EDeR. Educational Design Research
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Case Studies and their Epistemological Potential in Design-Based Research – A Practice Illustration
Full text linkResearchers in DBR projects create various text products, such as interview transcripts, scientific reports and sometimes a case study[1]. Usually, case studies are only considered to be by-products created during the DBR to give the stakeholders of the project, including university students of vocational education and training, an insight into the development process and the underlying practical challenges. In this context, case studies mainly fulfil a didactic function for the stakeholders. However, we believe that case studies do not only serve as an instrument for communicating project content to others (outside the scientific community), but are a medium for the researchers themselves to ascertain their own learning processes that takes place in the exploration of the field of research.
That way, we are emphasizing a process-orientated perspective on DBR. We assume that the process of creating a case study has an epistemological value on its own. As we will show and try to illustrate with practical examples, creating a case study applies to very different criteria in contrast to creating scientific text products. For instance, the researcher creating a case study has to pay attention to details, the use of language and ways of communication as well as trying to capture the overall atmosphere of the organization, social groups etc. We consider this a ‘creative act’ and see many parallels to Walter Benjamin’s theory of translation[2]: In DBR it is the world of science on the one hand and the field of practice on the other that make a translation necessary: the languages applied in both fields differ, although the people working there might all belong to one and the same nationality which might allow them to communicate with the people from the other “world”. However, this does not mean that researchers understand the practice and the emerging phenomena per se. A translation between the worlds is necessary. For this, the case study is the first step.
We are convinced that this approach opens up a different perspective on the DBR project and focussed research interests. Developing a case study can be helpful for an overall and deep understanding of practice – which is one of the main goals for DBR conducted in the tradition of a paradigm consistent to the humanities.
This (additional) paper aims to illustrate how a case study can derive from the background of a DBR context. We would like to provide insight into the concrete usage of a case study approach in a DBR-project. In order to structure the case study description, we use the criteria of Reetz (1988), a German professional in vocational education training whose ideas on case studies fit to Benjamin’s idea of writing narratives.
 
Digital design of design processes – A case study of a design research study in vocational education
No full textThe digital transformation affects all aspects of the society, including educational and scientific areas. Regarding the educational area, digital devices as a part of vocational lessons seem to be promising a better support of the learning processes. In a given design research project (tabletBS.dual) in the field of vocational education, didactical prototypes for using tablets in a motivational and effective way are developed in different vocational schools. For this, four design cycles with the phases design application and evaluation are carried out. The article focuses on the description of the digital character of the design cycles. In the presented project, different digital devices and tools are used in the several phases of a design cycle (e.g. digital consultation hours for vocational teachers to plan lessons or to conduct digital interviews with their students in the evaluation phase). We will go into detail about the digital devices and technologies used to point out the potentials of digitization in regard to the design of design and evaluation processes
Using design-based research to explore the influence of context in promoting pedagogical reform
Full text linkMany developing countries are seeking to improve the quality of education by promoting the use of learner-centred pedagogy as part of system wide reform. Yet many studies reveal a gap between what is envisaged in policy and what happens in practice and the inherent limitations of uncritical adoption of \u27best practice\u27 from elsewhere into local contexts. Therefore design-based research (DBR), as an interventionist approach, was selected to investigate the conditions under which the innovation of learner-centred education can be implemented in the authentic setting of a Maldivian island school. The paper elaborates the rationale underpinning this choice and a discussion of the defining features of DBR as they applied in this study: acknowledging the importance of context; facilitating collaboration between researcher and participants; and attending to a theoretical output of the research. The participatory approach which underpinned how DBR was utilised in the study and its implications for enhancing the context-appropriateness of and teachers\u27 engagement with the reforms is also discussed. In so doing, the paper illustrates the ways in which the defining features of DBR respond to the call for better attention to context as a means for enabling greater success of global reform efforts
Validation arrangements for formally low-qualified staff in geriatric care: The Design-based Research project KomBiA
Full text linkValidation arrangements aim to increase the visibility and recognition of non-formal and informal learning. For geriatric care in Germany, such validation arrangements currently do not exist. The workplace learning of assistant nurses is therefore yet to be documented and certified. The Design-based Research project KomBiA was initiated in order to solve this practical problem. The interventions, which were developed, tested and evaluated, are based on the CEDEFOP model for the validation of non-formal and informal learning in Europe, which had to be adapted and modified according to the national and sectoral specifics of geriatric care in Germany. The project set-up focused on the development of an innovative solution to the problem that could gain support among all major stakeholders. Hence, the project included practitioners representing different interests. The collaborative development of the prototype was tested and evaluated in a two-cycle-approach. On this basis, a viable model of validating non-formal and informal learning in the field was designed and corresponding design principles were deduced
Cooperation between research and practice for the development of innovations in an educational design project
Full text linkThe cooperation between research and practice is a constitutive element of Design-based Research (DBR). Despite its importance, the process and the challenges of cooperation between these fields are not well studied to date. This paper aims to establish a better understanding of how cooperation among researchers and practitioners can be managed and how cooperation is related to the design and implementation of innovations. For this purpose, we draw on a DBR project as an example, wherein the European model of validation was adapted to the field of geriatric care in Germany. We discuss insights into objectives, abilities, attitudes and restrictions of the cooperating parties in this example DBR project. We demonstrate how cooperation can help to overcome some of the obstacles in the process of developing innovation in the field. However, we additionally critically examine how cooperation between research and practice can be managed and ignite innovation that over time may have a transformative effect on practices often taken for granted in education. On this basis, we conclude that cooperation promotes mutual learning by both researchers and practitioners
The Epistemological Relevance of Case Studies as Narratives in Design-Based Research
Full text linkIn the context of empirical-phenomenological research various text products are created. Practitioners develop concepts, methods, techniques, etc. to solve certain problems that have arisen in their workplace. Actors of science accompany these problem-solving processes and support them by developing materials or scientific inputs. In addition, they strive to understand the field of practice and to grasp its structures and (interpretation) patterns. In order to make this possible a knowledge management is necessary with the help of which the text products resulting from the research and development process are produced and interpreted (Emmler 2015). Here, the importance of the case study[1] for the development of (new) knowledge is analysed. Normally, case studies are only considered to be by-products created during DBR. However, we believe that case studies do not only serve as an instrument for communicating project content to others, but are a medium for the researchers themselves to ascertain their own learning processes that take place in the exploration of the field of research.
