3.1 Introduction to Action Research

• Meaning of action research
• Characteristics of action research
• The cycle of action research
• Using the action research cycle to address community issues

• explain the meaning of action research
• analyse the characteristics of action research
• illustrate the cycle of action research
• use the action research cycle to address issues in the community
• appreciate action research in addressing challenges in the community

“How can research change something rather than only describe it?”

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1. What action research is
   40 min · 2 practice tasks · quiz
   Research that changes something while it studies it, and why that is different.
2. Running a cycle
   40 min · 2 practice tasks · quiz
   Turning the four stages into something you can actually carry out in a term.
3. Characteristics of action research
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Analysing the seven characteristics, and spotting when a school project is missing one of them.
4. Planning with the community
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   The plan stage done with named partners, so the problem and the one change are theirs as well as yours.
5. Acting small and observing
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Carrying out one cheap change, and keeping a dated record that includes what you did not expect.
6. Reflecting to plan again
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Turning the record into meaning, reporting what was found rather than hoped for, and writing the next plan from evidence.
7. Tracing a community cycle
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Walking a completed Kenyan market project through two full cycles, so the method is visible in a real place.
8. Ethics and why action research matters
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Consent, dignity and honest reporting, and why this method is how a community challenge actually changes.