McKenney, S. (2012, 4-5 September). What is educational design research? Invited lecture for the Crossfield Graduate School at the University of St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland.

What is educational design research

Virtual schooling was first employed in the mid-1990s and has become a common method of distance education used in K-12 jurisdictions. The most accepted definition of a virtual school is an entity approved by a state or governing body that offers courses through distance delivery - most commonly using the Internet. While virtual schools can be classified in different ways, the three common methods of delivery are by independent, asynchronous or synchronous means. Presently, the vast majority of virtual school students tended to be a select group of academically capable, motivated, independent learners. The benefits associated with virtual schooling are expanding educational access, providing high-quality learning opportunities, improving student outcomes and skills, allowing for educational choice, and achieving administrative efficiency. However, the research to support these conjectures is limited at best. The challenges associated with virtual schooling include the conclusion that the only students typically successful in online learning environments are those who have independent orientations towards learning, highly motivated by intrinsic sources, and have strong time management, literacy, and technology skills. These characteristics are typically associated with adult learners. This stems from the fact that research into and practice of distance education has typically been targeted to adult learners. The problem with this focus is that adults learn differently than younger learners. Researchers are calling for more research into the factors that account for K-12 student success in distance education and virtual school environments and more design research approaches than traditional comparisons of student achievement in traditional and virtual schools.

The reality of virtual schools: A review of the literature

Table of Contents Preface - origins of and rationale for the book Setting the scene Ch 1Introduction a. Overview b. The context of modern education c. The nature of educational technology d. Today's learners e. The need for a new learning design methodology f. Audience and structure of the book g. The process of writing the book Ch 2 Design languages. a. Introduction b. The challenges of designing for learning c. Design languages d. Design notation in music, architecture and chemistry i. Musical notation ii. Architectural notation iii. Chemical notation e. Learning design i. Defining learning design ii. The origins of learning design iii. A spectrum of learning design languages f. Origins of the Open Learning Design methodology i. The OU Learning Design Initiative ii. Design-Based Research iii. The OULDI learning design methodology g. Conclusion Ch 3: Related research fields a. Introduction b. Instructional Design c. Learning Sciences d. Learning objects and Open Educational Practices e. Pedagogical Patterns f. Professional networks and support centres g. Conclusion Ch 4: Open, social and participatory media a. Introduction b. The changing digital landscape of education c. A review of new technologies i. The characteristics of new technologies ii. The impact of Web 2.0 technologies iii. The use of Web 2.0 technologies in education iv. The impact on practice d. A review of Web 2.0 tools and practice e. Conclusion Theoretical perspectives Ch 5 Theory and methodology in learning design research a. Introduction b. Definitions c. Researchers' home disciplines d. The nature of theory e. Theoretical perspectives i. Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) ii. Communities of Practice iii. Actor Network Theory iv. Cybernetics and systems thinking a. Methodological approaches i. Content analysis ii. Ethnography iii. Case studies iv. Action research v. Evaluation vi. Choosing an appropriate methodology b. Influences, beliefs and theoretical perspectives c. Conclusion Ch 6 The role of Mediating Artifacts in learning design a. Introduction b. The origins of the concept of Mediating Artifacts c. Capturing and representing practice d. Examples of Mediating Artifacts e. Understanding learning activities through Mediating Artifacts f. Meta-Mediating Artifacts g. An illustrative example of the application of this approach i. Teacher A: The design phase ii. Learner A: Use Scenario 1 - beginner's route iii. Learner B: Use Scenario 2 - advanced route iv. Teacher B: Use Scenario 3 - repurposing h. Conclusion Ch 7 Affordances a. Introduction b. Definitions of the term c. ICT affordances i. Collaboration ii. Reflection iii. Interaction iv. Dialogue v. Creativity vi. Organization vii. Inquiry viii. Authenticity ix. Negative affordances - constraints a. Conclusion Design representations and tools Ch 8 Design representations a. Introduction b. Types of representation c. Examples of different types of representations i. Textual ii. Content map iii. The course map view iv. The pedagogy profile v. The task swimlane representation vi. Learning outcomes map vii. The course dimensions view viii. Principles/pedagogy matrix d. Evaluation of the views e. An example of application of the representations i. Course view ii. Pedagogical profile iii. Course dimensions iv. Learning outcomes v. Task swimlane f. Conclusion Ch 9 Case study: tools for visualizing designs a. Introduction b. Practitioners' approaches to design c. Repurposing an Open Educational Resource d. The development of Compendium LD e. Evaluation of the use of Compendium LD f. Use by practitioners g. Use by students h. Other visualization tools i. Conclusion Ch 10 Pedagogical planners a. Introduction b. The need for pedagogical planners c. Examples of pedagogical planners i. The DialogPlus toolkit ii. Phoebe iii. The London Pedagogical Planner (LPP) iv. The Learning Design Support Environment (LDSE) d. Conclusion Openness Ch 11 The nature of openness a. Introduction b. Facets of openness i. Open design ii. Open delivery iii. Open evaluation iv. Open research c. Principles d. Defining openness e. Characteristics of openness f. The OU's Supported Open Learning (SOL) model g. Applying openness i. Open design ii. Open delivery iii. Open evaluation iv. Open research h. Conclusion Ch 12 Open Educational Resources a. Introduction b. The Open Educational Resource movement c. A review of OER initiatives d. Case study 1: Openlearn e. Case study 2: Wikiwijs f. Case study 3: LeMill g. Case study 4: Podcampus h. Conclusion i. Appendix: The broader OER landscape Ch 13 Case study: Realising the vision of Open Educational Resources a. Introduction b. The Olnet initiative c. The OPAL initiative i. Strategies and policies ii. Quality assurance models iii. Collaborative and partnership modles iv. Tools and tool practices v. Innovations vi. Skills development and support vii. Business models and sustainability strategies viii. Barriers and enablers d. Enhancing the quality and innovation of OER e. Conclusion Social and participatory media Ch 14: Online communities and interactions a. Introduction b. The co-evolution of tools and practice c. Modes of interaction d. The changing nature of online communities e. The pedagogies of e-learning f. Sfard's metaphors of learning g. Frameworks for supporting online communities h. The Community Indicators Framework i. Conclusion Ch 15 Case study: Cloudworks a. Introduction b. Cloudworks c. Theoretical underpinnings d. Evaluation of the OU Learning and Teaching Cloudscape e. Using Cloudworks to support learning Conclusion Ch 16 Conclusion, implications and reflections Postscript - reflections on adopting an open approach to the writing of the book

