Advances in Design-Based Research in the Learning Sciences (original) (raw)
Related papers
Design-based research: Putting a stake in the ground
Journal of the Learning Sciences, 2004
The emerging field of the learning sciences is one that is interdisciplinary, drawing on multiple theoretical perspectives and research paradigms so as to build understandings of the nature and conditions of learning, cognition, and development. Learning sciences researchers investigate cognition in context, at times emphasizing one more than the other but with the broad goal of developing evidence-based claims derived from both laboratory-based and naturalistic investigations that result in knowledge about how people learn. This work can involve the development of technological tools, curriculum, and especially theory that can be used to understand and support learning. A fundamental assumption of many learning scientists is that cognition is not a thing located within the individual thinker but is a process that is distributed across the knower, the environment in which knowing occurs, and the activity in which the learner participates. In other words, learning, cognition, knowing, and context are irreducibly co-constituted and cannot be treated as isolated entities or processes.
On the Theoretical Breadth of Design-Based Research in Education
Educational Psychologist, 2004
Over the past decade design experimentation has become an increasingly accepted mode of research appropriate for the theoretical and empirical study of learning amidst complex educational interventions as they are enacted in everyday settings. There is still a significant lack of clarity surrounding methodological and epistemological features of this body of work. In fact, there is a broad variety of theory being developed in this mode of research. In contrast to recent efforts to seek a singular definition for design experimentation, I argue that methodological and epistemological issues are significantly more tractable if considered from the perspective of manifold families of theoretically-framed design-based research. After characterizing a range of such families, I suggest that as we deliberate on the nature of design-based research greater attention be given to the pluralistic nature of learning theory, the relationship between theory and method, and working across theoretical and methodological boundaries through the use of mixed methods. Finally, I suggest that design-based research-with its focus on promoting, sustaining, and understanding innovation in the world-should be considered a form of scholarly inquiry that sits alongside the panoply of canonical forms ranging from the experimental, historical, philosophical, sociological, legal, and the interpretive.
The Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences, 2014
Design-based research (DBR) is used to study learning in environments that MC designed and systematically changed by the researcher. DBR is not a fixed '"'cookbook" method; it is a collection of approaches that involve a commitment to studying activity iJ? naturalistic settings, with the goal of advancing dleory while at the same time directly impacting practice. The goal of DBR fsometimes also referred to as design experiments) is to use the close study of learning as it unfolds within a naturalistic context that contains theoretically mspired innovations, usually that have passed through multiple iterations, to then develop new theories, artifacts, and practices that can be generalized IO other schools and classrooms. In describing design-b<1;sed research, Cobb, Confrey, diSessa, Lehrer, and Schauble stated: Prototypically, design experiments entail both "engineering" particular forms of learning and systematically studying those forms of learning within the context defined by the means of supporting them. This designed context is subject to test and revision, and the successive iterations that result play a role similar to that of systematic variation in experiment. (Cobb et al., 2003, p. 9) Barab No Pure basic Yes research (Bohr) No Consideration of Use Yes
The Time for Design-Based Research is Right and Right Now
The science-to-service problem continues to taunt the field of education (Fixsen, Blasé, Naoom, & Wallace, 2009). As an academic discipline, the field requires knowledge generation that adds to or deepens theoretical understandings. As a profession, knowledge generation that solves local problems and supports continuous improvement is necessary. Using design-based research (DBR) provides a means of serving theoretical and practical needs in education, addressing the complexity of education by informing immediate practice while simultaneously contributing to theoretical understandings in the field of education. Using Stokes' (1977) model of scientific research and knowledge generation, we situate DBR within Pasteur's quadrant, describe how to increase its use, and recommend a new means for dissemination. The debate over the theory-to-practice divide continues in many fields, including education. Coburn and Stein (2010) suggested that the path from theoretical knowledge to classroom application is neither linear nor direct. Fixsen et al. (2009) stated that research results are not utilized enough to impact communities. In essence, the current process of scholars disseminating information and practitioners applying information results in a perpetual science-to-service problem. Given the complexity that lies at the heart of teaching and learning (Cochran-Smith, 2003), it is no longer reasonable to rely on the passive dissemination of knowledge. Rather, researchers and practitioners must collaborate to create and disseminate knowledge that will address the issues facing education today. This will require not only generating knowledge to expand understandings of theoretical foundations that comprise the science of the field, but also generating knowledge from practice that elucidates the act of applying the science of education. The purpose of the this article is to discuss the role that design-based research (DBR) can play in addressing the complexity of education, by informing immediate practice while simultaneously continuing to develop theoretical understandings in the field of education. In this article the authors: 1) describe Stokes' (1977) quadrant model of scientific research and elaborate on DBR's placement in Pasteur's quadrant based on its dual purpose of theoretical knowledge generation and practical knowledge generation; 2) describe the foundational elements of DBR; 3) discuss ideas of how to increase DBR use in education research; and 4) suggest an approach to disseminating DBR research that more accurately represents the methodological practice of this type of research. Overcoming the Theory to Practice Divide: Dwelling in Pasteur's Quadrant The process of knowledge dissemination suggests that knowledge generated to broaden the theoretical understandings in a discipline will directly lead to the application of that knowledge
Review of Design Research in Education: A Practical Guide for Early Career Researchers
EDeR. Educational Design Research, 2019
The emergence of educational design research as a methodological framework has been driven by a range of factors. These include the need to close the gap between educational theory and practice in addition to demand for rigorous and systematic ways of developing practically relevant educational materials, activities and environments. The term 'design research' is used for a family of approaches that feature design as an integral part of the research process. Importantly, the intention of such design is not only to solve 'real-world' educational problems or to help learners to achieve particular goals, but to advance scientific knowledge. Educational design research gives us insights into the features of successful education and reveals the causal processes that lead to learning. In design research, therefore, design and research are complimentary and intertwined: the design is research-based and the research is design-based (Bakker, 2019, p. 4).
Design-based research and the learning designer
Who's learning, 2006
The role of the learning designer has expanded from the commonly known activities of an instructional designer to incorporate a range of new roles, largely prompted by new technologies. In this paper, we articulate an approach that further extends the role of the ...