Design-based Research Study Research Articles

Visualizing the Greenhouse Effect: Restructuring Mental Models of Climate Change Through a Guided Online Simulation

The purpose of this design based research study was to better understand and build from students’ perceptual experiences of visual representations of the greenhouse effect. Twenty undergraduate students were interviewed as they engaged with an online visualization for the learning of the greenhouse effect. We found that, even though all students agreed that climate change is happening, a majority initially held a misconception about how it works. Upon engaging with the visualization, students made perceptual inferences and formulated causal rules that culminated in an improved description of how climate change works. This trajectory was supported with prompts from the interviewer to make predictions, observe specific interactions in the visualization and revise their causal inferences based on these observations. A case study is presented to illustrate a typical learning trajectory.

Working with the Dynamic Perpendicular Quadrilateral in a Whole Class Setting

This paper describes how a dynamic figure was used as the basis for a task designed to support students in developing the hierarchical classification of the kites and their subsets. Following on from a previous study using the task with pairs of students, I describe how I embedded the task into a pedagogical sequence of activities, which included class discussion and an animation of the dynamic figure. The findings from this study, essentially the final iteration of a larger Design Based Research study, show how the task can be effectively used in a whole class context. The dynamic nature of the figure together with the narrative descriptions of what happens to the figure under dragging can be shown to be valuable in the development of geometrical concepts and in particular the inclusion of the rhombus as a subset of the kites.

Online communities of teachers to support situational knowledge: A design-based study

This paper describes a design-based research study in which an online platform for teachers was designed and implemented over 3 years. The study uses a networked learning approach to support teachers in the transition from university into service. It addresses the question of how online communities of teachers can support the development of situational knowledge. The paper describes the potential and the challenges of designing and implementing learning networks for teachers. A major challenge identified is the need for design that supports trust and stability within large networks. Significant potential is identified through the reuse of knowledge and greater collegiality within the profession. The platform, TeachConnect, was developed as a collaboration between academics at eight Australian universities, to create a platform to support teachers across the boundary from preservice into the profession. The study presents results from design and implementation, and includes site usage statistics and coding of types of support present within the platform. The paper contributes design principles for online communities of teachers and raises theoretical questions about future online communities.

A Learning Community Approach for Post-Secondary Large Lecture Courses

This design-based research study examined the ways in which a learning community approach can be enacted in large undergraduate lecture courses through a scaffolded, complex curricular design that utilizes active and inquiry-based learning. By combining a traditional lecture with breakout tutorials, the study involved two iterations, firstly by adopting the Fostering Communities of Learners pedagogical model, then by augmenting the model by blending its methodology with elements from a more recent model called Knowledge Community and Inquiry (KCI). Both iterations were evaluated for adherence to, and enactment of, the Fostering Communities of Learners principles. The second iteration was further evaluated to determine the impact of adding a KCI collective knowledge base. Measures included the enactment of the curricular design, achievement of course learning outcomes, the group inquiry project, tutorial activities, pre- and post-term surveys and focus groups for teaching assistants and students. Findings provided evidence of the viability and effectiveness of a learning community approach in large lecture courses at the undergraduate level when combining the learning principles of the Fostering Communities of Learners model with the student-populated dynamic knowledge base. Students achieved both individual and group success in meeting learning outcomes through individual inquiry and collaborative, active learning, with the knowledge base providing a forum for students to share their research and access ideas for their inquiry.

Motivating Students in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) Using the Attention, Relevance, Confidence, Satisfaction (ARCS) Model

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) often have low persistence rates, which may be attributed to a learners’ lack of motivation. In this design-based research study, Keller’s Attention, Relevance, Confidence, Satisfaction (ARCS) motivational design model was integrated into two MOOCs as an initial exploration of how to design effective motivational interventions in MOOC environment. The Instructional Motivation Materials Scale (IMMS) was used to measure learners’ perceptions and reactions to the course components, in terms of the ARCS model, in both MOOCs. The whole design, implementation, and evaluation process was documented and reflected upon to provide practical guidance on designing motivational-enhanced materials in MOOC environments. The results revealed patterns of learners selectively paying attention, drawing relevance for self-determined reasons, having high confidence, and deriving satisfaction from multiple sources.

