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From Classroom to Community: What PLCs and Field Research Taught Me About Real Development Work
When theory meets practice, collectives learn faster. Here's what happened this week.
Meenakshisundareswaran R
November 10, 2025
Standing at the Threshold
Cohort 9, Week of November 3-9: From Summit Stories to Field Immersion
There's a moment just before you enter something transformative where everything feels rehearsal-sharp. You practice the questions you'll ask. You mentally prepare for what you might find. You hope you're ready.
This week, my last at ISDM before two weeks in Pali District conducting our Realising India field research, was that moment. Except it was bigger than just preparing for fieldwork. It was about witnessing something rare: a community of learners collectively interrogating how they grow together.
Theory Becomes Staged Practice
CBCL (our case law seminar) opened with a live simulation of Realising India scenarios. We weren't just reading cases anymore; we were inside them. A water scarcity crisis unfolds. Gender inequality compounds livelihood failure. Health systems fail because no one designed them with adolescents in mind.
hee
The shift was palpable. Theory wasn't distant anymore. It was sweat and difficult choices and unclear trade-offs, the texture of actual development work.
While we were mid-simulation, the Cohort 9 Summit was taking shape in the background. The idea had emerged: "You stand at a threshold. There is something we do not talk about enough." What if we created space for 1-13 PLCs (Professional Learning Community) to name what's usually unspoken?
The Pause That Precedes
A holiday, nominally. But I spent it shopping for field supplies, eating good food, practicing the self-care that field immersion demands before you know you need it.
There's something ritualistic about this: buying a good notebook, packing carefully, mentally shifting from student to researcher. Your body knows what's coming before your mind catches up.
Closing the Loop (and Opening Everything Else)
By Thursday, Terms 0, 1, and 2 converged. We revisited the curiosities that brought us to ISDM. The lenses we've developed to see development work. The assumptions we've had to rebuild. The hypotheses we're carrying into the field. The biases we're learning to name.
pc: syna
And then, quietly, the Cohort 9 Summit began.
What unfolded was not a standard presentation. It was 1 - 13 PLCs standing in front of their peers and saying: This is how we learned to fight. This is what we learned about each other. This is what broke us open.
Azar
What the PLCs Taught Us
Miss Possible (PLC 1): "Learning how to come to a resolution is more important than what you decide." They'd moved from avoiding conflict to discovering that hard conversations are where growth lives. The discomfort was the point.
Ubuntu (PLC 3): Seven people, different backgrounds, united by one refrain: PLC pehle, PLC pehle, PLC pehle (PLC first, PLC first, PLC first). One member said simply: "I am because we are." That's not just a catchphrase. That's how they operate.
Compassionate Cuties (PLC 5): "My PLC is my country, a democratic nation." They described work distribution based on strength, never authoritative decisions. When a member fell ill with typhoid, the response was quiet: "Just take care." No performance of sacrifice. Just showing up for each other like it was the obvious thing to do.
PLC 6: The "chillest PLC" discovered they were all secretly extraverts pretending to be introverts. They became better listeners. When someone asked for their PPT, they said to me: "We felt like celebrities." That's what belonging can look like, being seen.
Ikagra (PLC 12): "Together." They started with a birthday party where everyone wore masks, literally and metaphorically. "Who is he? Who is she?" Then their name itself became their unity. Nine to ten hours daily at ISDM, everyone ready to present on the spot, adaptable under pressure. When family emergencies hit, the PLC showed up.
Miss Possible (PLC 1): "Learning how to come to a resolution is more important than what you decide." They moved from chill-calm to conflict-aware, discovering that hard conversations are where growth lives. The discomfort was the point.
Vikasa Taranga (PLC 4): "5 kids in our plc, we fight, we joke, but we're supportive pillars." They share emotions before starting work, preventing conflict through vulnerability. Soviet handles the details. creative documents everything. Each person leads sometimes. Rotating leadership distributes power so no one person burns out.
Ubuntu (PLC 3): Seven people, different backgrounds, united by one refrain: PLC pehle, PLC pehle, PLC pehle (PLC first, PLC first, PLC first). One member said simply: "I am because we are." That's not just a catchphrase. That's how they operate.
PLC 10: "Patience." Not because they're naturally patient, but because they had to be. Different speeds. Different timelines. When Soumya was down with typhoid in September, the PLC handled work silently. She never got to know when assignments were submitted, but they were. That's family.
Compassionate Cuties (PLC 5): "My PLC is my country, a democratic nation." They described work distribution based on strength, never authoritative decisions. When a member fell ill with typhoid, the response was quiet: "Just take care." No performance of sacrifice. Just showing up for each other like it was the obvious thing to do.
PLC 8: Diverse languages, diverse backgrounds. Cold wars simmered beneath the surface. Then they sat down and started talking. Really talking. That changed everything. "I can see myself and I'm heard." That's what safe space feels like.
PLC 9: "We are experimental." Not experts. They're wrong all the time, but they learn. This was Farhab's first time speaking English in public. The PLC created space for him to try. That's how you build people.
PLC 6: The "chillest PLC" discovered they were all secretly extraverts pretending to be introverts. They became better listeners. They don't end conversations on negative notes ever. Checking in outside PLC hours. When someone asked for their PPT, they said: "We felt like celebrities." That's what belonging can look like, being seen.
PLC 11 (Saturday): They learned that articulation is the real barrier in development work. Introverts struggle to be heard not because their ideas are weak, but because they haven't had practice articulating loudly. So they try to articulate on behalf of their introvert members. The introverts became extraverts on their own terms.
PLC 2: Constantly pushing. Term 0 and 1 were fine. Then everything got harder. You don't have to be best friends to work together. You have to listen and be willing to change. "We are becoming better versions of ourselves." Not perfect versions. Better versions.
