The relationships of skills and classroom climate of trained and untrained teachers of gifted students

Trained teachers of the gifted (N = 54) and untrained teachers of the gifted (N = 19) were compared on measures of teaching skill and class climate. Teaching skills were measured by observers using the Teacher Observation Form (TOF), and class climate was measured by the means of student completion of the Class Activities Questionnaire (CAQ) (Steele, 1981). Trained teachers were rated by observers significantly higher than were untrained teachers. Trained teachers were rated by students as having developed significantly more positive class climates than did untrained teachers. Significant differences between trained and untrained teachers were found for the CAQ dimensions of Higher-Level Thought Processes and for Focus. Trained teachers lectured less, emphasized higher-level thinking, discussed more, and placed less emphasis on grades than did untrained teachers. Correlational analyses showed low correlations between teaching skill and gender, and student-teacher contact time. Teachers in self-contained and pull-out programs showed greater teaching skill and more positive class climates than did teachers in honors programs. High degrees of correlation were found between the dependent measures (ratings on the TOF and the CAQ), and training in gifted education, support for gifted programs, and credit hours in gifted education. Teachers trained in gifted education demonstrated greater teaching skill and developed more positive class climates than did untrained teachers of the gifted. More specifically, students of trained teachers reported greater emphasis on higher-level thinking skills and on the components of classroom focus which included discussion, less lecture, and less stress on grades, than did students of untrained teachers. This study adds credibility to the argument that teachers of the gifted should have training in gifted education in order to develop necessary skills to teach gifted students