DEH Workshop on Design-Based Research Part II

On May 19, 2022, the Department of English and Humanities at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) arranged a follow-up workshop for faculty members and students on Design-Based Research (DBR). The workshop was facilitated by Mohammed Shams Ud Duha, who is currently pursuing his PhD in Learning Design and Technology at Purdue University, USA. According to Wang and Hannafin (2005, pp. 6-7), DBR is a “systematic but flexible methodology aimed to improve educational practices through iterative analysis, design, development, and implementation, based on collaboration among researchers and practitioners in real-world settings, and leading to contextually-sensitive design principles and theories.” This was the basis for Duha’s workshop. Duha had worked as an Instructional Designer for Purdue Repository for Online Teaching and Learning (PoRTAL) and the Paraimpact Project at Purdue University, where he had incorporated DBR as the methodology.

In the first workshop, DBR was discussed from a theoretical standpoint. The second workshop began with a brief recapitulation of the different aspects and principles involved in DBR. Participants then went through a worked example of DBR that focused on the Purdue Repository for Online Teaching and Learning (PoRTAL). Participants put that knowledge to use in a group task where they chose a relevant educational issue, designed a DBR study to address the issue, and presented the study for peer and facilitator feedback. The event made space for educational practitioners and students to collaborate with each other, revise their knowledge of the concept of DBR, and understand its potential in addressing practical issues concerning the academic world.