This study portrays recent research-practice connections found in 18 design research reports focusing on the creation of instructional solutions. Solutions in different stages of development varied greatly in duration, ranging from one lesson to a whole year curriculum, spanned all levels of education, many subjects (science, math, language, culture, teacher education, etc.). Close collaboration between researchers and practitioners was prominent in all of the 18 projects studied. Participants in primary and secondary education projects have quite distinct roles regarding the teaching and researching, but they design their instruction solutions often collaboratively. Nearly all projects reported on how designed solutions were anchored in research, either from literature or from in-house project data. All articles indicated that research fed (re-)design, but few specified how. Based on our findings, we call for increased research and reporting on the specific strategies employed by design research participants to facilitate the production of new theoretical understanding through design of instructional solutions.Keywords Design research Á Research practice gap Á Research and development All may be contacted through the University of Twente.

Linking research and practice through teacher communities: A place where formal and practical knowledge meet?This study characterizes the links between research and practice across twelve projects concerned with the collaborative design of lesson plans by teacher communities. Analyses focused on sources of knowledge used to inform lesson design, participants' roles, and knowledge generated by the teacher community. Three patterns emerged pertaining to the sources of knowledge informing lesson plans: design guided by formal and practical knowledge, by classroom-data and practical knowledge, or by a combination of all three. Findings further suggest that the emphasis given to the use of formal knowledge over classroom-data or vice-versa restrains the full accomplishment of research and practice links. Across the projects studied, university researchers contributed to linking research and practice by directly or indirectly supporting community activities. Surprisingly, the role of teachers in the generation and dissemination of formal knowledge was limited. Further research should explore the effects of collaboration within teacher communities on researchers and policy makers.