Exploratory Practice

Learners as
'key developing practitioners'

Learners are both unique individuals and social beings
who are capable of taking learning seriously,
of taking independent decisions,
and of developing as practitioners of learning.

(Allwright & Hanks 2009: 15)

Definition

Exploratory Practice is an indefinitely sustainable way
for classroom language teachers and learners,
while getting on with their learning and teaching,
to develop their own understandings of life in the language classroom.

It is essentially a way for teachers and learners to work together
to understand aspects of their classroom practice that puzzle them
through the use of normal pedagogic procedures
(standard monitoring, teaching, and learning activities)
as investigative tools.

(Allwright, Hanks, Miller, Samson, & Wu, 2001, in the original EP website)
(as cited in Hanks 2017: 83)

Principles

Hanks (2017, p. 227)

Seven principles for inclusive practitioner research
(Allwright & Hanks 2009: 149–154)

‘Quality of life’ for language teachers and learners is the most appropriate central concern for practitioner research in our field
Working primarily to understand the ‘quality of life’, as it is experienced by language learners and teachers, is more important than, and logically prior to, seeking in any way to improve it
Everybody needs to be involved in the work for understanding
The work needs to serve to bring people together
The work needs to be conducted in a spirit of mutual development
Working for understanding is necessarily a continuous enterprise
Integrating the work for understanding fully into existing curricular practices is a way of minimizing the burden and maximizing sustainability

See Hanks (2019) for chronological development of the Exploratory Practice framework.

Puzzles

Definitions of 'puzzles' contrasted with 'problems' 
(Hanks 2017: 125)

Problem: Connotative language is used to express negative emotion, for example irritation, fear, distrust, or frustration. An expression of the ISness of things, showing evidence of unwillingness to investigate further because questions are closed down or blocked with easy explanations (eg 'Well, just give the learners lots of spellings to learn week-by-week, test them regularly, and they will learn' or 'I can tell your learners how to activate their vocabulary! Just do x, y, z.').

Puzzle(ment): Often combined with an expression of surprise or interest. An articulation of the positive uncertainty of things, implying a willingness to investigate further, and to develop deeper understandings of the issue at hand. These understandings may be partial or incomplete, and they may raise further questions, but this is seen as a good thing, something to be celebrated as part of the uncertainty and complexity of life.

Co-operative puzzling in public libraries in Finland. Photo © Judith Hanks

Exploratory Practice in Rio, 1999. Photo © Rio EP Group

PEPAs

Potentially Exploitable Pedagogic Activities (PEPAs)
'slightly adapted pedagogic activities that teachers and learners are familiar with […] tools to involve practitioners in the reflexive process'

(Moraes Bezerra & Miller 2015: 105)

References

Allwright, D., & Hanks, J. (2009). The developing language learner: An introduction to Exploratory Practice. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Hanks, J. (2017). Exploratory Practice in language teaching: Puzzling about principles and practices. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Hanks J. (2019). From research-as-practice to exploratory practice-as-research in language teaching and beyond. Language Teaching, 52(2), 143–187.
Moraes Bezerra, I. C. R., & Miller, I. K. (2015). Exploratory Practice and new literacy studies: Building epistemological connections. Pensares em Revista 6, São Gonçalo: Rio de Janeiro, 90–128.

Exploratory Practice (EP)

References