The Nuffield Foundation's Practical Work for Learning project takes the position that practical work is not a pedagogic approach in its own right, but that its affordances for learning depend on how successfully other pedagogies are applied to practical lessons. The design process used in the project is made explicit, illustrating research-informed, principled development and formative evaluation drawing on research methodologies. Conclusions from the project raise questions about the extent to which teachers can adopt new pedagogies by using exemplar resources.