Review of Designs for Research, Teaching and Learning Hang, X. (2025, December 17). Review of Designs for research, teaching and learning, by L. B. Boistrup & S. Selander (Eds.). Education Review, 32. https://doi.org/10.14507/er.v32.4373 December 17, 2025 ISSN 1094-5296 Boistrup, L. B., & Selander, S. (Eds.) (2022). Designs for research, teaching and learning. Routledge. 182 pp. ISBN: 978-0-367-56124-6 Reviewed by Xie Hang Inner Mongolia University of Technology China Lisa Björklund Boistrup and Staffan Selander’s program of research reaches back as far as 2006, when they started to discuss designs for learning from a design-theoretic and multimodal perspective. Over the years, they have produced several books and dissertations. Their thinking on designs for learning relates to the Learning Design Sequences model (LDS; Selander, 2008) on which they have performed empirical research in different formal, semi-formal, and non-formal contexts. In Designs for Research, Teaching and Learning, the overarching concept of “design” refers to institutionally and individually framed learning environments and resources. By using the LDS model, the various authors in this edited volume conduct research on framing, setting, the learner’s choices, and use of modes and media to demonstrate how to design knowledge representation and measure learning. In addition, the authors also highlight ethical issues in relation to design oriented research. In the present volume, nine chapters are framed by a Prologue and an Epilogue. In Chapter 1, Selander focuses on design for learning. He describes the Learning Design Sequence model in three versions: the non-formal, the semi- formal, and the formal models “to conceptualize learning in different hybrid environments” (p. 14). The author attempts to convince readers of the function of designs for learning which is “to discuss and study learning in different contexts and conceptualize learning as a social practice” (p. 14). In the learning process, design focuses on learning sequences and learner expressions which makes it important in cultures of recognition (Kress & Selander, 2012) and evaluation. In Chapter 2, Frederik Lindstrand and Selander explore designs in learning through the example of students collaborative filmmaking, emphasizing the role of learners in their learning processes. These learning processes involve https://doi.org/10.14507/er.v32.4373 Review of Designs for Research, Teaching and Learning 2 different sections, such as how the topics of their film were transformed, transducted, and reframed as they moved from open discussions to a completed film, a sequence the authors call “rhizomatic learning.” In these processes, cooperation makes the students gradually re-design their understanding of the themes and articulate the themes in multimodal knowledge representations of various forms. Frederik Lindstrand (Chapter 3) examines how the concept of affordances can serve as a resource for research by illustrating three points: 1) affordances depend on materials; (2) affordances are action possibilities; and (3) affordances are the result of actions. He observes that affordances manifest a specific relationship between an agent and its surroundings, and affordances can be used to observe the signs of learning. Lindstrand suggests that the study of resources and affordances should not focus on theoretical mappings of potential affordances in situations of learning and meaning-making. In order to present the agentive work and the influence of social dynamics, meaning-making processes in learning situations should be the core of research. Since affordance provides a way to grasp the qualities in learning situations, it is important to study learning from a design-oriented perspective. From the DFL perspective, “affordance” also affects the performative and transformative actions in a specific situation which are related to “design” in learning. In Chapter 4, Anna Åkerfeldt and Boistrup use the LDS model to discuss ethical considerations with a focus on standard ethical protocols and its methodology. Case studies are presented to demonstrate that researchers and professionals gain knowledge by working together, and the authors call for a partnership between professionals and researchers in ethical approval process. In these examples, the authors also illustrate that owing to different areas of knowledge, in collaborative research between researchers and professionals, both parties should be involved in the reflections concerning the ethics of the research. Boistrup and Matilda Hällback explore transformations between modes/resources, and practical and theoretical aspects of knowledge in Chapter 5 with the use of two case studies. By testing the integration of mathematics with vocational teaching, the authors investigated notions of tools, norms, division of labour, and community. They illuminate how it is possible to carry out detailed analysis of data from collaborative teaching, with attention to design aspects. In particular, the authors conclude that “the version of the Learning Design Sequence along with the analytical model for the analysis of praxis and logos, may constitute a framework for the research and design of collaborative teaching” (p. 79). Five multimodal workshops in Chapter 6 are designed and analyzed within the theoretical framework of Designs for Learning (DFL): (Kress, 2010; Selander & Kress, 2017; van Leeuwen, 2005). By using the theoretical concepts from the LDS model, Susanne Kjällander offers insights on the process of designing and conducting workshops. The author observes that, with the aim of developing a functional educator’s tool, the design workshop model can be used to design a digital, multimodal tool. In addition, use of the same words in the Review of Designs for