Retrospective insights on teaching: exploring teaching excellence through the eyes of the alumni

This article explores a range of factors associated with excellent teaching from the perspective of past student groups. One hundred and thirty‐nine respondents who had been asked to nominate one teacher for an excellence in teaching award provided comments on the reasons for their nomination. An exploration of these reasons is presented. Findings show that students are more likely to invoke teacher attributes more than actions, and recall positively such dynamics as a sense of belonging, the pleasure of community, the importance of being understood and cared about and the experience of having been welcomed and respected within their classroom settings. The implications of these experiences and insights for the enhanced development of the quality and effectiveness of higher education are discussed.