Editorial Preface to the special issue

Abstract

Along with many ASCILITE members, we have grown increasingly concerned that current approaches to educational technology research lack value and practical application in the field. Educational design research (EDR) is an emerging approach that bridges the demand for rigorous research with the development of relevant solutions to educational problems. EDR is an intervention and process-oriented approach that uses a variety of methods to examine the development and implementation of instructional solutions to current educational problems. As evidence about the inner workings of interventions accumulates over time, design principles and learning theories are derived from work in local contexts, and their limits can be tested in other settings. This genre of research is currently underrepresented in the literature. To advance scholarship through the execution and reporting of EDR, we identified an urgent need for examples across fields, and especially related to educational technology in higher education.