Student perceptions of self-efficacy in the foreign language classroom: A design-based research study

The foreign language (FL) classroom can be an anxious environment where students feel uncomfortable having to communicate in a language in which they feel inadequate and have little practice. Low self-efficacy in skill-specific tasks is oftentimes the culprit. While there are a number of factors involved in successful language learning, this study examines how practice affects students’ sense of self-efficacy in the foreign language classroom. Using self-efficacy theory and design-based research, this qualitative study ‘flipped’ the classroom to focus on student input and output practice in class with grammar instruction video-recorded for homework. Data were recursively collected and analyzed from ten courses over three semesters. Classroom observations and reflection were triangulated with interviews and focus groups. Findings suggest that practice and self-efficacy in the FL classroom are indeed linked and that other factors such as peer familiarity and grading also play a role. The paper concludes with implications for language learning and teaching.

Career-related instruction promoting students’ career awareness and interest towards science learning

The aim of this study was to investigate how career-related instruction implemented in secondary school chemistry education concerning water issues influences students’ career awareness and their interest towards science learning. This case study is part of a larger design-based research study for the EU-MultiCO project, which focuses on promoting students’ scientific career awareness and attractiveness by introducing them to career-based scenarios at the beginning of the instruction unit. The participants in this study were three eighth-grade classes with 46 students in total, and 2 science teachers. Data consisted of observations throughout the intervention and a questionnaire which the students took afterwards. Descriptive statistics taken from the questionnaire were used together with the content analysis of open questions and observation notes. The results reveal that the students acquired knowledge about science, science-related careers and working life skills and that they enjoyed studying chemistry and engaged in learning during the intervention. The students recognized the need for professionals and their responsibilities as well as the importance of water-related issues as global and local problems, but these issues were not personally important or valuable to students. The type of career-related instruction discussed in this paper can give guidelines for how to develop teaching to promote students’ science career awareness, trigger students’ interest and engage them in science learning.

A Clinical Reasoning Tool for Virtual Patients: Design-Based Research Study.

BackgroundClinical reasoning is a fundamental process medical students have to learn during and after medical school. Virtual patients (VP) are a technology-enhanced learning method to teach clinical reasoning. However, VP systems do not exploit their full potential concerning the clinical reasoning process; for example, most systems focus on the outcome and less on the process of clinical reasoning.ObjectivesKeeping our concept grounded in a former qualitative study, we aimed to design and implement a tool to enhance VPs with activities and feedback, which specifically foster the acquisition of clinical reasoning skills.MethodsWe designed the tool by translating elements of a conceptual clinical reasoning learning framework into software requirements. The resulting clinical reasoning tool enables learners to build their patient’s illness script as a concept map when they are working on a VP scenario. The student’s map is compared with the experts’ reasoning at each stage of the VP, which is technically enabled by using Medical Subject Headings, which is a comprehensive controlled vocabulary published by the US National Library of Medicine. The tool is implemented using Web technologies, has an open architecture that enables its integration into various systems through an open application program interface, and is available under a Massachusetts Institute of Technology license.ResultsWe conducted usability tests following a think-aloud protocol and a pilot field study with maps created by 64 medical students. The results show that learners interact with the tool but create less nodes and connections in the concept map than an expert. Further research and usability tests are required to analyze the reasons.ConclusionsThe presented tool is a versatile, systematically developed software component that specifically supports the clinical reasoning skills acquisition. It can be plugged into VP systems or used as stand-alone software in other teaching scenarios. The modular design allows an extension with new feedback mechanisms and learning analytics algorithms.

