A handbook for Exploratory Action Research

Month 2 – Things to do
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
 
Month 4 – Things to do
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Task 7.7 
Based on the list of actions and times provided above and also considering your own research, your action plan and the 
kind of information that you need to collect, complete the table below to design your own research schedule for the action 
part of your research (7. onwards in the above schedule). 
Summary and follow-up
In this chapter we have learnt about how to move from
the exploration to the action phase of Exploratory Action 
Research. We have thought about whether it is necessary
to plan a specific intervention, or whether the exploration 
itself has been sufficient. We have looked at different ways 
in which change can happen, and looked at examples from 
real teachers, noticing that for several of them the changes 
involved a combination of different approaches and even 
adaptation to their original idea. You have also had an 
opportunity to think about what kind of change you may 
want to make after conducting the exploration phase, and 
considered some useful tips and advice in case things
don’t go quite as planned!
In the next chapter you will read about how we can observe 
and analyse the effects of the change, and reflect on what 
occurred and its meaning. 
Follow-up
Esteban López conducted an Exploratory Action Research 
project consisting of several cycles of exploration and 
action. The first action that he implemented involved using
a new approach called ‘input-based instruction’, something 
he’d never tried before. When he began implementing it,
he faced some challenges. For example, he found that:
■
■
with this approach students were less involved than 
when they discovered rules for themselves 
■
■
an input-based strategy sometimes seemed 
overwhelming to these learners who had so little 
language
■
■
students still did not produce as much spontaneous 
speech as he had expected.
Imagine you are Esteban. What 
would you do in this situation? Make 
notes or discuss with a colleague if 
possible. Then read Esteban’s story 
and see what he in fact did next: 
http://bit.ly/Esteban-Lopez

---