preservice teachers to teach mostly in urban schools. There are four emphasis strands in the program: (1) Math and Science; (2) English, Social Studies, and Art; (3) Early Childhood; and (4) General Multiple Subjects. These represent specific single (first two) and multiple subjects (last two) credential programs. However, since we believe that teachers are teachers first and specialists second, we have organized our program to work with yearly (fall-spring) cohorts of approximately 60 students representing all four strands. Our program also has a very explicit focus on social justice and school reform through teaching pracitce that is informed by inquiry. In addition, we rely on six principles, which have emerged from our shared experience. They provide us with a framework for our decisions at all levels as well as with a language with which and through which to make sense of our practice. The principles (in no particular order) are Teaching is a collegial act Teaching must be based on inquiry and reflective practice Learning is a constructivist and developmental process Teaching is a political act Teaching must be based on an ethic of care Teaching is about the acquisition of subject matter and professional knowledge Click here to read more about all the TTS principles

About My Students

The students in the Mills College School of Education are predominantly graduates working toward the completion of teaching, child life in hospitals, or administrative credentials, most of which include an MA degree. There are also a number of doctoral (EdD) students with whom my TTS colleagues and I often work as advisors or in other kinds of arrangements. Some of the faculty (including me, on occasion) also teach and advise a few students completing Child Development and other related undergraduate majors. Our TTS credential students are predominantly female (83 percent in multiple subjects; 76 percent in single subjects for the 2005-06 academic year). They represent various backgrounds and age spans. They complete field placements, mostly in local public school districts (Oakland, Hayward, San Lorenzo, San Leandro, Alameda, Berkeley, Albany, El Cerrito, Emeryville, and Piedmont), while enrolled full time in the credential program. This allows me and other department colleagues to include purposeful connections between our students' field experiences and other program elements. In my courses, as is true of most TTS courses, the majority of my assignments are inquiry and documentation projects to be completed at my student's teaching placements. My EDUC 207B students, in contrast, are a smaller group (eleven) of credentialed teachers, most of whom teach full time and attend classes at Mills twice a week. Of these, six completed their master's requirement in two semesters; the remaining five decided to spread the work over four semesters.

About My Institution

(From the Mills web site) Mills College has been setting the standard for quality in liberal arts education for more than 150 years. Historically a college for women only, Mills continues that proud tradition today on the undergraduate level. To provide enhanced professional opportunities for all students, Mills also offers renowned graduate programs open to both women and men. We are consistently ranked one of the top 75 liberal arts colleges in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, which also recognizes us as one of the top 20 most diverse liberal arts colleges in the country. Located in the foothills of Oakland, California on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay, Mills offers students a unique study in contrasts. Just off campus, the world is in reach via the diverse metropolitan centers that make up the greater Bay Area. Here on the Mills campus, it's another world entirely. Amid the green, rolling hills and century-old eucalyptus trees, students find haven--a great place to live and learn--with new friends and new ideas at every turn. The campus is heavily accented with Mediterranean-style buildings, many designed by architectural innovator Julia Morgan. Paths and streams wind their way through tree groves and meadows, adding to the serene, pastoral feeling that pervades our 135 acres. Virtual Tour of Mills College A guided tour of the campus, highlighting some of the buildings and sites. The virtual tour includes pictures and a map. Visit Mills College Directions for prospective students and visitors.