Using Design-Based Research for Developing a Method for Evaluating Educational Innovations

Abstract Book of the 8th World Conference on Teaching and Education

Year: 2025

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Using Design-Based Research for Developing a Method for Evaluating Educational Innovations

Erna Engelbrecht, Johannes Strobel, Marcus Specht, Remon Rooij

ABSTRACT:

In most universities, the responsibility for improving courses lies largely with educators, who tend to introduce innovations on an ad hoc basis. While formal quality assurance systems exist, they rarely capture the impact of classroom-level changes. Moreover, universities often lack the capacity to evaluate each course iteration—especially in the context of budget constraints and the consequential growth in demands on administrative services. Delegating evaluation responsibilities to educators themselves presents a promising solution to this resource challenge. However, most educators are not trained in how to rigorously evaluate the outcomes of their innovations or determine their educational value. Without sufficient support, these efforts remain informal and disconnected from institutional quality goals. To address these limitations, we are developing a practical evaluation framework designed specifically for educators. This framework can equip them with the tools to design and conduct meaningful evaluations of their educational innovations. Importantly, it encourages educators to approach evaluation as a form of scholarly inquiry, opening the door to publishable outcomes and contributions to the scholarship of teaching and learning. This paper describes the development of a framework using Design-Based Research. Through multiple iterative cycles, we combined findings from literature reviews, workshops, and lessons from applied case studies. This iterative process led to a practice- oriented approach that supports educators in planning, conducting, and reporting evaluations of their teaching innovations. It has the potential to complement institutional oversight and relieve pressure on central resources while aligning course-level evaluations with academic values.

Keywords: capacity building, course improvement, educational interventions, impact evaluation, pedagogical research