This paper aims to be the initial point for a methodological discussion on the thesis that (a) case studies as narrative text products contribute to an understanding of phenomena as underlying structures of the field of practice and that (b) they are one part of a two-fold research process in which they are the basis for the reflection of experiences. Therefore, we invite you to follow us on a journey to the discipline of arts, especially to Walter Benjamin, a famous writer and translator who, in the year 1923, discovered the differences in writing a poem and translating into another language. Both processes ask for writing competences which at first glance seem to be very similar, but at the second reveal their diametrical opposition. We suggest to adopt Benjamin’s explanations to the writing processes in DBR. In DBR it is the world of science on the one hand and the field of practice on the other that make a translation necessary: the languages applied in both fields differ, although the people working there might all belong to one and the same nationality which might allow them to communicate with the people from the other “world”. However, this does not mean that researchers understand the practice and the emerging phenomena per se. A translation between the worlds is necessary. For this, the case study is the first step.
Dual Study Programmes as a Design Challenge: Identifying Areas for Improvement as a Starting Point for Interventions
Full text linkThe proportion of freshmen enrolled in dual study programmes has steadily increased in recent years. From the perspective of potential students, these programmes are highly attractive because they combine types of learning that used to be largely separate at an institutional level: vocational and academic learning. In training-integrated dual study programmes, different institutional contexts, governance regimes, teaching styles and learning environments make bridging these two worlds of learning a challenge for both educators and learners. However, these programmes also allow leeway for didactic innovation, through the cooperation of different types of educational institutions and through new ways of using available didactic methods, and for establishing a new relationship between higher education (HE) and vocational education and training (VET). This paper positions training-integrated dual study programmes as an object of design-based research (DBR). By developing and using an extended model for the pedagogic development of HEIs, “pädagogische Hochschulentwicklung” (Brahm, Jenert, & Euler, 2016a, p. 19; Euler, 2013, p. 360), the paper systematically identifies generic educational problems in these hybrids. Based on a literature review, this paper classifies and explains the design challenges at the level of the learning environment, the study programme and the organisation. The challenges revolve mainly around the cooperation and integration of HE and VET. The paper concludes with an outlook on future DBR projects designing dual studies.
 
Outline of a holistic design-based research model for higher education
Full text linkDesign-Based Research (DBR) is not yet an established methodological framework in the context of higher education; nevertheless, it is increasingly used in projects in order to develop and explore new teaching/learning methods or scenarios and being taught in degree programs. The article presents the outline of a holistic DBR model and unfolds its construction in several steps based on practical experiences in applying DBR by means of existing models. The DBR cycle is visualized as a circle with five semantic fields; the choose modelling especially considers different forms of part-whole relationships in the DBR process. The model is also used to reflect on methodological issues in DBR and to consider the role of design objects
Implementing an Intervention into a Grade Six Learning Environment: A Design-Based Research Framework
Full text linkEducators in some Canadian schools are especially challenged in developing innovative pedagogical approaches that can intellectually engage their students in deep learning of core curriculum content, while equipping them with 21st century competencies. In this paper, we discuss some key ideas on how an intervention, the design and building of digital video games, was implemented and explored, to address this challenge, in four grade 6 social studies classes at a Calgary charter school, utilizing a design-based research framework. Findings revealed that: (i) to effectively implement this intervention in the classroom context, teachers needed to shift/modify their design of instructional activities compared to how they would normally design them in their social studies classes to teach the same chosen content; and (ii) the intervention, as implemented, seem to have the potential to be an effective innovative pedagogy for deep learning and one that promotes the intellectual engagement of students and their development and application of 21st century competencies. Some implications of these findings for the implementation of interventions in school, in terms of transforming the classroom environment, assessing the type of theoretical support needed, using design-based research as an effective framework to study how interventions and developing policy for the implementation of interventions are listed for K-12 educators, school jurisdictions and Alberta Education