Introduction: Creating Design Knowledge in Educational Innovation

How can educational researchers, designers, teachers, and other innovating practitioners make outcomes of educational research and innovation projects scalable, readily applicable in educational design and impactful on practice? Methodological “know-how” that is theoretically robust and grounded in research and design experiences is needed. This book is written for educational researchers, research and postgraduate students, innovation designers, learning designers, leaders of education innovation teams and other practitioners who aim to produce and apply design knowledge that is robust, grounded in research, and practically useful as a part of diverse research and innovation projects. This introductory chapter elaborates on the scope and aims of the book, outlines the historical context and defines key concepts. It provides an overview of the theoretical, methodological, and practical issues faced in creating design knowledge and highlights current challenges and debates. To help the reader navigate, the chapter ends with an overview of the four sections of the book: (1) Theoretical foundations, (2) Methodological approaches, (3) Design knowledge in practice, and (4) Future directions.