Ref. #2563

North Iowa Area Community College has received national recognition for its Teacher Preparation Program. The National Science Foundation and Phi Theta Kappa (the international honor society for two-year colleges) selected NIACC as one of the top 10 American community colleges in meeting the needs of students who will become future K-12 teachers of science and mathematics.

NIACC will showcase its Preservice Teacher Program during Phi Theta Kappa’s Best Practices in Teacher Preparation Conference scheduled March 16-17, 2006, in Atlanta, GA. 

The recognition includes a grant which will cover travel expenses for a NIACC team, including students, to attend the conference. Key NIACC faculty involved in this effort include Kacy Larson, Education Program Leader; Adriana Attleson, NIACC Math Instructor and Division Chair; and Craig Zoellner, NIACC Science Instructor.

The conference will highlight the achievements of the selected community colleges by featuring student-delivered case study presentations and roundtables to develop recommendations for community colleges nationwide regarding strategies to enhance student-focused community college teacher preparation programs with an emphasis in science and mathematics.

The case studies and recommendations will be published for broad distribution to the nation’s community colleges. The publication will showcase the achievements, experiences, and perspectives of community college students as they prepare to become teachers.

NIACC’s Teacher Preparation curriculum includes courses such as Introduction to Teaching, Educational Psychology, Educational Media and Classroom Computing, Math for Elementary Teachers, and Inquiry to Life Science, besides a complete offering of freshmen and sophomore math and science courses. All are transferable to senior institutions.

Larson has launched a new Education Club for future teachers, and beginning in January, Attleson and Zoellner will guide a learning community of elementary education students through the Math for Elementary Teachers II and Inquiry to Life Science courses, enabling them to apply mathematics to their scientific research.

Approximately 140 students are currently enrolled in NIACC’s Education Program. Another group of students is taking advantage of the new Teacher Academy at Forest City High School which gives students an opportunity to explore teaching as a career while they are in high school. The curriculum models, which include some summer coursework, enable students to transfer to a teacher education program at a university after one year at NIACC. The College is also developing additional partnerships to recruit and prepare future teachers.

For more information, please contact Larson at 641-422-4236 or larsokac@niacc.edu.