Design Experiments in Educational Research

Impact Factor:2.779 | Ranking:6/219 in Education & Educational ResearchSource:2012 Journal Citation Reports® (Thomson Reuters, 2013)
Paul Cobb, Professor of Mathematics Education,

Vanderbilt University, Peabody College, Box 330, Nashville, TN 37203; paul.cobb{at}vanderbilt.edu. His research interests include classroom instructional design and analysis, the development of professional teaching communities, the institutional setting of teaching, and issues of diversity and equity as they play out in the mathematics classroom Jere Confrey, Professor,

University of Texas, Austin, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, SZB 518, Austin, TX 78712; jere{at}mail.utexas.edu. Her research interests include cognition and multiplicative relations, functions and trigonometry, technology design, and systemic reform Andrea diSessa, Chancellor’s Professor,

University of California, Berkeley, Graduate School of Education, 4647 Tolman Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720; disessa{at}soe.berkeley.edu. His research interests include conceptual and experiential knowledge in physics, and the design and use of flexible, comprehensible computer systems for learning Richard Lehrer, Professor and

Vanderbilt University, Department of Teaching and Learning, Peabody College, Box 330, 166 Wyatt Center, Nashville, TN 37203; rich.lehrer{at}vanderbilt.edu. His research interests include the design of learning environments for developing an understanding of mathematics and science Leona Schauble, Professor

Vanderbilt University, Department of Teaching and Learning, Peabody College, 1930 South Drive, Nashville, TN 37203; leona.schauble{at}vanderbilt.edu. Her research interests include cognitive development, especially the development of scientific thinking and model-based reasoning In this article, the authors first indicate the range of purposes and the variety of settings in which design experiments have been conducted and then delineate five crosscutting features that collectively differentiate design experiments from other methodologies. Design experiments have both a pragmatic bent—“engineering” particular forms of learning—and a theoretical orientation—developing domain-specific theories by systematically studying those forms of learning and the means of supporting them. The authors clarify what is involved in preparing for and carrying out a design experiment, and in conducting a retrospective analysis of the extensive, longitudinal data sets generated during an experiment. Logistical issues, issues of measure, the importance of working through the data systematically, and the need to be explicit about the criteria for making inferences are discussed.

Received August 23, 2002. Revision received November 6, 2002. Accepted November 7, 2002.

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