One research focus of the Department of Physics Education revolves around questions such as: How can learning arrangements in school or at university be designed to support learning processes (e.g. on optics, the use of digital media)? To this end, materials or courses are designed, formatively evaluated and redesigned in an iterative, systematic and research-based manner. Methodologically, these research projects can be classified as design-based research.
A central practice in design-based research is the research-based design of learning arrangements. During this design process, many decisions have to be made as to why what is implemented and how. In the article “Systematizing Design Decisions in Design-based Research: From Theory to Design”, published in Science Education, challenges in making design decisions in two research projects in the Department of Physics Education are discussed and a proposal for systematizing these decisions is presented.