Design-based learning

Design-based learning (DBL), also known as design-based instruction, is an <a href="/facts/Inquiry-based_learning/M7wGswXs">inquiry-based</a> form of learning, or <a href="/facts/Pedagogy/t1LIfLeC">pedagogy</a>, that is based on integration of <a href="/facts/Design_thinking/8a481c2b">design thinking</a> and the <a href="/facts/Design_process/kR4GNeja">design process</a> into the classroom at the <a href="/facts/K-12/FKtI5sC0">K-12</a> and <a href="/facts/Post-secondary/WMN5RpeC">post-secondary</a> levels. Design-based <a href="/facts/Learning_environment/P0WBWaLA">learning environments</a> can be found across many disciplines, including those traditionally associated with design (e.g. art, architecture, engineering, interior design, graphic design), as well as others not normally considered to be design-related (science, technology, business, humanities). DBL, as well as <a href="/facts/Project-based_learning/CDpnlvJS">project-based learning</a> and <a href="/facts/Problem-based_learning/sP5vI1p3">problem-based learning</a>, is used to teach <a href="/facts/21st_century_skills/FoTQyeUz">21st century skills</a> such as <a href="/facts/Communication/EGEkchsT">communication</a> and <a href="/facts/Collaboration/8rkNh7hP">collaboration</a> and foster <a href="/facts/Deeper_learning/Gt7CK9SE">deeper learning</a>.
Deeper learning is supported when students design and create an artifact that requires understanding and application of knowledge. DBL activity supports <a href="/facts/Iteration/AMc1p7BL">iteration</a> as students create, assess, and redesign their projects. The work's complexity often requires collaboration and specialized roles, providing students with the opportunity to become "experts" in a particular area. Design projects require students to establish goals and constraints, generate ideas, and create prototypes through <a href="/facts/Storyboarding/mTPt4P3m">storyboarding</a> or other representational practices. <a href="/facts/Robotics/wkmvodJz">Robotics</a> competitions in schools are popular design-based learning activities, wherein student teams design, build and then pilot their robots in competitive challenges. 
Design-based learning was developed in the 1980s by Doreen Nelson, a professor at <a href="/facts/California_State_Polytechnic_University%2c_Pomona/vpP19Q7S">California State Polytechnic University, Pomona</a> and the <a href="/facts/Art_Center_College_of_Design/LgdIl1VY">Art Center College of Design</a>. Her findings suggested that <a href="/facts/Kinesthetic_learning/YLqV3NWS">kinesthetic problem-solving</a> helps students acquire, retain, and synthesize information in practical ways.

Design-based learning open-in-new

Design-based learning