Class Acts: Outstanding College Teachers and the Difference they Make

Abstract

This article relies on research results and the reflections of professors who have been recognized for their outstanding teaching in order to identify attributes commonly associated with exemplary college and university teaching. Those attributes include having and showing enthusiasm for one's discipline and for teaching; emphasizing active, participatory learning and critical thinking skills; setting and enforcing high academic standards; genuinely caring about students; and possessing both a command of one's subject and essential teaching skills. The article presents recollections solicited informally from several criminal justice professors about their own best teachers and uses the responses to illustrate the previously identified attributes. It concludes by discussing the inspirational nature of truly outstanding teachers and suggesting how meaningful inspirational teachers can be to their students and to higher education.