What Makes a Star Teacher: 7 Dispositions That Support Student Learning

How do some teachers manage to expertly engage students in deep learning, harmonize mandated standards with individual student needs, and create trusting relationships in the classroom? What typically sets these "star teachers" apart from other teachers?

In What Makes a Star Teacher: 7 Dispositions That Support Student Learning, Valerie Hill-Jackson, Nicholas D. Hartlep, and Delia Stafford provide a framework that can help ensure that you are your students' greatest asset—and a star teacher in your classroom. The book is grounded in studies conducted and ideas developed over a half-century by educational theorist Martin Haberman, whose models are used in hundreds of school districts across the United States. It's designed to help you assess, develop, and reflect upon seven key dispositions of Haberman's star teachers:

1. Persistence

2. Positive values about student learning

3. The ability to adapt general theories into pedagogical practices

4. An encouraging approach to students classified as at risk

5. A professional versus a personal orientation to learners

6. The ability to navigate school bureaucracy

7. A willingness to admit one's shortcomings

Full of insightful authentic examples, practical and ready-to-use strategies, and numerous suggested resources, What Makes a Star Teacher offers what every teacher—and every student—needs to thrive in any classroom.

Valerie Hil-Jackson began her teaching career with the Camden Board of Education in Camden, New Jersey—one of the nation's poorest urban school districts. She received her Interdisciplinary Doctorate in Educational Leadership degree from St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia and is currently the Director of Educator Preparation Programs and Partnerships in the College of Education and Human Development and a Clinical Professor of Teacher Education in the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Culture at Texas A&M University.

Nicholas D. Hartlep began his career as a 1st grade teacher in Rochester, Minnesota, before receiving a Ph.D. in Urban Education at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UWM). He also has a master's in K–12 education and bachelor's in elementary education, both conferred from Winona State University. Dr. Hartlep is an associate professor of urban education and the chair of the Early Childhood/Elementary Education department in the School of Urban Education at Metropolitan State University in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He also serves as the graduate program coordinator within the School of Urban Education.

Delia Stafford is president and CEO of the Haberman Educational Foundation (HEF). She has a bachelor's in education from Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, and a master's in education administration, elementary education, and teaching from Texas Southern University. In 1994, Stafford chartered the HEF to promote the research of Martin Haberman. Thanks largely to the foundation, Haberman's education models are being used in more than 370 school districts across the United States, especially in schools with large populations of students who are classified as at risk.</