A Study Of Design Research In The Perspective Of Learning Sciences

As an emerging paradigm for learning inquiry, design research has received much attention recently from educational research field. Focusing on how to design effective learning environments and on understanding what learning really happened in such naturalistic context, design research blends empirical educational research with practice of theory-driven design of learning environments by an iterative process of design and research. Therefore, it is an important methodology for understanding how educational innovations work in practice. However, this new methodology still lacks systematic research, which is what this dissertation makes an effort to do. First, this dissertation explores important issues on design research systematically and deeply, including aspects of its evolution, essentials, and ways of knowing and research models. Second, considering the absence of content of intervention system in design research, this dissertation brings forward a "design research practical framework for classroom context" (DRPFCC), which is embodied in a case study. The construction of theory and exploration in practice informs and enhances each other. The main purpose of this dissertation is to provide new ways and methodological guidelines for research on learning environments design in classroom context.The dissertation includes six chapters.In the first chapter, the dissertation analyzes three important shifts in the history of learning research. Based on a reflection on the shortcomings of traditional "experiment-based" learning research paradigm, this dissertation also casts light on the background of emergence of design research and its developmental course in company with learning sciences.The essential meaning of design research is discussed in Chapter 2. At the beginning of this chapter, the dissertation defines the confusing concepts and definitions of design research. And, the chapter sums up seven main features of design research from lots of emerging literatures on design research. Then, the differences between design research and traditional research paradigms are explained at the end of this chapter.Chapter 3, in an epistemological perspective, mainly analyzes what is the design research way of knowing, including the nature of design inquiry, the special knowledge-building process of design research and its three integrative outputs, and explains the internal methodological logic of design research which integrates scientific research and design activities.Chapter 4 turns to explore the operation of design research, attempting to describe design research as a synergistic manifold enterprise in a multiple-theory perspective. By comparing a range of researches on process model of design research, this chapter summarizes the common steps of doing design research in general.Based on theoretical and practical research on design research, Chapter 5 develops, extends and enriches the process model by constructing a "design research practical framework for classroom context". This chapter mainly discusses key issues on this framework, such as intervention systems (which consists of content, supports and social structure of learning), embodiment of design prototype and the microanalysis methods for studying learning in classroom context.In the form of design research package which covers the context details as many as possible, the last chapter describes the whole process of a design research case study, which focuses on participation structure of classroom social infrastructure. This case fully presents how the author accomplishes his design research with the guidance of DRPFCC, a model put forward by himself in this dissertation.