University of Central Florida education students will test their professional presentation abilities Saturday, Jan. 25, at the College of Education and Human Performance’s annual HAPPY Hour Student Showcase.

The showcase, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., serves as a forum for dozens of students each year to gain professional-development experience and strengthen their presentation skills by sharing their work with hundreds of peers and professional educators in a conference-like setting.

The event will begin in Education Complex gymnasium, and sessions will be held at the Morgridge International Reading Center and throughout the Teaching Academy.

HAPPY Hour, which stands for Having Active Participation Prepares You, provides workshops throughout the year for teaching candidates. HAPPY Hour also hosts the annual Student Showcase each spring, highlighting dozens of these students by providing them with professional conference experience and a chance to qualify for a $500 scholarship to attend a professional conference of their choice.

At this year’s showcase, 89 student will share 59 presentations focusing on what they have learned in their classes and internships; teaching-related talents that can be easily taught to an audience; innovative classroom activities; and other programs. After submitting proposals at the end of the fall semester, students had the opportunity to work with faculty mentors to create their presentations.

The showcase is a forum for students to share their best work with peers during a 30- or 45-minute period.  Some of this year’s presentation topics include “Parents, On Your Side: The Ins and Outs of Parent-Teacher Conferences,” “The Sound of Music: Incorporating Music into the K-12 Classroom” and “How to Use Twitter in the Classroom.”

The HAPPY Hour Student Showcase also will feature a keynote presentation by 2013 Florida Teacher of the year, Alexandre Lopes, from Carol City Elementary School in Miami Gardens.

Those interested in sitting in on any of the day’s presentations may register Saturday in the lobby of the Education Complex.  Registration, which costs $20, will begin at 8 a.m.

For more information about the showcase, visit http://education.ucf.edu/happyhour/about_showcase.cfm. More information about this semester’s HAPPY Hour sessions is available at http://education.ucf.edu/happyhour/about_workshops.cfm.