This article arises from an initiative set up by four Beacon Schools to enhance the professional development of teachers and hence raise pupil attainment in all schools in the local education authority. The initiative provided opportunities for teachers to work in cross-institutional interest groups, with the aim of sharing good practice and reflecting on classroom strategies that would better support pupil learning. Strategies for effective teaching approaches were discussed and translated into systematic plans for small action research studies. This article uses semi-structured interviews with the teachers participating in the action research studies to present findings on how teachers use explanatory frameworks to represent and develop their understandings of their own pedagogy and their pupils' learning. In particular, teachers' explanations of the factors that inhibit learning are examined so that common perspectives arising from individual reflection can be identified. An analysis of these common perspectives of learning provides insight into our understanding of the teacher's own reflective practice and how this impacts on their professional development.