Liberal Studies: Teacher Preparation (AA)
Program Overview:
Have an Impact on the Lives of Children as You Nurture and Engage Them Through Teaching
Develop a classroom routine for your 4th graders to talk about their evening with a different child each morning. Assign small groups with specific guidelines to work on a science project together. Work with a student having a difficult time on memorizing vocabulary word find ways to improve. Talk with parents on parent-teacher school night about what your goals are for their children in your classroom.
Set yourself up to create a positive influence on young lives. Teachers impart a love of learning and foundational knowledge in children that will carry throughout their lives. You can be the person who most impacted someone on their path to success and become a trusted authority figure outside of their homes. Teachers are superheroes, and your kindness, patience, and understanding will be something they remember for the rest of their lives.
Teachers work in public, private, online, and charter schools creating lesson plans, solving issues as they arise, and developing strategies to overcome developmental and learning challenges. Some use their knowledge to teach other teachers and others take what they’ve learned and apply it to careers in psychology, library science, medicine, or even coaching youth sports.
Careers in Teaching
Having a degree in Teaching Preparation will lead to plenty of interactive classroom experiences where you can help students learn.
Here are some careers you can have with a Teacher Preparation degree:
Career information below taken from bls.gov December 2019. Go to bls.gov for most current career information.
Instruct young students in basic subjects in order to prepare them for future schooling.
Data for Los Angeles/Long Beach/Anaheim
| Typical Education Level: | Salary: | Hourly Median Wage: |
| Bachelor’s Degree | $70,310/year | $33.80/hour |
| Work Experience in a Related Occupation: | Job Outlook 2018-2028: | Number of Jobs 2018: |
| None needed | 2% increase (slower than average) | 3,540 |
Create special effects, animation, or other visual images using film, video, computers, or other electronic tools and media for use in products or creations, such as computer games, movies, music videos, and commercials.
Data for Los Angeles/Long Beach/Anaheim
| Typical Education Level: | Salary: | Hourly Median Wage: |
| Associate Degree | $38,190/year | $18.36/hour |
| Work Experience in a Related Occupation: | Job Outlook 2018-2028: | Number of Jobs 2018: |
| None needed | 5% increase (as fast as average) | 17,040 |
Work with students who have a wide range of learning, mental, emotional, and physical disabilities.
Data for Los Angeles/Long Beach/Anaheim
| Typical Education Level: | Salary: | Hourly Median Wage: |
| Bachelor’s Degree | $84,600/year | $40.67/hour |
| Work Experience in a Related Occupation: | Job Outlook 2018-2028: | Number of Jobs 2018: |
| None needed | 0% increase (little or no change) | 1,560 |
Oversee all school operations, including daily school activities.
Data for state of California
| Typical Education Level: | Salary: | Hourly Median Wage: |
| Master's Degree | $124,500/year | $59.86/hour |
| Work Experience in a Related Occupation: | Job Outlook 2018-2028: | Number of Jobs 2018: |
| 5 or more years needed | 9% increase (faster than average) | 22,950 |
Oversee school curricula and teaching standards. They develop instructional material, implement it, and assess its effectiveness.
Data for Los Angeles/Long Beach/Anaheim
| Typical Education Level: | Salary: | Hourly Median Wage: |
| Master's Degree | $82,620/year | $39.72/hour |
| Work Experience in a Related Occupation: | Job Outlook 2018-2028: | Number of Jobs 2018: |
| 5 or more years needed | 5% increase (as fast as average) | 6,630 |
Supervise and lead their staffs, design program plans, oversee daily activities, and prepare budgets.
Data for Los Angeles/Long Beach/Anaheim
| Typical Education Level: | Salary: | Hourly Median Wage: |
| Bachelor’s Degree | $53,990/year | $25.96/hour |
| Work Experience in a Related Occupation: | Job Outlook 2018-2028: | Number of Jobs 2018: |
| Less than 5 years needed | 7% increase (faster than average) | 2,350 |
What You’ll Learn at LASC in Teacher Preparation
You can get an Associate in Arts in Liberal Studies degree through LASC’s in Teacher Preparation program where you will gain detailed insight into the development and learning of children from birth to age eight, become knowledgeable about developmentally appropriate curriculum for differently-abled children, and prepare for a future career in teaching:
- Discover how to lead a classroom of young children through lesson and curriculum planning and developing learning strategies so you can prepare your lessons and curriculum for your own classrooms.
