Eat Your Vegetables and Do Your Homework: A Design Based Investigation of Enjoyment and Meaning in Learning

Abstract

Design-based research is a collection of innovative methodological approaches that involve the building of theoretically-inspired designs to systematically generate and test theory in naturalistic settings. Design-based research is especially powerful with respect to supporting and systematically examining innovation. In part, this is due to the fact that conducting design-based research involves more than examining what is. It also involves designing possibilities and then evolving theories within real-world contexts. In this article we share the historical development of three outcomes of our deSign-based work on the Quest Atlantis project, an interactive narrative designed for children ages 9-12 that includes a 3-D environment and various resources, with the goal of understanding the value of play spaces for learning.