Conjectures, Cycles and Contexts: A Systematic Review of Design-based Research in Engineering Education

Background: Design-based research frameworks have become more widely embraced by education researchers since 2003. Ann Brown (1992) first suggested design-based research as a means to move research about learning from the laboratory to the classroom setting. Design-based research does not imply particular methods, but rather is an epistemological approach to carrying out research projects focused on the design of an innovation. This shift in epistemological outcome shifts how researchers consider evidence gathering and analysis. So how are engineering education researchers using and reporting on design-based research?

Purpose: The design of educational innovations should be situated in context and balance both theory and practice. In this paper, we summarize research in engineering education that has used a design-based research approach. We first describe design-based research from a theoretical and epistemological perspective and then present its use thus far in engineering education settings. Our goal is to suggest it as a useful model for undertaking engineering education research that advances knowledge about the design of learning environments.

Scope: Our analysis is situated in significant features of design-based research (Kelly, 2004; Sandoval, 2014). Our review process began with systematically searching for articles and then coding them for the features of design-based research. We have coded a set of engineering education and design-based research articles to summarize the contexts, conjectures, and design cycles.

Discussion/Conclusions: We found articles across K–12 and higher education settings. The articles focused on designing models and tools for engineering education including curriculum, tasks, and frameworks. First, design-based research in engineering education includes conjectures about engineering disciplinary practices, problem-based learning, and affective aspects of students’ learning. Second, cycles of design inform improvement and theory development. Design-based research is still emerging in engineering education but has potential for building knowledge and developing resources grounded in practice.