Design Research in Social Studies Education Critical Lessons from an Emerging Field

This edited volume showcases work from the emerging field of design-based research (DBR) within social studies education and explores the unique challenges and opportunities that arise when applying the approach in classrooms. Usually associated with STEM fields, DBR’s unique ability to generate practical theories of learning and to engineer theory-driven improvements to practice holds meaningful potential for the social studies. Each chapter describes a different DBR study, exploring the affordances and dilemmas of the approach. Chapters cover such topics as iterative design, using and producing theory, collaborating with educators, and the ways that DBR attends to historical, political, and social context.

Introduction: Design Research in the Social Studies: History, Methodology, and Promise [Eric B. Freedman and Jongsung Kim] Part I: Improving Practice through Iterative Design 2. From Form to Function: Learning with Practitioners to Support Diverse Middle School Students’ Disciplinary Reasoning and Writing [Chauncey Monte-Sano, Ryan E. Hughes, and Sarah Thomson] 3. Using Iterative Design to Improve Student Access and Engagement in an Online Political Communications Simulation [Jeremy Stoddard and Kimberly Rodriguez] 4. Developing Authentic Performance Assessments in a Classroom Mini-Economy: Reflections on the Process of Design [Stephen Day and Christine Bae] Part II: Using and Producing Theory 5. Applying Theory to Problematic Practice: Lessons Learned from Two Implementations of a Unit on Gender [Jennifer Burke] 6. From Practice to Theory: Ontological Innovation in a Ninth-Grade History Classroom [Eric B. Freedman] Part III: Collaborating with Educators 7. Intersecting Goals in an Elementary Social Studies Design Project: Confessional Tales of Teacher and Researcher Relationships [Kathryn M. Obenchain, Julie L. Pennington, and Maricela Bardem] 8. Design-Based Implementation Research in a Government Classroom: A Teacher’s Shifting Pedagogy over Four Years [Jane C. Lo, Carol M. Adams, Alexandra Goodell, and Sara Nachtigal] Part IV: Contextualizing DBR Historically, Socially, and Politically 9. Theorizing Context in DBR: Integrating Critical Civic Learning into the U.S. History Curriculum [Beth C. Rubin] 10. Beyond National Discourses: South Korean and Japanese Students "Make a Better Social Studies Textbook" [Jongsung Kim] 11. Conclusion:Towards Socially Transformative Design for Social Studies: A Critical Epistemological Approach [Beth C. Rubin]

Beth C. Rubin is Professor of Education at the Graduate School of Education, Rutgers University, USA. Eric B. Freedman is Assistant Professor of Teacher Education and Secondary Social Studies at Sacred Heart University, USA. Jongsung Kim is Assistant Professor of Social Studies Education at the Graduate School of Education, Hiroshima University, Japan.