This case study describes the process I engaged in to plan for and implement a design-based research project in an effort to explore what critical language study looked like in practice as well as how teachers and students responded to this instructional approach. In this case study, I focus, specifically, on the choice I made to take on the role of participant observer in the professional learning community as well as in the four classes in which this study was facilitated, highlighting how the use of this method allowed me to develop a better understanding of the experiences and perspectives of the participants, while supporting the teachers in their professional growth. In this case study, I also address the challenges of making use of this method, sharing the efforts I made to acknowledge how my participation might have impacted the ecology of the learning environments in which we did this work as well as the strategies I used to work toward objectivity. [This content is provided in the format of an e-book.]