EvoBuild: A Quickstart Toolkit for Programming Agent-Based Models of Evolutionary Processes

Extensive research has shown that one of the benefits of programming to learn about scientific phenomena is that it facilitates learning about mechanisms underlying the phenomenon. However, using programming activities in classrooms is associated with costs such as requiring additional time to learn to program or students needing prior experience with programming. This paper presents a class of programming environments that we call quickstart: Environments with a negligible threshold for entry into programming and a modest ceiling. We posit that such environments can provide benefits of programming for learning without incurring associated costs for novice programmers. To make this claim, we present a design-based research study conducted to compare programming models of evolutionary processes with a quickstart toolkit with exploring pre-built models of the same processes. The study was conducted in six seventh grade science classes in two schools. Students in the programming condition used EvoBuild, a quickstart toolkit for programming agent-based models of evolutionary processes, to build their NetLogo models. Students in the exploration condition used pre-built NetLogo models. We demonstrate that although students came from a range of academic backgrounds without prior programming experience, and all students spent the same number of class periods on the activities including the time students took to learn programming in this environment, EvoBuild students showed greater learning about evolutionary mechanisms. We discuss the implications of this work for design research on programming environments in K-12 science education.

A Formative Case Evaluation for the Design of an Online Delivery Model Providing Access to Study Abroad Activities

Despite the pressure from potential employers and higher education administrators to develop students’ global and intercultural competence, traditional study abroad programs simply are not feasible for many postsecondary students (Berdan & Johannes, 2014; Fischer, 2015). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an online delivery model for study abroad activities. Building upon the findings of an initial exploratory program using Adobe Connect web conferencing tools, this evaluative case study was the second in a series of design based research studies intended to identify effective practices and develop recommendations to further refine the model through an iterative evaluation process. Using the Online Learning Consortium’s Quality Framework, each of the Five Pillars that support successful online learning was evaluated through a combination of anonymous surveys, pre/post assessments, observations, and student & instructor interviews. Regarding access, 26 students who were enrolled in an intercultural communication course were able to participate in a study abroad experience in Italy; 10 students participated in the traditional study abroad trip while the other 16 participated virtually. The online students were able to join the live meetings, thus expanding their access to international experiences that normally would be closed to them. In terms of student and faculty satisfaction, both groups of students and the instructor reported specific areas of satisfaction, offered critical feedback, and felt that the concept was a viable one. While the students who traveled to Italy had a far more immersive experience, both groups demonstrated gains in learning. Using Morais and Ogden’s (2010) global citizenship pre/post assessment, both groups showed improvement on the self-awareness and intercultural communication scales, and when comparing the two groups the online students improved more on the social responsibility scale while the students who traveled improved more on the global knowledge scale. Both groups submitted assignments of similar quality, engaged in communications between the abroad and online groups, and interacted with the instructor and experts in the field. In terms of differences in student engagement, students had differing opinions on the interaction with the technology and the online group asked more questions during live meetings. The implications of this pilot study should inform the planning of the next case evaluation and are important for other educators who wish to implement a similar approach to internationalizing the curriculum through online instruction.

A Design-Based Research Study of Staff-Facilitated Family Learning at Interactive Math Exhibits

ABSTRACTStaff facilitators in museums and science centers are a critical but often overlooked component of the visitor experience. Despite assertions about the important role they play in visitor learning, there continues to be almost no research to understand staff facilitation in these settings or identify effective practices. To address these gaps, we conducted a design-based research study to describe the work of experienced museum educators and iteratively refine a model of staff facilitation to support family learning at interactive math exhibits developed through a prior project. The resulting facilitation model identifies three visitor experience goals, outlines the cycle of responsive facilitation (observe, support, reflect) that educators used to support these goals, and highlights the physical, personal, and sociocultural factors that appeared to influence the nature and outcomes of the interactions. The model provides empirical support to guide professional development for museum educators and suggests future directions for visitor studies research.

