What do great teachers do differently? What separates the top teachers from all the rest?


As educators continue to struggle with how to improve schools, these questions become more pressing than ever before. At the heart of any education system is the teacher. His or her role is so essential that The Gallup Organization has, for decades, directed some of the leading thinkers in education and psychology to uncover what makes a teacher great.


Written by two educators with a combined 70 years of experience in both classroom teaching and consulting with leaders of America’s schools, Teach With Your Strengths reveals the essential truths Gallup’s research has uncovered. But it zeroes on these monumental findings: While their styles and approaches may differ, all great teachers make the most of their natural talents. And, great teachers don’t strive to be well-rounded. They know that “fixing their weaknesses” doesn’t work — it only produces mediocrity. Worse, it squanders time and attention from what they naturally do well.


In Teach With Your Strengths, readers will hear from great teachers: What they do differently; how they handle problem students; how they battle intractable school bureaucracies; how they break through and inspire even the most troubled young people.