What roles do teachers play in the development of talent and in the attitude of students toward school? Research indicates that teacher enthusiasm, feedback, and content knowledge are keys to student motivation, learning, and engagement. Research also reveals the importance of positive and supportive student/teacher relationships. In previous work concerning student attitudes toward school, a handful of teachers emerged, in the eyes of their students, as exemplary. Follow-up study provided insights concerning the characteristics, practices, and qualities of these teachers. What and how they teach, and the ways they relate to individual students distinguish these exemplary and talented teachers. This research reveals quantitative and qualitative findings that help to explain the student-identified exemplary teachers (n = 18) from two samples that included more than 400 teachers. Implications for practice based on findings from these exemplary teachers are highlighted.
Amrein, A.L., & Berliner, D.C. (2002). An analysis of some unintended and negative consequences of high-stakes testing (EPSL No. 0211-125-EPRU) . Tempe: Arizona State University , Educational Policy Studies Laboratory.
2.
Artiles, A.J. ( 1996). Teacher thinking in urban schools: The need for a contextualized research agenda. In F. A. Rios (Ed.), Teacher thinking in cultural contexts (pp. 23-52). Albany: State University of New York Press.
3.
Babbage, K. ( 2002). Extreme teaching. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. Bishop, W.E. (1968). Successful teachers of the gifted. Exceptional Children, 34, 317-325.
4.
Brighton, C.M. ( 2003). The effects of middle school teachers’ beliefs on classroom practices. Journal for the Education of the Gifted , 27, 177-206.
5.
Cohen, J. ( 1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
6.
Collinson, V. ( 1996, July 15-18). Becoming an exemplary teacher: Integrating profession, interpersonal and intrapersonal knowledge (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED401227). Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Japan-United States Teacher Education Consortium, Naruto.
7.
Costa, A., & Kallick, B. ( 2000). Habits of mind: A developmental series. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
8.
Cotton, K. ( 1995). Effective schooling practices: A research synthesis 1995 update. Retrieved from http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/esp/esp95.html
9.
Davis, G.A., & Rimm, S. ( 2004). Education of the gifted and talented (5th ed.). New York, NY: Allyn & Bacon.
10.
Demmon-Berger, D. ( 1986). Effective teaching: Observations from research ( ERIC Document Reproduction Service No.ED274087).
11.
Doyle, W. ( 1990). Themes in teacher education research. In W. R. Houston (Ed.), Handbook of research on teacher education: A project of the association of teacher educators. New York, NY: Macmillan.
12.
Feldhusen, J.F. ( 1997). Educating teachers for work with talented youth. In N. Colangelo & G. A. Davis (Eds.), Handbook for gifted education (pp. 547-552). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
13.
Fenstermacher, G.D. ( 1979). A philosophical consideration of recent research on teacher effectiveness. In L. S. Shulman (Ed.), Review of research in education (Vol. 6, pp. 157-185). Itasca, IL: Peacock.
14.
Gentry, M., & Gable, R.K. ( 2001). My class activities: A survey instrument to assess students’ perceptions of interest, challenge, choice and enjoyment in their classrooms (Instrument). Mansfield Center, CT: Creative Learning Press.
15.
Gentry, M., & Owen, S.V. ( 2004). Student perceptions of classroom quality: Differences between honors, AP, and advanced students and students in general classes . Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, 16, 20-29.
16.
Gentry, M., Rizza, M.G., Peters, S., & Hu, S. ( 2005). Professionalism, sense of community, and reason to learn: Lessons from an exemplary Career and Technical Education Center. Journal of Career and Technical Education Research, 30, 47-85.
17.
Gentry, M., & Springer, P. ( 2002). Secondary student perceptions of their class activities regarding meaningfulness, challenge, choice, and appeal: An initial instrument validation study. Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, 13, 192-204.
18.
Good, T., & Brophy, J. ( 1994). Looking in classrooms (6th ed.). New York, NY: HarperCollins.
19.
Hansen, J.B., & Feldhusen, J.F. (1994). Comparison of trained and untrained teachers of gifted students. Gifted Child Quarterly , 38(3), 115-121. doi: 10.1177/001698629403800304
20.
Hativa, N., Barak, R., & Simhi, E. ( 2001). Exemplary university teachers: Knowledge and beliefs regarding effective teaching dimensions and strategies. Journal of Higher Education, 72, 699-729.
21.
Kagan, D.M. ( 1992). Implications of research on teacher belief. Educational Psychologist, 27, 65-90.
22.
Kane, R., Sandretto, S., & Heath, C. ( 2002). Telling half story: A critical review of research on the teaching beliefs and practices of university academics. Review of Educational Research, 72, 177-228.
23.
