ABSTRACT
American research shows that professional development can have a significant impact on teacher effectiveness – often as much as an extra six months of pupil progress per year. The importance of schools working alongside each other is not a new idea but it remains a concern in the humanities, despite the excellent leadership by professional bodies such as the Geographical Association. The concept of a professional learning community links pupils' achievement to teachers' professional development. Strategic partnerships within the community can certainly enrich the humanities curriculum. One of the most effective strategies to gain insight into the impact of teaching and marking is to ask a random group of pupils to read their teachers' comments and talk about their achievements over the previous term. The most impactful professional development, in terms of student gains in learning, occurs when there is systematic enquiry into the effectiveness of practice.
