The Inquiry Showcase and Pinning Ceremony:

Celebrating the Inaugural Class of the new B.A.E. in Elementary Education program

The B.A.E. in Elementary Education at the University of Florida is an initial teacher preparation program that leads to professional certification in grades K-6 with Reading and ESOL endorsements. We partner with the Alachua County Public School district and P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School to prepare the next generation of teachers to be leaders in the creation of more equitable classroom experiences for all children they will serve throughout the entirety of their teaching careers. UF EduGators recognize that teaching is a complex, multi-faceted problem-solving activity that requires ongoing wondering, questioning, and data collection within the classroom in order to understand the impact of educational experiences on students and share those insights with others.

At the heart of inquiry is student learning. It provides opportunities for meaningful professional development experiences for interns and mentor teachers alike. We seek to support teachers who have an inquiry-oriented stance, consistently looking to examine their practice and its impact through classroom-based research. Interns, mentors, other veteran teachers, and teacher educators embody this inquiry-orientation in the teacher inquiry investigations that have been conducted throughout the past academic year and shared with you today.

The Annual Inquiry Showcase and Pinning Ceremony provides an opportunity to discuss inquiry investigations, celebrate accomplishments and generate a community of reflective practitioners to better the teaching/learning experiences of all students. Today, we celebrate the inaugural class of this new Elementary Education program. We honor their achievements as we look forward with excitement towards the possibilities they bring to their future classrooms.

One of our goals is to continue to increase the size, scope and impact of this annual event in order to foster rich, intellectually engaging dialogue about classroom teaching and classroom based inquiry that can have a dramatic impact on how schools, teachers and teacher education are viewed. We invite you to join us in this effort as we seek to develop the best teachers that the state of Florida has to offer.

Schedule of Events

Mrs. Sarah Painter, 2022 Florida Teacher of the Year (College of Education alumna, M.Ed., 2012)