The purpose of this study was to examine reflective thinking as it related to instructional and personality characteristics of an effective teacher. During semistructured interviews, 42 first-year teachers identified the characteristics of an effective teacher and compared their own professional development to these ideal images. Comments from participant interviews and results from one-way classification Chi Square tests indicated several personality characteristics to be significantly related to effective teaching. Specifically, for these novice teachers, the effective practitioner was a caring, committed, highly creative, proficient reflective thinker with a strong internal locus of control. Most of the participants viewed themselves as above average creative and reflective thinkers with a moderate internal locus of control. During their first year, they had often been overwhelmed and constrained by large teaching assignments, bureaucratic inefficiency, and administrative indifference. However, these first-year teachers remained dedicated to teaching and confident of professional growth. Finally, qualitative data from this study identified preservice and inservice curricula and activities that may maximize growth in technical expertise, teaching artistry, and reflective thinking. It is hoped that such information will assist teacher educators in implementing the principles of effective teaching and reflective practice. (Contains 49 references.) (Author/JLS)