Leithwood, K. ( 1990). The principal’s role in teacher development. In B. Joyce (Ed.), Changing school culture through staff development (pp. 71-90). Washington, DC : Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development .
24.
Luft, V.D. ( 1999). School to careers: How agricultural education can contribute . Agricultural Education Magazine, 72, 20-21.
25.
Mills, C.J. ( 2003). Characteristics of effective teachers of gifted students: Teacher background and personality styles of students. Gifted Child Quarterly, 47(4), 272-281. doi: 10.1177/001698620304700404
26.
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. ( 1998). Policy position. Retrieved from http://www.nbpts.org/nbpts/standards/policy.html
27.
National Center for Education Statistics. ( 2006). Characteristics of schools, districts, teachers, principals, and school libraries in the United States, 2003-04 schools and staffing survey . Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2006313
28.
National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Educators. (2000). The standard of excellence in teacher preparation. Retrieved from http://www.ncate.org/
29.
Nichols, S.L., & Berliner, D.C. (2005). The inevitable corruption of indicators and educators through high-stakes testing (EPSL-0503-101-EPRU) . Tempe, AZ: Arizona State University , Educational Policy Studies Laboratory.
30.
Pajares, M.F. ( 1992). Teachers’ beliefs and educational research: Cleaning up a messy construct. Review of Educational Research, 62, 307-332.
31.
Patrick, H., Anderman, L.H., Ryan, A.M., Edelin, K.C., & Midgley, C. ( 2001). Teachers’ communication of goal orientations in four fifth-grade classrooms. Elementary School Journal, 102, 35-58.
32.
Patrick, H., Turner, J.C., Meyer, D.K., & Midgley, C. ( 2003). How teachers establish psychological environments during the first days of school: Associations with avoidance in mathematics. Teachers College Record, 105, 1521-1558.
33.
Pereira, N., Peters, S.J., & Gentry, M. (in press). The My Class Activities instrument as used in Saturday enrichment program evaluation. Journal for Advanced Academics.
34.
Pintrich, P.R. ( 1990). Implications of psychological research on student learning and college teaching for teacher education. In W. R. Houston (Ed.), Handbook of research on teacher education; a project of the association of teacher educators (pp. 826-857). New York, NY: Macmillan.
35.
Plucker, J.A., Burroughs, N., & Song, R. ( 2010). Mind the (other) gap: The growing excellence gap in K-12 education. Bloomington: Center for Evaluation and Education Policy, Indiana University .
36.
Roberts, J.L. ( 2006). Teachers of secondary gifted students. In F. A. Dixon & S. M. Moon, The handbook of secondary gifted education (pp. 567-580). Waco, TX: Prufrock.
37.
Robinson, A. ( 2008). Teacher characteristics. In J. A. Plucker, & C. M. Callahan (Eds.), Critical issues and practices in gifted education (pp. 669-680). Waco, TX: Prufrock.
38.
Robinson, A., & Kolloff, P.K. ( 2006). Preparing teachers to work with high-ability youth at the secondary level. In F. A. Dixon, & S. M. Moon, The handbook of secondary gifted education (pp. 581-610). Waco, TX: Prufrock.
39.
Robinson, A., Shore, B.M., & Enerson, D.L. ( 2007). Best practices in gifted education. Waco, TX: Prufrock.
40.
Strauss, A.L., & Corbin, J. ( 1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
41.
Taylor, S. ( 2001). Getting employers involved: Improving work-based learning through employer links. Report and good practice guidelines (ED 454414). London, England: Learning and Skills Development Agency .
42.
Thompson, G.L., Warren, S.R., Foy, T., & Dickerson, C. ( 2008). What makes a teacher outstanding?: A contrast of teachers’ and African American high school students’ perspectives. Journal of Urban Learning, Teaching, and Research, 4, 122-134.
43.
Tobin, K., & Fraser, B.J. ( 1989). Barriers to higher-level cognitive learning in high school science. Science Education, 73, 659-682.
44.
Tomlinson, J., Little, V., Tomlinson, S., & Bower, E. ( 2000). Educated for the 21st century? Children & Society, 14, 243-253.
45.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2004). People: Race and ethnicity. Retrieved from http://factfinder.census.gov/jsp/saff/SAFFInfo.jsp?geo_id=04000US09&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US09&_street=&_county=&_cityTown=&_state=04000US09&_zip=&_content=tp9_race_ethnicity.html&_watermark=people_watermark.gif&_gnId=0&_gtId=0&_title=Race+and+Ethnicity&_lang=en&_sse=on
46.
Wentzel, K.R. ( 1997). Student motivation in middle school: The role of perceived pedagogical caring. Journal of Educational Psychology, 89, 411-419.
47.
Wubbels, T., Levy, J., & Brekelmans, M. (1997). Paying attention to relationships . Educational Leadership, 54, 82-86.
