This paper reports on the systematic development of a teaching methodology for two chemical engineering courses. The aim was to improve the quality of teaching to achieve expected learning outcomes more effectively. The development was carried out over a period of several years based on an action research methodology with data systematically extracted from student feedback and teacher reflection. Two new development targets were set every year based on teacher reflection and analysis of the data. Using action research as a development tool is an approach that can also be adopted in many other teaching fields. The results show that persistent development work leads to better learning outcomes and positive course feedback.