Theory practice debates are well established in the field of education and ways of enabling teachers to engage and learn continue to be discussed (Korthagen, 2017). A current trend and one which appears to be supported by government policies in England and other countries (although through differing measures) is the need for practice to be underpinned by research evidence. This trend has spawned particular approaches to how research might be used to inform practice such as the “What Works Clearing House” in USA and in England the formation of the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF). Whilst policy and funding can drive initiatives from the top down, schools and Universities are also engaging in evidence-informed approaches to practice from the ground up (Wyse, 2018). One current trend in England is “close to practice research” (CtP) defined as: Close-to-practice research is research that focusses on aspects defined by practitioners as relevant to their practice, and often involves collaborative work between practitioners and researchers. (Wyse, Brown, Oliver, Poblete, 2018:15) This approach is attractive to practitioners as it recognises their unique understanding of context and is based on an issue of concern and interest to them, making such research relevant and meaningful. Potential downsides include lack of research rigour and lack of confidence in engaging with research ( Coldwell M, Greany T, Higgins S, Brown C, Maxwell B, Stiell B, Stoll L, Willis B and Burns, H (2017). However, where close to practice research can be identified as “high quality” there are mutual benefits for practitioners and researchers leading to improved outcomes (Scutt, 2018). This paper reports on a close to practice research project and it’s outcomes for teacher PD. Data was collected through questionnaires, evaluations and teacher semi structured interviews. Ethical guidelines were followed (BERA, 2018). Thematic analysis identified key themes and suggestions for improving close to practice projects in the future.

BERA (2018) Ethical Guidelines Coldwell M, Greany T, Higgins S, Brown C, Maxwell B, Stiell B, Stoll L, Willis B and Burns H. (2017) Evidence informed teaching: An evaluation of progress in England, London: Department for Education Korthagen, F. (2017) Inconvenient truths about teacher learning: towards professional development 3.0, Teachers and Teaching, 23:4, 387-405, DOI: 10.1080/13540602.2016.1211523 Scutt, C. (2018) Bringing Research into Practice BERA RI: Autumn 137:17-19 Wyse, D, Brown, C., Oliver, S., Poblete, X., (2018) The BERA Close to Practice Research Project BERA RI: Autumn 137: 15-16