College Washington State University T hose of us assigned to teach academically-talented students for the first time wonder what, if any, special challenges such students might present. As someone who has taught academically-talented and honors students for over ten years, I have thought a great deal about this issue. In my years directing honors programs, faculty have often told me that their honors teaching is the most rewarding, but also the most difficult. Honors programs obviously attempt to serve the latter group, usually with enriched courses and curricula.
Many faculty members approach teaching academically-talented students with misconceptions.
This notion, wherever it comes from, offers a recipe for failure and disappointment for everyone involved. A second misconception is that academically-talented students will be more open to different types of assignments and teaching strategies than other students. Often this isn't so. Bright students have been successful working and studying on their own. Like many of us, they prefer what is known and comfortable.