- Gain an understanding of how a child development center operates by putting your classroom knowledge into action at LASC’s Child Development Center.
- Problem-solve and think critically through challenging behaviors both inside and outside of the classroom so you understand best practices regardless of the situation that arises.
- Learn how to check your own biases when it comes to education and educating children so you ensure everyone has the same opportunity to get the best possible education.
- Want to transfer? You can transfer with an Associate in Art in Liberal Studies: Teacher Preparation. You may also want to check out the Associate in Science for Transfer (AST) degree in Early Childhood Education where you can graduate with guaranteed admission at a CSU, and some UCs. Either degree you choose at LASC will save you money on your first two years of college learning from exceptional, innovative faculty. See your academic counselor for more information.
Degrees & Courses You Will Take
Review LASC’s Associate in Arts in Liberal Studies: Teacher Preparation (AA) degree below, along with our suggested course of study for this program. Go to LASC’s current Course Catalog for specific course information:
Major Code: 4901.23
Total Units Required: 60
When you successfully complete this program, you will be able to:
- Use language (oral and written) and non-verbal modes of communication appropriate to the audience and purpose.
- Use critical thinking and computational skills to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate ideas and information.
- Utilize research skills necessary to achieve educational, professional, and personal objectives.
- Demonstrate sensitivity to and respect for others and participate actively in group and civic decision making.
- Demonstrate practices that promote physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
| Core Courses: (Choose 18 units) | Units |
|---|---|
| ART 103 Art Appreciation I | 3 |
| BIOLOGY 3 Introduction to Biology | 4 |
| CH DEV 1 Child Growth and Development | 3 |
| CHEM 51 Fundamentals of Chemistry I | 5 |
| COMM 101 Oral Communication I | 3 |
| ENGLISH 101 College Reading and Composition I | 3 |
| ENGLISH 102 College Reading and Composition II | 3 |
| ENGLISH 103 Composition and Critical Thinking | 3 |
| GEOLOGY 1 Physical Geology | 3 |
| GEOLOGY 6 Physical Geology Laboratory | 2 |
| HEALTH 11 Principles of Healthful Living | 3 |
| HISTORY 11 Political and Social History of the United States I | 3 |
| OR | |
| HISTORY 12 Political and Social History of the United States II | 3 |
| MATH 215 Principles of Math I | 3 |
| MATH 216 Principles of Math II | 3 |
| MATH 227 Introductory Statistics | 4 |
| MUSIC 101 Fundamentals of Music | 3 |
| PHYS SC 1 Physical Science I | 3 |
| PHYS SC 14 Physical Science Laboratory | 1 |
| POL SCI 1 The Government of the United States | 3 |
| TOTAL UNITS | 18 |
Get Ready Before You Start
Interested in a career in teaching? Before your first class starts at LASC, you can start preparing for your career in education:
- Make an appointment with your LASC academic counselor to review LASC’s program, develop a Student Education Plan (SEP), review the different student services and opportunities that would be beneficial for your academic goals, and discuss if attending a four-year university would be a good match for your career plans.
- Still in high school? Contact local elementary schools and preschools to see if you could observe for an afternoon to watch teachers in action. Talk with your high school counselor to find out if they can recommend any local opportunities that you could be a part of.
Program Learning Outcomes
With the successful completion of this program, you will be able to:
- Use language (oral and written) and non-verbal modes of communication appropriate to the audience and purpose.
- Use critical thinking and computational skills to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate ideas and information.
- Utilize research skills necessary to achieve educational, professional, and personal objectives.
- Demonstrate sensitivity to and respect for others and participate actively in group and civic decision making.
- Demonstrate practices that promote physical, mental, and emotional well-being.