Three types of research in ed tech product development: learning sciences, user research, and evaluation research¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The guide organizes research-based ed tech product development around three research types that emerged from a crowdsourcing campaign with nearly fifty companies. As printed: "Three main ways in which companies use research throughout product development and evaluation emerged". Learning sciences means "using scientific research on how people learn to inform product design", user research means "gathering information about how people are interacting with the product", and evaluation research means "determining how a product contributes to solving a problem in education". The guide structures its recommendations and company examples around these three categories.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Companies must engage with each research type at the appropriate product stage: learning sciences before prototyping, user research during development, evaluation research to demonstrate effectiveness

Constraints¶

• The framework was derived from a Digital Promise crowdsourcing campaign and conversations with researchers, not from a systematic empirical study of development practice

Target Learners¶

• ed tech product developers
• K-12 school and district technology purchasers

Target Learning Objectives¶

• research-based design and evaluation of educational technology products

Claims¶

Related Theories¶

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Digital Promise. (2015). Using Research in Ed Tech: The what, how, and why of research-based product development. https://digitalpromise.dspacedirect.org/items/f25f7b43-06d9-4732-908b-7409f79b0a91