Mills Teacher Scholars

Dear Friends and Supporters of the Mills Teacher Scholars,
Greetings! Here we are with spring well underway and making final plans for our Teacher Scholars to present the new understandings from their inquiry work. An important principle of the Scholars’ program is that teachers share what they learn with others. The school-site Scholars will present their work on their school campuses coming up in mid-May. (Check out their testimonials about our program.) Also, the on-campus scholars group, along with panels from our school sites, will present their work in a public forum to which you are all invited, on Tuesday, May 31 at 5:00 pm in the School of Education at Mills (download announcement). We would love to see you and your colleagues there. What an audience for teacher research that would create!

These are especially trying times in public school education. Thus, we are especially gratified with good news of Oakland’s rescinding of the pink slip notification for its elementary school teachers and the continued search for ways to better support their teachers in Oakland and all of the other districts where the Mills Scholars work — San Leandro, San Lorenzo, Emeryville, and Berkeley. These efforts help sustain hope.

I look forward to seeing you on May 31 at Mills

Anna

Join us for Mills Teacher Scholars Final Presentations
May 31st at Mills College
We hope that you will join us on Tuesday, May 31st for the Mills Teacher Scholars final presentations of their inquiry projects. Each of the teacher scholars from the Scholars Group as well as a panel of teacher scholars from each of our school sites will present what they have learned through their Mills Teacher Scholars’ inquiry projects. You are welcome to come for a portion of the evening if you are not able to make the entire event. The Mills Teacher Scholars gallery walk and presentations on May 31st are from 5:00 – 8:00 in room 101 of the Mills School of Education… Read more

Scholars Spotlight: Samantha Johnson
Samantha Johnson, who teaches physical science to eighth graders at Bancroft Middle School in San Leandro, joined the Mills Teacher Scholars group in the fall of 2010. She recently presented her Mills Teacher Scholars’ inquiry this March at the Teacher Researcher Day of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Conference in San Francisco, where her session drew a large audience of science teachers interested in improving their teaching of graphing… Read more

Vertical Teaming: Math Inquiry at Roosevelt
Wendy, Kenny, and Julie
“We rarely get the chance to work with teachers from other grade levels.” The Mills Teacher Scholars’ team hears these words repeatedly from our teacher scholars, many of whom are now working in vertical teams through MTS, exploring questions of practice with colleagues from various grade levels… Read more

Vertical Teaming: Literacy Inquiry at New Highland Academy
Aija, Channon, and Joanna
At New Highland Academy in Oakland, where Mills Teacher Scholars is wrapping up its first year of support, teacher scholars are working in vertical teams. Fifth grade teacher Aija Simmons, third grade teacher Channon Jackson, and first grade teacher, Joanna Davis are all studying their focal students’ reading comprehension… Read more

Mills Teacher Scholars at the American Educational Research Association Conference in New Orleans
The Mills Teacher Scholars team presented their paper, “I Have a Hunch, but No Evidence Yet”: Learning to use data to inform every day instruction” at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) this April in New Orleans. Anna Richert, Carrie Wilson, and Claire Bove spoke about the model for professional development that the Mills Teacher Scholars uses in supporting teachers to use real time classroom data to understand student learning by engaging in collaborative discussion with colleagues… Read more

Participant reflections on Mills Teacher Scholars program
Teacher Scholars reflect on the nature of the work they do as Mills Teacher Scholars and the ways in which this work influences their practice, how they work with other teachers and, ultimately, how students learn. View testimonials video .