Theories and Research Methodologies for Design-Based Implementation Research: Examples From Four Cases

This chapter reviews four projects that reflect the principles of design-based implementation research (DBIR) in an effort to highlight a range of relevant theoretical and methodological perspectives and tools that can inform future work associated with DBIR.The goal of this chapter is to highlight a range of relevant theoretical and methodological perspectives and tools that can inform future work associated with design-based implementation research (DBIR). As Penuel, Fishman, Cheng, and Sabelli (2011) described, DBIR entails engaging “learning scientists, policy researchers, and practitioners in a model of collaborative, iterative, and systematic research and development” designed to address persistent problems of teaching and learning (p. 331). Addressing persistent problems of teaching and learning requires attending not only to theories of learning but also to theories of implementation and organizational context. Furthermore, conceptualizations of learning, implementation, and organizational context have implications for the design of interventions and the methodologies used to answer questions like: “What works when, how, and for whom? How do we improve this reform strategy to make it more sustainable? What capacities does the system need to continue to improve?” (Penuel et al., 2011, p. 335).

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