Teachers are constantly under pressure to produce results in the form of student achievement. The combinations of characteristics and methods that teachers use to achieve those results may seem endless. Still, there are behaviors and techniques that constantly emerge in any evaluation of a master teacher. In this article, the author presents an in-depth review of four of the ten basic characteristics of effective teachers: (1) Professionalism; (2) communication skills; (3) personality; and (4) the ability to model concepts in their content area. All of the characteristics discussed in this review have shown to be related to one another, or to effective teaching in some way. Effectiveness must now be redefined in light of learning outcomes. Although research should serve as a guidepost to the preparation and praxis of teachers already in the profession, it must continue to investigate what teacher behaviors provide the best achievement possibilities for students.