Student-Identified Exemplary Teachers: Insights From Talented Teachers

Abstract

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.

How Good Is Good Enough? A Community-Based Assessment of Teacher Competencies for Gifted Students

“…For students, passion was understood as a teacher who is deeply engaged with the content and his or her students. As for teachers, passion was related to being "deeply in-love" with the content he or she has to deliver (Gentry et al, 2011).…”

“…An adequate climate also had a positive effect on gifted students' well-being and overall satisfaction with their academic experiences in schools. Gentry, Steenbergen-Hu, and Choi (2011), in a mixedmethods study of student-identified exemplary teachers, found that teachers who had the most valuable competencies had the following characteristics: had a genuine interest in students and built strong relationships with them, set high expectations and had high standards for their students, maintained a good classroom climate and had a good time with their students, and had passion toward their teaching and their students.…”

Factors influencing students’ perceptions of graduate attribute acquisition in a multidisciplinary honours track in a Dutch university

“…Teachers represent a critical factor. Gentry, Steenbergen-Hu, and Choi (2011) propose some student-identified characteristics of exemplary teachers: passion, high expectations, sense of humour, connected with students, engaging with students in meaningful learning and a willingness to differentiate between individual students. Although the teachers in the programme appeared to possess these characteristics, not all students experienced all lessons as challenging and activating, whereas active learning tasks seems to be a prerequisite for enhancing engagement and higher order learning (Biggs, 2012).…”

Social interactions that support students’ self-regulated learning: A case study of one teacher's experiences

“…We reviewed literature and grouped exemplary teaching practices (with a particular emphasis on helping students take the charge of their learning) into six categories including instructional support (e.g., Butler et al, 2005), motivational support (e.g., Turner & Patrick, 2008), instrumental support (e.g., Perry, Hutchinson, & Thauberger, 2007), encouraging independent thinking (e.g., Gentry, Steenbergen-Hu, & Choi, 2011), continuous monitoring and feedback (e.g., Butler, 2002a), and a supportive classroom environment (e.g., Ayres, Sawyer, & Dinham, 2004). While ineffective teachers may also display such competencies (Waldrip & Fisher, 2003), exemplary teaching requires putting these components together to support students' SRL.…”