It's Not "Whether" It Works, But "How"

As my understanding of design-based research (DBR) grows, so does my appreciation of how well it fits my philosophy of teaching and learning. The readings in this module helped my understand that "design" in DBR is used in 2 different ways - the researcher creates (designs) an intervention or learning phenomenon, and then collects data that allows them to create a model (design) or guidelines (design principles) that can be used to generalize the intervention into other environments. I think this is how good teaching works, when the teacher has sufficient time and ability to collect the data needed. It s a more rigorous version of piloting an intervention or program, and then making changes to the program based on what actually happens in the classroom. This is how I've designed model lessons in the past, and it's how my district has developed units of study that are disseminated across schools.

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Data collection is the challenge in any type of research. Dr. William Sandoval notes that there is a tendency among researchers, particularly novice ones, to collect everything possible and then try to figure out what is needed later. Since there is as much a need for thick description in DBR as there is in case study research, this can end up being a huge amount of data! Sandoval says that, instead, a researcher should have a clear plan of data collection, and should have a reason for collecting every piece of data that is collected. While that makes perfect sense, I think it probably takes a fair amount of experience to know what data will be relevant and which will be extraneous. My fear, as I'm sure is true for most novice researchers, is that I will begin writing my results and realize there's a gap in my data! I'm not sure how one overcomes the challenge of too much data, though I suspect that working in close communication with experienced researchers who can make recommendations.