Social Video Learning with a Blended Learning Framework in German Soccer Trainer Education

<strong>This Case Study describes a Blended Learning Pilot Scheme with focus on Social Video Learning (SVL) in the context of education for popular sports trainers in the German Football Association. The didactic design provides information on target groups, learning targets and the structuring of the learning environment. Finally, the first evaluation results under the framework of a design-based research study show the positive assessments by students and trainers together with the potential for improvement in the redesign of the next development cycle.</strong>

Responsible leadership in management education: A design-based research study

In recent years, the quality of management education in general, and particularly of MBA and Executive MBA programs, has been called into question. There are serious doubts about universities’ ability to give students the competencies they need to deal with complex problems in modern society. One part of the discussion focuses on ethical issues and the process through which students develop values and attitudes. In line with the economic crisis, there has been increasing interest in the development of learners’ attitudes to responsibility.
 We report the results of a study that starts with an ambitious and yet ill-structured learning goal in a demanding educational practice area: How can pedagogical interventions in management education be designed to promote learners' attitudes to responsible leadership? As a starting point, there are neither consensual definitions of responsible leadership nor substantial theories available to design promising interventions. De-sign-based research (DBR) provides a structured process to deal with research problems, starting with innovative but imprecisely defined objectives and unknown ways to reach them.
 We introduce the DBR design and describe the research process and results from a project conducted at St.Gallen University’s Executive MBA program. In close collaboration with practitioners, interventions evolved through multiple cycles of development, testing and refinement with the pursuit of theory-building and practical innovation.

Tworzenie definicji czworokątów przez przyszłych nauczycieli – podejście poprzez odkrywanie

This research addresses elementary school prospective teachers’ education in geometry and takes place in Portugal, in the context of a geometry course taught by the first author of this paper. We aim to characterize the activity of prospective teachers in defining quadrilaterals as they work on exploratory tasks in a design-based research study for a geometry course at the 2nd year of their teacher education program. The teaching-learning conjecture is based on the relevance of exploratory work, also valuing prospective teachers’ reflection on their learning. We also assume that the activity of defining quadrilaterals plays an important role in developing reasoning, deepens the knowledge of its properties and supports a more complete view of mathematics. Data was gathered from the participants’ reports and portfolios, as well as audio and video records of classroom discussions. The results show that initially the participants had misconceptions about what a definition is, just focusing on the necessary properties of the figures. However, at the end of the sequence of tasks, they were able to take into account that the set of properties has to be sufficient to identify the defined figure, revealing the development of their knowledge. At the end of the sequence, most participants presented correct definitions, using properties that they previously ignored and showing comprehension of the underlying concepts. They produced economical definitions in few cases, and performed better in inductive than deductive reasoning. We conclude that the exploratory work allowed participants to construct their knowledge in a meaningful way and reflection played an important role in making them aware of personal preconceptions and knowledge. In the beginning, the participants analysed definitions strictly focusing on the necessary properties of the figure, which seemed to be simple when the properties related to visible elements or were well known facts. In the final stage of the sequence of tasks, the participants also took into account that the set of properties has to be sufficient to identify the defined figure and, in the construction of definitions, they presented mostly correct definitions using properties that they previously ignored, showing an understanding of the underlying concepts and properties. Doing this process after investigating and classifying quadrilaterals encouraged the prospective teachers to mobilize different kinds of properties and to reason according to the established classifications, which was a very challenging activity.

Symbolic Narratives and the Role of Meaning: Encountering Technology in South African Primary Education

This article draws on the results of a long-term, design-based research study with South African primary school teachers to discuss the role of subjectively assigned meanings and symbolisms of technology, as key factors affecting the adoption, appropriation and use of educational technology in urban poor and under-resourced environments. The paper examines how teachers’ engagements with technology are framed, conditioned, and embedded in multi-levelled “technology encounters”. These encounters give rise to meaningful representations of technology that ultimately transform both the teaching and learning process, and culminate in the emergence of “symbolic narratives”: complex assemblages of symbolisms, meanings and interpretations that arise through and therefore come to influence further technology engagements. We argue that a closer examination of teachers’ symbolic narratives can shed light on the motivations that underpin the appropriation, integration -- or conversely, rejection -- of educational technology in urban poor and under-resourced environments.