Ikagra (PLC 12): "Together." They started with a birthday party where everyone wore masks, literally and metaphorically. "Who is he? Who is she?" Then their name itself became their unity. Nine to ten hours daily at ISDM, everyone ready to present on the spot, adaptable under pressure. When family emergencies hit, the PLC showed up.
PLC 7: They sit in a circle to share opinions. Open-mindedness is their foundation. Discussions go beyond the topic—"from cow to coconut"—because that's how they build trust. Sometimes the best learning happens when conversations wander.
PLC 13: Diverse. Different languages, regions, foods, cultures. Sometimes there's tension. Sometimes there are arguments. But acceptance is the foundation. Sushant Kumar presented in Hindi: "Even when we disagree, we accept each other." That's not agreement. That's belonging.
THE 404 BAND PERFORMANCE
At the end of the summit, 404 Band performed. A moment of collective celebration. A moment that said: we made it through together.
thanks to Gaurav joining 404 Band
The Facilitator's Words That Stuck
Peter, who facilitated the summit, offered two observations that rewired something in me:
"When we communicate honestly, when we are transparent, even doubt-filled moments turn into meaningful memories."
And on democracy:
"Democracy doesn't mean one voice, one vote, majority rule. It means every voice has space. Minority voices get enough space to make their point. That is true belonging."
Not the version we learn in civics class. The version that actually heals fractured teams.
pc: justin
The Data-Story Collision
Each PLC presented their Pali District analysis: research questions, problem areas, hypotheses. The feedback was sharp and necessary.
"I see data. I see analysis. But I don't see your process of thinking. How did you come to these conclusions?"
This landed hard. We had seven problem areas: water scarcity, gender inequality, livelihood vulnerability, health outcomes, education dropouts, MGNREGA exclusions, adolescent pivot points. All real. All connected. But we hadn't narrated the connection. We'd created a scatter plot when we needed a funnel.
Later that day, someone asked: "Have you felt a wave of change at ISDM?"
I found myself answering honestly:
"Yes. From day one. Every class, field visit, and interaction has changed how I see leadership and impact. Learning goes beyond classrooms, it happens in real communities with real people. ISDM is helping me grow as someone who can lead change with care and purpose."
Not because it was a perfect answer. But because it was true.
The Threshold Becomes a Door
Vikasa Taranga 🐆
Saturday: We departed for Pali, Rajasthan. Some sent others off. The energy was bittersweet, excitement and nervousness and hope.
pit stop at Ajmer
Sunday: We arrived in Bali block, Pali District. Heat. Dust. Curious faces. The Pandey River. The Aravalli hills in the distance. The field wasn't abstract anymore.
landed pali
Day 1: What the Children Taught Us
Morning: 22 Years in 3 Hours
Arun Ji, Project Director of Doosra Dashak (a program targeting girls aged 11-20), gave us institutional memory distilled.
Doosra Dashak Pali office
The program wasn't born from policy. It was born from a problem: girls dropping out after primary school. Getting married at 15. Losing their futures. Arun Ji's insight crystallized it:
"Adolescent girls don't know what to do in moments of personal and bodily changes. Education is not just about books. It's about giving them confidence, agency, and choices."
Adolescence isn't just a phase. It's the pivot point where inequality gets locked in, or where it can still be interrupted.
Afternoon: In the Learning Centre
We met the children. They surrounded us immediately, no shyness, no hesitation. That told us everything: this is a safe space.
Priya dropped out to work as domestic help. Through Doosra Dashak, she returned. Now she's thinking about a future beyond marriage at 15.
Rohit lost interest in school. "Here they taught me why education matters. Now I want to teach kids like me."
Kavya said: "This place gives us hope."
Their dreams aren't large by our standards. Finish school. Get a stable job. Help family. But they're dreaming when their circumstances would have silenced them. That's the difference between a program that works and one that doesn't.
Evening Debrief
We asked ourselves three questions:
What surprised us? "The children weren't grateful victims. They were hopeful, ambitious, creative."
What did we learn about policy vs. practice? "Policy can mandate. But real change requires people to care. Arun Ji cares. That's why it works."
What are we carrying forward? "Humility. These communities aren't problems to solve. They're people with wisdom, resilience, and hope."
What This Week Taught Me
This was a masterclass in transition:
From theory (CBCL simulations) to practice (Day 1 in Pali)
From individual learning to collective wisdom
From preparation to immersion
From knowing about development to experiencing it
The Cohort 9 Summit showed me that PLCs are laboratories for democracy. Every fight, every cold war turned into conversation, every resolution negotiated, it's all preparation for the messy, beautiful work of development. You don't learn collaboration in a vacuum. You learn it by clashing with people you care about and choosing to show up anyway.
Day 1 in Bali reminded me that data doesn't capture everything. You can know literacy rates, dropout percentages, fluoride contamination levels. But until you sit with Priya and hear why she returned to school, you don't understand what education actually means. Numbers tell you the what. Stories tell you the why. Development work needs both, but I think we've been training ourselves to trust only numbers.
What's Next: 11 Days of Questions
We're testing seven hypotheses over the next 11 days:
Water stress drives livelihood failure
Livelihood shifts toward informal sector
Gender shapes livelihood and migration patterns
MGNREGA reaches some, excludes others
Women's leadership changes outcomes
Communities drive change, not government
Adolescence is the pivot point for inequality
But honestly? I think Pali will give us questions, not answers. And that's exactly what we need.
The threshold wasn't just ISDM's gate. It was the gate between knowing and understanding. We've stepped through.
Until next week,
Nami
"You stand at a threshold. There is something we do not talk about enough."
hakuna matata
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