I doubt any of these studies look at the "giftedness" of the teacher. It isn't a small point. In a word, gifted students - we're talking high IQ, primarily - literally out-think people of lower IQ. This IS the definition of high IQ: individuals who think at a levet of depth and complexity beyond most. As a result, there is a major communication gap that is difficult to cross. For example, how does a theoretical physicist explain the General Theory of Relativity to a layman except in the simplest terms? He/she will achieve some level of understanding, but will never function at a level to work that theory, or take it to another level. Likewise, it takes a gifted teacher to understand that the gifted student is expressing and manipulating deeper, more complex thoughts. They must be given "room" to express and develop their thoughts and projects. More conventional classroom work only bores them. The teacher (and school) must be lrepared to bring-in specialists, for ex to teach a 6 th grader integral calculus or differential equations, if he/she is developing a theory on gravitation waves that requires that depth of analysis, or a composer to a gifted young musician. But, the process shifts from TEACHING to COLLABORATION. Gifted students don't typically need to be taught; they're usually very good at teaching themselves. They need to be acknowledged and cultivated and the primary teacher functioning more as a coach.
I doubt any of these studies look at the "giftedness" of the teacher. It isn't a small point. In a word, gifted students - we're talking high IQ, primarily - literally out-think people of lower IQ. This IS the definition of high IQ: individuals who think at a levet of depth and complexity beyond most. As a result, there is a major communication gap that is difficult to cross. For example, how does a theoretical physicist explain the General Theory of Relativity to a layman except in the simplest terms? He/she will achieve some level of understanding, but will never function at a level to work that theory, or take it to another level. Likewise, it takes a gifted teacher to understand that the gifted student is expressing and manipulating deeper, more complex thoughts. They must be given "room" to express and develop their thoughts and projects. More conventional classroom work only bores them. The teacher (and school) must be lrepared to bring-in specialists, for ex to teach a 6 th grader integral calculus or differential equations, if he/she is developing a theory on gravitation waves that requires that depth of analysis, or a composer to a gifted young musician. But, the process shifts from TEACHING to COLLABORATION. Gifted students don't typically need to be taught; they're usually very good at teaching themselves. They need to be acknowledged and cultivated and the primary teacher functioning more as a coach.