The Conscientization Wheel

Systematizing Activist Knowledge into a Pedagogical Framework for Community Organizations in Puerto Rico​

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The tension

A grassroots organization in Puerto Rico approached me with a concern that is common but rarely addressed well. Long-standing activists within their networks held decades of experience, insight, and hard-earned learning about organizing. However, this knowledge remained dispersed, informal, and difficult to փոխանց to newer generations in a structured way. They wanted a way to capture, interpret, and reuse that knowledge so it could guide future practice.

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MY ROLE

I designed and led a process that combined participatory research, critical analysis, and pedagogical design.

• The work began with data collection through a series of individual and group interviews with experienced organizers. These conversations surfaced not only strategies and practices, but also the implicit ways in which activists learn, adapt, and sustain their work over time. To deepen the analysis, I integrated a body of literature on global social movements and learning, drawing connections between local experiences and broader patterns across contexts.

• From there, I developed a structured analytical framework. Instead of presenting findings as isolated themes, I organized the data into a matrix that distinguished between more and less generative learning practices within organizing contexts. This allowed us to move from description to evaluation, identifying what supports emancipatory forms of learning and what limits them.

• Building on this analysis, I designed a model that enables practitioners to map their own pedagogical practices. Through a structured questionnaire, participants can locate themselves along a continuum, from more limited approaches to more emancipatory ones, making their own assumptions and practices visible.

• To support ongoing use, I translated the framework into a set of practical tools, including a workbook and a series of guides that help individuals and organizations strengthen specific areas of their pedagogical practice. These tools were designed not as static materials, but as instruments for reflection, dialogue, and continuous development.

• My role extended across the full arc of the work. I conducted the research, synthesized and analyzed the data, developed the conceptual model, designed the materials, and facilitated presentations to introduce both the findings and the tools for application.

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The Shift

The result was a shift from dispersed, experience-based knowledge to a shared, structured system that organizations can use to reflect on, assess, and evolve their own practices over time. What had previously lived in memory and informal exchange became something that could be engaged, adapted, and carried forward intentionally.