Redesigning learning spaces for men of color: restructuring relations within a learning ecology

Background This paper offers a retrospective analysis of three iterations of a Social Design-Based Experiment (SDBE) focused on refining a learning ecology for undergraduate men of color by centering their needs, experiences, identities, and interests through data-driven inquiry cycles.Methods We applied principles of SDBE to guide the re-design of the learning ecology and to analyze the change process retrospectively. The voices of men of color served as a central source of data, informing successive refinements to program structures and practices.Findings Through iterative inquiry cycles, we refined the program’s design by re-mediating two categories of activity structures: (1) those shaping participants’ relationships to institutional structures, and (2) those fostering relationships with themselves and other program participants. These changes aimed to make institutional navigation more relational and responsive while strengthening community-building and identity-centered practices that support belonging and agency.Contribution We offer a model of how the principles of SDBE can guide the re-design of a learning ecology by centering the voices of men of color. By examining a multi-year, holistic initiative, we illustrate how iterative refinements to various activity structures can lead to the design of learning environments that are responsive to the communities that they serve.