Vision
The EDRL research group works around a theoretical strain (embodied cognition), a methodological line (design-based research), and a disciplinary emphasis (mathematics). Thus, the laboratory hosts the full cycle of design-research projects that are geared to contribute to theory and practice of multi-modal mathematical learning and reasoning as well as to design theory.
Research-group participants share and present for discussion their own design-related work as they progress from tackling a design problem through to design, implementation, data analysis, and writing up for publication. In this research group, we: (a) design, build, and field-test learning environments that foster K-16 students' inquiry-based learning of targeted mathematical concepts; (b) develop methodologies that enable us to elicit the data we need for inquiring into questions that go beyond "Did it work?" to exploring how and why things work; (c) analyze videotaped data and student artifacts to contextualize discussions of relations between objects, media, activities, perception, and reasoning; and (d) draw on relevant literature, such as work pertaining to design frameworks, to improve our designs, enrich our interpretation of data, and articulate and present our work such that it addresses the needs and interests of a broad community of education researchers and practitioners.
The lab is a safe place for learning together, and we strive to foster an ambience of trust, where it is fine and even expected to ask "naive" questions and certainly to question authority. Members are encouraged to bring to the table their own projects, even such that were designed to fulfill a requirement of another course, because other members will learn greatly by attending to and responding to such succinct presentations. During lab meetings: (a) students share and discuss their own work, at all stages of progress, whether to brainstorm, design a research study, recruit help, show challenging data, receive constructive criticism on a manuscript or feedback on a poster, or practice a conference presentation; also, (b) we spearhead lab-specific projects, on which several or all members are collaborating—so we discuss research issues ranging from the mundane to the scholarly.