Oakland, CA - Anna Richert, professor of education at Mills College, is one of three California experts exploring innovative web technologies to prepare future educators for successful teaching in urban schools. Funded by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, the two-year “Quest” project was recently featured in Education Week (October 12, 2005).

In collaboration with Pam Grossman, professor of education, Stanford University, and Kathy Schultz, associate professor and director, Center for Collaborative Research and Practice in Teacher Education, University of Pennsylvania, Richert is using web-based case studies of teaching practices as texts enabling teachers to meet the changing challenges of urban education. Students in Mills’ education programs are studying the websites showing teachers at work with their students.  The demonstrations are helping future teachers explore pedagogical questions such as how teachers learn about their students, and how they use this knowledge to advance their teaching methods.

“We hope the Quest project will launch a new, web-based method for preparing future teachers about the complexities of the profession,” said Richert.  She also invited students from Arroyo High School (San Lorenzo) to study the websites, providing another layer of research related to the project.

Mills’ Graduate School of Education has a national reputation for excellence in the training and preparation of elementary and secondary school teachers.  Mills’ philosophically driven curriculum enables teachers to make a difference in urban K-12 classrooms and to become catalysts for educational and social change.

Founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1905 and chartered in 1906 by an act of Congress, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching is an independent policy and research center with a primary mission “to do and perform all things necessary to encourage, uphold, and dignify the profession of the teacher and the cause of higher education.”

Mills College is a nationally renowned, independent liberal arts college offering innovative degree programs for undergraduate women, and graduate degree and certificate programs for women and men. Consistently ranked among the top 75 liberal arts colleges in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, Mills is also recognized as one of the country’s 20 most diverse colleges. The Princeton Review selected Mills as one of 11 colleges for first-time inclusion in its Best 361 Colleges - 2005. Nestled in the foothills of Oakland, California on 135 lush acres, Mills provides a dynamic liberal arts education fostering women’s leadership, social responsibility, and creativity.

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