Designing for learning in an open world

This chapter focuses on design and development research, a type of inquiry unique to the instructional design and technology field dedicated to the creation of new knowledge and the validation of existing practice. We first define this kind of research and provide an overview of its two main categories—research on products and tools and research on design and development models. Then, we concentrate on recent design and development research (DDR) by describing 11 studies published in the literature. The five product and tool studies reviewed include research on comprehensive development projects, studies of particular design and development phases, and research on tool development and use. The six model studies reviewed include research leading to new or enhanced ID models, model validation and model use research. Finally, we summarize this new work in terms of the problems it addresses, the settings and participants examined, the research methodologies employed used, and the role evaluation plays in these studies.

Design and Development Research

This review examined articles on mobile apps for science learning published from 2007 to 2014. A qualitative content analysis was used to investigate the science mobile app research for its mobile app design, underlying theoretical foundations, and students' measured outcomes. This review found that mobile apps for science learning offered a number of similar design features, including technology-based scaffolding, location-aware functionality, visual/audio representations, digital knowledge-construction tools, digital knowledge-sharing mechanisms, and differentiated roles. Many of the studies cited a specific theoretical foundation, predominantly situated learning theory, and applied this to the design of the mobile learning environment. The most common measured outcome was students' basic scientific knowledge or conceptual understanding. A number of recommendations came out of this review. Future studies need to make use of newer, available technologies; isolate the testing of specific app features; and develop additional strategies around using mobile apps for collaboration. Researchers need to make more explicit connections between the instructional principles and the design features of their mobile learning environment in order to better integrate theory with practice. In addition, this review noted that stronger alignment is needed between the underlying theories and measured outcomes, and more studies are needed to assess students' higher-level cognitive outcomes, cognitive load, and skill-based outcomes such as problem solving. Finally, more research is needed on how science mobile apps can be used with more varied science topics and diverse audiences.

Mobile apps for science learning: Review of research

During the past decade, design-based research has demonstrated its potential as a methodology suitable to both research and design of technology-enhanced learning environments (TELEs). In this paper, we define and identify characteristics of design-based research, describe the importance of design-based research for the development of TELEs, propose principles for implementing design-based research with TELEs, and discuss future challenges of using this methodology. (http://www.springerlink.com/content/a582109091287128/)

Michael J. Hannafin

Papers

Designed-Based Research and Technology Enhanced Learning Environments