1. Introduction: The “Set and Forget” Fallacy

In traditional education systems, the curriculum is treated like a train timetable. It is set at the beginning of the year, and the train must leave the station on time, regardless of whether the passengers (students) are on board. If a teaching method isn’t working in October, we often wait until the final exam in March to declare it a failure.

This “Set and Forget” model is disastrous for marginalized learners who cannot afford to waste a year.

At Includia Trust, we view the teacher not just as a deliverer of content, but as a Teacher-Researcher. The classroom is a laboratory. Every lesson plan is a hypothesis. Every student response is data.

This approach is known as Action Research. It is a cycle of doing, watching, thinking, and re-doing. This article breaks down how we implement this cycle to ensure that our interventions are not just well-intentioned, but actually effective in real-time.

2. Analysis: The Anatomy of Iteration

The Theoretical Model: Lewin & Stenhouse

The concept of Action Research was pioneered by Kurt Lewin and adapted for education by Lawrence Stenhouse. They argued that “curriculum development is based on the teacher as a researcher.”

The classic cycle consists of four beats:

Step 1: The Plan (Defining the Problem)

Most interventions fail because the problem is ill-defined. A teacher might say, “They are lazy.” In Action Research, we dig deeper.

Includia Example: Instead of “Students are bad at English,” we narrowed it down to: “Students struggle with consonant blends (bl, st, tr) because these sounds don’t exist in their local dialect.” The Plan: Introduce “Tongue Twister Tuesday” using local phonemes.

Step 2: The Act (Implementation)

The intervention must be specific and time-bound. We don’t change everything at once. We change one variable.

If we are testing a new visual aid, we use it for 2 weeks. This controls the experiment.

Step 3: The Observe (Data Collection)

Includia Trust emphasizes Triangulation of Data. We never rely on just one source.

• Quantitative: Mini-quiz scores.
• Qualitative: Teacher’s journal (Did their eyes light up?).
• Participatory: Asking students, “Did this help you?”

Step 4: The Reflect (The Pivot)

This is the most critical phase. Based on the data, we have three choices:

1. Adopt: It worked. Keep doing it.
2. Adapt: It worked partially. Tweak it.
3. Abandon: It failed. Stop immediately.

“Double-Loop Learning”

Chris Argyris introduced “Double-Loop Learning.”

Single-Loop: “The thermostat turns on the heat when it gets cold.” (Fixing the symptom).

Double-Loop: “Why is the room cold? Is the window open?” (Questioning the underlying structure).

At Includia, we encourage teachers to ask Double-Loop questions. If students are failing, is it the teaching method (Single Loop)? Or is it that the curriculum is culturally irrelevant (Double Loop)? Action Research empowers teachers to challenge the system, not just the student.

3. Conclusion: The Curriculum is a Hypothesis

Action Research transforms the identity of the teacher. They are no longer a bureaucrat following orders; they are an intellectual solving complex problems.

The Includia Trust Philosophy:

• Fail Fast: Don’t wait for the annual exam to find out a method failed. Find out on Tuesday. Fix it on Wednesday.
• Local Solutions: What works in Helsinki might not work in Hazaribagh. We must test locally.
• Documentation: Write it down. A failed experiment documented is a lesson learned for the whole organization.

Education is not a static product; it is a dynamic process. By implementing and evaluating in real-time, we ensure that the system bends to fit the child, rather than breaking the child to fit the system.