Introduction

We entered the field of education because of our passion for working with young people and commitment to facilitating their learning as well as our own. We grew into educational research because we enjoy the challenge and wanted to investigate ways to support others in teaching and learning processes. We gravitated to design research because of its naturally close ties with the practice that is dear to us, and in response to disillusionment with too much educational research that does not, in the short or long term, serve to improve practice. Finally, we have taken up the torch of educating and supporting design researchers because of our conviction that this approach, alongside others, can yield valuable results for both theoretical understanding and educational practice. To introduce this book, we briefly discuss our intentions, the book structure, and the limitations of its linearity.