The first cycle of action research is generating promising strategies for engaging diverse populations of students. This paper will illustrate the nature of these approaches, including examples using video extracts. Commentaries on these will be provided using data from interviews with students and teachers. Since the intention is to develop strategies for teacher development that have been demonstrated to be effective, the concern is with both quality and relevance. Within a project that involves so many partners, and where a degree of flexibility is necessary to take account of different contexts, this presents a series of challenges that will need to be addressed. The paper will explain the strategies being used in relation to these challenges. These seek to take advantage of differences as a means of interpreting common experiences from a variety of perspectives. With this in mind, use is made of processes of triangulation to scrutinise activities in the schools and to assess their impact on the participation and learning of students. This involves comparing and contrasting evidence about the same actions and activities, from different people; scrutinising events from different angles by making use of a variety of methods for collecting information; and using ‘outsiders’ as observers.