ABSTRACT

When research into teaching effectiveness is instigated by practitioners and addresses questions that are of immediate relevance and significance to them, it has the capacity to impact on practice in important and sometimes unexpected ways. It can not only inform and enhance the reflective processes that teachers are engaged with, but it can also provide a range of insights into the improvement of practice. In addition, it has the potential to provide a rationale for change as well as indicating possible directions for achieving any increased effectiveness. Research data about how to improve teaching effectiveness will generally have implications for staff professional development, because such data tends to identify what practitioners may need to do differently and consequently indicate their learning needs as individuals or as a group.