Action research moves away from expert knowledge, and students learn to listen and to reflect upon all angles of issues affecting the community of Independence.

This research is characterized by:

• doing active research
• on-going processes
• cyclic methods
• not-structured learning
• active listening
• collaboration

As active listeners students learn that this research can shift the way of thinking about certain issues: creating a paradigm shift. As listeners they learn to focus on the learning process, listening without bias.

As listeners students are outsiders and the stakeholders they interview are the insiders. The idea of this research was not to interpret or assume while listening, placing all personal "baggage" aside, but to encourage objective listening. This process can be a turbulent one because the stakeholders can have their own biases towards specific issues. Typically the questions include, "Who are the people and what is their agenda?" Students learn not only to formulate questions, and reflect on the stakeholders stories, but to observe body language.

These are applications of Action Research in class. In short, action research allows the participants to develop knowledge and understanding as part of practice. This method is a useful way of doing research if one is a practitioner who wishes to improve their understanding of a concept or of an issue. More formally, it is a research paradigm: a family of research methods united by a certain-set of principles and a certain style.

Action research implies by its name a focus on action and research. As mentioned earlier it is cyclic. The later cycles are used to challenge and refine the results of the earlier cycles. In most of its forms SAR also tends to be qualitative, and participatory. Some insist on high participation as a necessary feature of the method. Some have described publication of results as a defining characteristic. The researchers (and probably clients acting as co-researchers) regularly and systematically critique what they are doing. Then these participants refine the questions they are asking and the method they are using and the understanding and subsequent action plans they are developing.

Action research commonly proceeds like this: The researcher, again often including clients as co-researchers, plans the first step. This is subsequently carried out, researchers meet to recollect and to critique their experience. In light of this, they decide what to do for the following step, what information do they need or what outcome to pursue, and what method to use. Thus, action research alternates between action and critical reflection. The reflection consists first of analyzing what has already happened in previous steps, and then of planning additional other steps.