ABSTRACT

This chapter shows how design-based implementation research (DBIR): extends the design-based research framework; helps bridge theory, research, and practice in scalable ways; and can impact the future of teacher professional development (PD) and curriculum development in the social studies. It argues that DBIR provides flexibility in curriculum design and PD processes that allow changes in the curriculum to occur alongside changes in teacher beliefs and practices, which may lead to more robust forms of teacher growth. The chapter provides an empirical example of how DBIR can work to support social studies teacher practice in ways that might lead to scalable PD and curriculum design efforts. True to the spirit of DBIR, the design team made adjustments to the project based learning-Advanced Placement Government course and accompanying PD in each implementation, student experiences, and research analysis. Ann Brown’s seminal work on design experiments showcases how engineering and studying learning processes simultaneously can produce more effective interventions in complex classroom settings.