Beyond One-Size-Fits-All: Iterative Design in Education Reform
On September 26th, the Luminos Fund hosted its eighth annual U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) week luncheon in New York, bringing together donors, partners, and education experts to discuss the role of iterative design in driving global education reform. As Luminos CEO, Caitlin Baron, emphasized in her opening remarks, while strides have been made toward achieving universal education, the path to delivering quality education is far from straightforward. The fact that nine out of ten children in low-income countries cannot read by age 10 is a reminder that great education programs are never one-size-fits-all, and must be designed and iterated in context.
“Extraordinary learning is possible. The binding constraint is not the child’s capacity to learn. It’s our capacity to help them do so.”
Caitlin Baron, CEO, Luminos Fund
The event featured two leading experts in education and philanthropy:
- Ann Mei Chang, CEO of Candid and author of Lean Impact: How to Innovate for Radically Greater Social Good
- Dr. Modupe (Mo) Adefeso-Olateju, Fellow at The Brookings Institution and Board Chair of the Malala Fund
Embracing Iterative Design: A Core Component of Luminos’ Identity and Approach
At the Luminos Fund, we believe successful education initiatives are those that marry the best of global learning science and local insights and apply an iterative approach to implementation.
The event began with a reflection on the critical role of iterative design in Luminos’ programs. Through an ongoing iteration cycle of designing, learning, and adapting, Luminos transformed its Liberia program to deliver profound learning gains.
Results of an IDinsight randomized controlled trial (RCT) of our Liberia program demonstrate the powerful impact of our approach on student learning. Liberian children enrolled in the one-year Luminos program learn 90% of what the average Liberian will learn in their lifetime.
“This is not where this journey began, but this is where it is today,” shared Caitlin.
The Iteration Cycle
Learn more about creating effective education programs in the Iterative Design element of the Luminos Method!
In 2016, Luminos launched our Liberia program in partnership with another international non-governmental organization (INGO), drawing inspiration from the Luminos program model in Ethiopia. By 2017, Luminos took full ownership of the program, leading a comprehensive redesign that altered nearly every aspect of the approach. In the two years to follow, we narrowed our focus to literacy and numeracy and introduced a phonics-based approach. We also added structured pedagogy and detailed teacher guides.
“The goal of that structured pedagogy is to help every teacher, whether it’s his or her first day in the classroom or hundreds of days in, to have the confidence to know how to meet every child where they are,” shared Caitlin.
We continued to revise the curriculum, and we increased training for teachers, partners, and staff.
By 2019, we shifted away from major changes to focus on refinements and incremental adaptations. This journey of continuous improvement ultimately led to transformative learning gains.
As Caitlin reflected, “In education, fundamentally, the how is as important as the what.” The process of adapting and iterating our approach in Liberia’s unique context was just as important as the model itself. Our emphasis on ‘how’ we deliver joyful learning allows us to create an environment where all children can truly thrive.
Innovation in International Development
Ann Mei Chang started the conversation by explaining why innovation is crucial in international development.
“The status quo won’t get us where we need to go,” noted Ann Mei. Drawing on her experience in Silicon Valley and at USAID, she highlighted that the best programs start small, iterate over and over, and scale incrementally.
“The only way you can iterate and learn quickly is if we start small, so that we are iterating and learning in the order of days or weeks, not years.”
Ann Mei Chang, CEO, Candid
At Luminos, we are laser-focused on measuring our impact on children’s learning, and we regularly collect and use real-time data to drive the necessary program adaptations. “We use real-time data in our program, most importantly, so we can understand each child as an individual, where they are on their unique learning journey, and what kind of support they most need from us to succeed,” shared Caitlin.
Proximate Leadership, Partnerships, and Iteration
Dr. Mo Adefeso-Olateju shared her experience scaling a grassroots education NGO in Nigeria and emphasized the power of proximate leadership in driving meaningful change. “Proximate leaders are those who are close to the problem or the issue. What do these leaders bring into conversation? They bring something that I think is so important, and that is perspective. They bring perspective, they bring nuance, they bring efficiency, and they bring effectiveness. They help us to think about innovation in context,” noted Mo.
“Proximate leaders are those who are close to the problem or the issue. What do these leaders bring into conversation? They bring something that I think is so important, and that is perspective. They bring perspective, they bring nuance, they bring efficiency, and they bring effectiveness. They help us to think about innovation in context.”
Dr. Modupe (Mo) Adefeso-Olateju, Fellow at The Brookings Institution and Board Chair of the Malala Fund
She added, “As we seed control, we are actually building for better sustainability and effectiveness of our programs.”
Luminos prioritizes working with domestic, locally led, NGOs. In our experience, these community partners approach the challenges of their country’s education system as their own, serving as stewards for the children of their communities. They provide a deep and nuanced understanding of national, regional, and local contexts. To learn more about how Luminos works with and supports our community-based partners, download the Community Partners element of the Luminos Method.
Mo also emphasized the importance of government partnerships to scale education interventions effectively.
She shared that government adoption requires building capacity and agency within the system, particularly among civil servants who remain in their roles regardless of changes in political leadership.
“You build from the core, and everything holds together from that core. When you think about that in the context of government, who is the core? Civil service. They will always be there. So, where does the attention need to be when thinking about building their capacity? It’s not just their technical capacity, but building their agency to see themselves as changemakers, to see themselves as participants in the solution,” explained Mo.
Mo stressed the importance of helping government leaders understand and apply lessons that are directly relevant to their own country’s education challenges, rather than simply adopting solutions from other contexts. This approach ensures that the insights gained are practical and tailored to the unique needs of their specific setting.
Looking Ahead
Underlying all of this work is donor commitment to and support for our approach. This support includes a flexible funding structure that prioritizes children’s learning outcomes rather than a fixed program model. We believe this flexible funding is key.
“Our journey is only possible because of our funders who believe in the potential to deliver transformative learning and teaching, and recognize that it’s often not nearly as simple as one might imagine,” shared Caitlin.
Caitlin’s closing remarks introduced the Luminos Method Learning Lab, a new initiative for community-based organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa focused on advancing foundational learning. The Luminos Method Learning Lab has two key objectives:
1. Providing hands-on training to help organizations learn from elements of the Luminos Method – a collection of resources on evidence-based practices that improve student learning and transform education for the most vulnerable children.
2. Allocating seed grants to help selected organizations adapt and apply these practices in their own contexts.
By taking our insights and learning to scale through the Luminos Method Learning Lab, we accelerate our mission of ensuring all children have equal access to joyful, foundational learning.
