More than a half-century ago, social psychologist Kurt Lewin coined the term "action research" to describe research aimed at solving social problems. In his words, "Research that produces nothing but books will not suffice."

Action teaching is the educational counterpart to action research. First coined in a 2000 article published in Teaching of Psychology, the term refers to instruction that simultaneously teaches about a course topic and contributes to the greater good.

In 2006, Social Psychology Network established a repository of award-winning examples of action teaching, which subsequently became part of the searchable database on ActionTeaching.org.