Outstanding Middle Level Teacher Education Candidate of the Year Award
Aiken, SC (11/16/2022) — Congratulations to Elizabeth (Eli) Basile, a senior at the University of South Carolina Aiken (USC Aiken), who was recently named the National Association for Professors of Middle Level Education (NAPOMLE)'s 2022 Outstanding Middle Level Teacher Education Candidate. Basile was presented with this award at the Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) conference in Orlando, Florida on Nov. 5, 2022.
"I believe that Eli Basile exemplifies the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of an outstanding middle grades educator as outlined in AMLE's This We Believe," Dr. Deborah McMurtrie, associate professor at USC Aiken said. "She has been consistently recognized by university faculty, cooperating teachers and peers for her significant contributions to USC Aiken and the education of young adolescents."
Basile is enrolled USC Aiken and is a South Carolina Teaching Fellow. This highly selective program provides fellowships for up to 200 high school seniors from across the state each year who exhibit high academic achievement, a history of service to their school and community, and a desire to teach in South Carolina. She is expected to graduate with honors in May 2023 with a degree in middle level education with a concentration in mathematics and an additional Gifted and Talented endorsement.
Basile's service activities include serving as a USC Aiken Teaching Assistant and as a Math Lab tutor. Her community service includes volunteering with Great Oaks Equine Assisted Programs and Special Olympics. Both of which promote the physical, emotional and psychological health of individuals with special needs.
Basile was recently elected to serve as the Collegiate Representative for the South Carolina Association for Middle Level Education's Executive Board. She is the current president of USC Aiken's Psi Xi chapter of Kappa Delta Pi, the honor society for educators.
Dr. Bridget Coleman, USC Aiken professor, described Basile as "a young professional who enthusiastically takes advantage of opportunities to serve in regional and global middle grades initiatives."
In terms of scholarship, Basile has already begun publishing and presenting at state, national and international middle level conferences. Last spring, she co-presented a session for the European League for Middle Level Education (ELMLE) annual conference in January as well as the South Carolina Association for Middle Level Education (SCAMLE) conference in March. She published an article entitled Connecting Weirdness and Wonder to Mathematics in Middle School in the SCAMLE journal last spring, and is working on a manuscript for ELMLE related to asking "weird questions" designed to intrigue and engage young adolescents across content areas using an interdisciplinary approach. She plans to present this research at the ELMLE conference in Porto, Portugal in January 2023.
Congratulations, Eli!
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Elizabeth (Eli) Basile was named the National Association for Professors of Middle Level Education (NAPOMLE)’s 2022 Outstanding Middle Level Teacher Education Candidate.
