Gifted students' perceptions of the characteristics of effective teachers

Are effective teachers born or can they be made? Are the qualities required to be an effective teacher the same for all students or do gifted students look for different things in their teachers? Do teachers of gifted learners need to be gifted themselves if they are to be effective? These questions prompted our investigation of the qualities of effective teachers of gifted students. An examination of the research literature revealed a number of key characteristics associated with teachers of the gifted, which we have classified into three areas: personal-social characteristics, teaching strategies and approaches, and intellectual characteristics