Reinvigorating the professorate: Reflections about teaching academically gifted youth

One concern for many educators is the potential problem of losing enthusiasm and falling into a rut when teaching their classes. Teachers customarily teach the same subject(s) or teach to the same type students year after year. This scenario is applicable to all grade level teachers and is likewise true for the university professor. This article describes the experiences of two university professors teaching academically gifted youth in a three-week intensive academic program, Francis Marion University's Program for Young Scholars. This experience gave the professors opportunities to reevaluate their teaching styles as they taught the equivalent of a college semester course in three weeks to academically precocious youth.