How can we make a place for cutting-edge astronomy research in schools? Which methods ensure that our instructional activities work in diverse educational contexts and become relevant to students? While cutting-edge topics such as gravitational waves, black hole shadows, and exoplanets have great potential to motivate students, the novelty of these topics poses challenges for teachers and instructors. This contribution will present a robust educational framework, the Model of Educational Reconstruction. I will argue that we can combine this framework with design-based research methods to develop instructional resources that engage students and successfully convey the subject matter. Case studies in general relativity education will illustrate the efficacy of this approach in astronomy education