Johnson County Community College
Press Release

College Information and Publications
913-469-8500
Julie Haas, Director, ext. 3120
Peggy Graham, Writer, ext. 3425
Tyler Cundith, Sports Information Director, ext. 3122

4/17/07
Story by Peggy Graham

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Johnson County Community College is offering a new two-year teaching degree that will introduce students to teaching at the elementary or secondary level and prepare them for transfer to a four-year institution. The associate of arts degree in teaching will be effective beginning fall 2007. Students earning the A.A. degree in teaching will satisfy many of the general education and pre-professional requirements for the first two years of the bachelor's degree programs that lead to state licensure of teachers. Interested students are encouraged to complete designated electives in math, science, education and psychology that prepare them to teach.

“Now students who want a career in education can get a jump-start on a teaching degree at JCCC, where it is cost-effective and students as young as high school can explore a teaching career and earn college credits through JCCC's Quick Step program,” said Michelle Moriarty, professor, psychology and education.

Joe DiCostanzo, assistant dean, mathematics, initiated the A.A. teaching degree after seeing a need for math and science classes specifically designed to prepare teachers –classes that give students a depth of understanding of the subjects that enable them to teach others, not just recite facts. “There is a real need for additional teachers,” DiCostanzo said. “It has been predicted that there could be up to a 50 percent turnover in teachers in grades K-12 in the next 10 years due to retirements. In addition, there is a very high attrition rate among teachers during the first three years of teaching. Perhaps JCCC can help reduce this rate of attrition by better preparing teachers to teach.”

DiCostanzo says that JCCC's Office of Institutional Research and Math Department surveyed JCCC students attending an academic majors fair and found 60 percent were interested in teaching. Of the 293 students responding to a 2003 survey by JCCC's Office of Institutional Research, 203 (69 percent) indicated that they planned on becoming a teacher.

“The new A.A. teaching degree is good for our students and for a community that needs qualified teachers,” Moriarty said. “As part of their Introduction to Teaching class, JCCC students are required to complete 20 hours of classroom observation during the semester. The classroom experience gives students an opportunity to see what teaching is like before they commit to a four-year teaching degree, ” said Betty Furtwengler, assistant dean, social sciences and social services programs, who will over see the degree. “By the end of two years they find out whether teaching is their calling or not. They need to discover if they have a passion for teaching. We don't want teachers in the classroom who don't want to be there.”

For more information about the associate of arts teaching degree, contact Furtwengler at 913-469-8500, ext. 3365.