ABSTRACT
Previous chapters have described the current state of design research and its future prospects, setting out its contribution in bringing research in education closer to what actually happens in classrooms. Indeed, the last 30 years have been remarkable for the shift from the traditional combination of critical commentary on the one hand and laboratory experiments on the other, towards the empirical study of teachers and children in real classrooms. The growth of cognitive science and its application to research in more realistic learning environments has contributed much to this. The establishment of design research over the last decade represents the next step in this sequence. However, there is more to be done before teaching and learning in the majority of classrooms can possibly move to being research-based. How we may get there, and the progress so far, is the theme of this chapter.
