Design-based research (DBR) is an approach to research that is particularly suitable to improve processes (e.g., a particular combination of technologies and methods in professional development interventions) and products (e.g., the construction of an instructional resource) through iterative cycles of redesign and evaluation. DBR aims at identifying a) design principles that can inform directions for further research or development; b) affordances and emergent properties of an innovation; or c) the conditions under which such innovation could reach its potential to improve practice.
The following projects undertaken by the NFLRC are informed by the DBR paradigm and include DBR reports as one of their deliverables: a) curriculum development for or the creation of materials for instruction, b) online professional development on PBLL (Fundamentals of PBLL), and c) Online Language Pedagogy (OLP) modules for online language teachers.