Research, Teaching and Learning 3 educator’s tool (common language) in the workshop series is emphasized in order to support the use of the tool. Chapter 7, by Eva Insulander, Lindstrand, and Selander, examines learning about the Middle Ages in three contexts: the non-formal digital game, the semi- formal museum visit, and the formal school setting. Through this process, the authors also explore the main differences between institutional framings, material resources, agency, and learning. For example, some of these differences include: highlighting different knowledge foci and different (material and semiotic) resources; giving space for different kinds of agency; using different assessment standards. The authors recommend more collaborative work between schools and other interested parties. In particular, Insulander, Lindstrand and Selander suggest that people learn in new and interactive ways, such as using digitally distributed and open channels to demonstrate learning. Insulander and Elisabeth Öhman offer a case study to explore collaborate teaching and learning between a school and a science and technology museum in Chapter 8. They convincingly demonstrate that the experiences from the collaboration promote greater understanding of museum educators’ and school teachers’ educational roles. The authors acknowledge that, inspired by the new learning patterns, teachers participate in the museum’s program and develop their programming strategy, which could benefit from and contribute to the school’s curricula. In Chapter 9, a case study by Insulander and Eva Svärdemo Åberg is used to examine the concept of cultures of recognition and meaning making in a collaborative design process. They focus on the study of how the museum professionals and university researchers work together to frame and form choices of esoteric and exoteric ideas for the development of the new exhibition. The exoteric ideas are made from an outsider perspective often provided by university researchers, while the esoteric ideas are valid scientific representations and the core of the exhibition. The mutual interest in learning gives the participants a new way of thinking about designing learning. In the Epilogue, the authors summarize the main findings. They add that in a digitally connected society, researchers need to view teaching and methodological and theoretical tools in new ways. The Designs for Learning perspective should encourage collaboration among different professionals. All in all, this volume is a noteworthy contribution to the research on powerful models of designs in and for learning. By rigorously applying the Learning Design Sequences model across a diverse range of formal and informal settings, this volume successfully demonstrates its utility as a powerful analytical lens. The book not only provides researchers with coherent frameworks for deconstructing the complexities of teaching and learning but also offers practitioners actionable insights into the orchestration of multimodal learning environments. As such, it is a valuable academic resource, bridging theory and practice in a tangible way. Review of Designs for Research, Teaching and Learning 4 References Kress, G., & Selander, S. (2012). Multimodal design, learning and cultures of recognition. The Internet and Higher Education, 12. Kress, G. (2010). Multimodality: A social semiotic approach to contemporary communication. Routledge. Selander, S. (2008a). Designs for learning: A theoretical perspective. Designs for Learning, 1(1), 10–24. Selander, S. (2008b). Designs for learning and ludic engagement. Digital Creativity, 19(3), 199–208. Selander, S., & Kress, G. (2017). Design för lärande—ett multimodalt perspektiv (2nd ed.). Studentlitteratur. van Leeuwen, T. (2005). Introducing social semiotics. Routledge. About the Reviewer Xie Hang is a professor in the School of Foreign Languages at Inner Mongolia University of Technology, China. Her primary research interests are in language teaching and linguistics. English teaching is her specific area of interest. She has focused most of her research on college English teaching and online teaching. Professor Hang also focuses on the study of discourse analysis. About the Book Editors Lisas Björklund Boistrup is a professor at Malmö Universitet, Sweden. Her research interests lie in school system's responsibility to give all students, regardless of background, the opportunity to learn. Mathematics is her specific area of interest. Professor Boistrup’s research is mainly, but not only, in two areas: critical perspectives on assessment in mathematics, and mathematics in relation to other subject areas. Staffan Selaander, PhD, is professor emeritus in the Department of Computer and Systems Sciences at Stockholm University, Sweden. Dr. Selander was awarded the Guldäpplet Jubilee Award together with Susanne Kjällander in the category National Researchers with Direct Importance for Teachers for didactic design and learning processes and children's and young people's digital play, creation, and learning. Review of Designs for Research, Teaching and Learning 5 Education Review / Reseñas Educativas / Resenhas Educativas is supported by the Scholarly Communications Group at the Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation, Arizona State University. Copyright is retained by the first or sole author, who grants right of first publication to the Education Review. Readers are free to copy, display, distribute, and adapt this article, as long as the work is attributed to the author(s) and Education Review, the changes are identified, and the same license applies to the derivative work. More details of this Creative Commons license are available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/. 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