This report summarizes research on teacher effectiveness in social studies classrooms. Observations were conducted in a large urban school district on the west coast of the United States, as well as in selected classrooms in Australia, New Zealand, Poland, and Germany since 1991. Effective teachers are those for whom there is evidence that students are not only learning, but also express an interest in the subjects they are taught. Observations were reinforced with end-of-semester questionnaires and in-depth interviews with each teacher and with randomly selected students in each class observed. The purposes of the research was two-fold: (1) to gain as accurate and detailed an impression as possible of what happens on a more or less regular basis in these classroom; and (2) to document how effective and non-effective teachers in these classrooms differ. Behaviors and characteristics of effective social studies teachers include: (1) they all have high (sometimes extremely high) expectations for their students; (2) they all stress depth rather than coverage of the course content; (3) they all are able to explain things clearly to their students; (4) they all are good listeners; (5) they all demonstrate remarkable patience; (6) they all vary the kinds of things they do and the kinds of activities in which they engage students in class; (7) they all possess incredible amounts of energy; and (8) they all display a considerable command of their subject matter and are able to relate to a variety of daily life examples. (EH)