In the classroom: What Makes a “Good” Teacher “Great”?

Kathy Hargrove

The fall semester brought me yet another class of graduate students just embarking on their gifted education courses. Unlike many students I’ve had in the past, the majority of the class had no background at all in gifted education—no undergraduate courses, no graduate courses, not even any staff development. While this was challenging, it was also instructive because their questions let me know where most teachers really are when it comes to teaching gifted students. One concern voiced over and over during the semester was “What makes a ‘good’ teacher a really ‘great’ teacher for gifted and talented students?”

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