Introduction

Systematic, sustained provision of in-service courses has virtually disappeared. Increasingly, teachers' main source of professional development is the Internet. There is, however, a huge difference between reading about new approaches and skills and transforming that information, that understanding, into new ways of thinking, planning and teaching.

This is where evidence-based history teaching, or teacher action research, comes definitively into its own. Action research, i.e. teachers researching their own practice, is a method specifically designed to ensure the transfer of teaching skills, processes and knowledge into improved classroom practice. It involves you, the teacher, enquiring into any aspect of your own teaching that you feel needs improvement; e.g. planning, questioning, resourcing, assessment.

Action research, also known as case study research, recognises the importance of the systematic, accurate recording of data as a way of collecting evidence about your own teaching and your pupils' learning.