Scaffolding Role-Playing - An Analysis of Interactions with Non Role-players of All Ages

This paper explores the relationship between nature and culture during a series of scaffolded live action role-playing (larp) activities designed as part of a science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) summer program for indigenous youth. As a linked construct, nature and culture implicitly ground much of human activity, figuring centrally in core ontological and epistemological frameworks (Bang, Warren, Rosebery, and Medin 2012) and human cognition and development (Medin & Atran 2004). After forefronting cultural stories as the launch of activities, scaffolded larp practices were used as one series of activities of a multiple site, multiple year design-based research study. The STEAM programming was designed to explore the complex connections of indigenous culture, knowledge systems, philosophies, and relational epistemologies with perspective taking (Galinsky, Ku, & Wang 2005). Larp was used to add embodiment of non-role-players through degrees of immersive practices. This paper focuses on the larp finale of the 5 activity larp series at the Seattle site. Preliminary analysis of the video recordings, both handheld and point of view, demonstrated that children took up multiple perspectives of the complex systems of local plants and animals. The participants role-played those relationships with nuance and understanding of how those plants and animals interact and relate. Those interactions also characterized the three layers of role-play that were taken in steps when physical representations of the non-human characters were lacking as a part of the design (Fine, 1983; Bjork and Holopainen 2003).

Knowledge Construction in Computer Science and Engineering when Learning Through Making

This paper focuses on a design based research study about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) learning by making through collaboration and production. This study examines learning by making by students to explore STEM using a constructionist approach with a particular focus on computer science and engineering. The use of IoT as a technology enhanced learning (TEL) tool created the learning conditions to be studied: (a) collaborative: no one person had the knowledge to complete the project alone, (b) problem-based: no off the shelf solution was used, and (c) multidisciplinary: the learning context pushed the boundaries across the subjects. The study investigated the learning conditions and indicators of collaboration and production taking place when learning about STEM. The results were used to inform the design of effective data analytics and visualization tools for the PELARS project to advance practice-based learning activities in STEM teaching. However, more specifically, the findings provide insight into the knowledge construction process when learning through making in complex environments. These insights illustrate the combined pedagogical value of collaboration and production supporting the multidisciplinary learning opportunities. The importance of community knowledge construction and its relationship to the pedagogical approach is examined. The significance of these findings in the context of IoT TEL tools in education is explored.

Teachers’ Perceptions of K-12 Online

While K-12 online learning in the United States has increased exponentially, the ability of teacher education programs to adequately prepare teachers to design, deliver, and support has been deficient. A small number of universities have begun to address this deficit through the introduction of graduate certificates in online teaching. This article examines curricular changes focused on introducing in-service teachers to K-12 online learning. This design-based research study examined changes in teacher perceptions after having completed a systematic curriculum focused on K-12 online learning, as well as track revisions to that curriculum based on the data collected. The results indicate that even in a jurisdiction where online learning has become a graduation requirement, teachers often have many misconceptions about K-12 online learning. Further, planned exposure to K-12 online learning content can have significant impact on student understanding of and interest in the design, delivery, and support of K-12 online learning.

Barriers to Change: Findings From Three Literacy Professional Learning Initiatives

ABSTRACTIn this article, we describe lessons learned from three separate literacy professional learning initiatives that took place in elementary schools in three different locations: high-poverty urban, medium-poverty rural, and low-poverty suburban. The professional learning initiatives were also diverse in scope: one was a three-year, school-wide partnership; one was a multiyear collaboration with two teachers; and one was intensive coaching of an individual teacher. Each initiative was (a) informed by previous research on literacy professional learning, (b) grounded in social constructivism, and (c) a design-based research study. Through collaborative analysis of data, we discovered shared barriers that impeded each of the initiatives from promoting substantial change. We suggest ways to improve literacy professional learning to better increase the odds of success and lasting change in literacy instruction.

“Darles el lugar”: A Place for Nondominant Family Knowing in Educational Equity

Educational researchers, leadership, and policymakers have had the privileged voices and place from which to theorize and address educational inequities. But for some exceptions, nondominant families have been relegated to participation in school-centric “parent involvement” activities. Drawing from a participatory design-based research study using standpoint and critical race theory, our findings suggest key convergences between the lived experiences and insights of nondominant parents and recent educational equity scholarship, while revealing untapped expertise, knowledge, and capacity for addressing inequity. We argue that holding a “place” for the complex understandings of nondominant families can open expansive possibilities for transforming educational systems toward racial equity.