Appropriating a DBR model for a 'research through codesign' project on play in schools - to frame participation

On the basis of an ongoing research project on designing play in schools, the aim of this paper is to explore how a fruitful combination of designbased research (DBR) and research-through-design (RtD) can enrich both research strategies. Through a number of examples of codesign processes with pedagogues, the paper explores how it is possible practically to communicate, reflect and frame participation inside, outside and beyond research through a codesign project. By exploring ways of participation within situated pedagogical practices and ongoing experiments, the paper unfolds ways for researcher and stakeholders to exchange and challenge worldviews and everyday practices. The main contribution is, first, to show how merging design-based research with codesign can add a focus on stakeholders as important participants by emphasising the systemising benefits of collaborative reflections and, second, to show how a DBR model can be enriched and extended in its understanding of experiments.