“…Essentially, appreciative inquiry "builds on positive experiences to spark positive change by honouring the expertise resident[s] in an organization and its people… by uncovering what works well in a system and devises ways to expand upon those strengths" (Filleul, 2010, p. 38). Although appreciative inquiry has primarily been used in health education (e.g., Lander & Graham-Pole, 2006) and educational development (e.g., Kadi-Hanifi et al, 2013) to conduct research that lends itself to program evaluation and systemic change, researchers in the field of education (e.g., Allen & Innes, 2013) are beginning to use it for reviewing, learning from, building upon, and subsequently strengthening and/or designing positive opportunities for developing innovative teaching pedagogies that better meet the needs of contemporary students at all levels of education. Framing this research through an appreciative model, rather than a deficit model, allowed me to focus on the depth of the stories arising from teacher candidates' experiences that were forward-thinking and particularly compelling in nature.…”