Trying to make sense of Brenda Dervin’s Sense Making was no easy task. Fortunately, there was a video on the topic which I chose to watch before reading the article. In my own classroom, before I introduce a new concept, I like to provide my students an image or preferably a video on the topic, as a means of providing context and building interest. While the video did succeed in providing some context and background for the concept of Sense Making, I must admit, it did little to engage me as a learner. When I reflect on my efforts to process the video’s content, I concluded that my biggest issue was the pacing. I had a difficult time processing all that the speaker had to share, granted, they were covering a large concept which is very new to me as an audience.
One thing that I did find effective from the video was the visual aid. Dervin’s concept is illustrated by an “information seeker” on one end of a cliff, which represents their “situation”. Next, there is the “Gap” which prevents the patron from making their way successfully to the other side. The “Gap” represents the learner’s lack of information. Finally, the visual metaphor is completed by “Bridging” the gap for the information seeker, providing them with the necessary information and perspective to successfully make it to the other side. This portion of the video was very helpful to me in digesting the concept. This is most likely due to the fact that I am a visual learner. Having new or complex concepts presented within a familiar context, or personal experiences, can help with the transfer of ideas. That’s when I had my “Ah ha!” moment. The Sense Making video helped bridge my own learning gap by providing me with the means to consider the concept in a different yet familiar way. After watching the video, I felt prepared to begin the actual reading. As this was a lengthy read, I applied many of the reading strategies that I share with my students. For instance, I began by previewing each of the headings in order to map out where this was headed. There were also certain chunks that I needed to reread in order to better understand the information. Possibly the most important strategy I applied in order to process this new concept, was note taking. Whenever I read anything informative, I take notes. Especially when dealing with new terms and meanings. The combination of the introductory video and my various reading strategies, supported my attempts to grasp Brenda Dervin’s educational approach. So, from what I can tell, Dervin’s main idea behind successful learning, is that instructors should first seek to understand how different individuals make sense of information. While the humans are very similar in a biological sense, individuals process information in very different ways, depending on their unique experiences. Dervin includes a few sense-making methodologies to support this process:
If I were to teach this concept to my own students, well, I wouldn’t. Not yet at least. I honestly don’t feel I’ve fully got a firm grasp of the HOW part. Though, if I were to try, I would certainly need to break it into sections, possibly several classes to thoroughly explain it all. I think I would begin with a class discussion on “Perspective” and try to create the foundation that everyone is different and therefore everyone can think differently. I might introduce my one of my favorite theories by philosopher Rene Descartes, in which he questions the reliability of his own perception of reality. I would also implement visual aids such as diagrams and video. As I mentioned, I still have much to learn before I begin teaching on this subject.
4 Comments
I love that you confess that you wouldn't teach this concept to your students because they aren't ready yet! That is great. I think it is important for teachers to be connected to their students and know where they are at academically. Talking about perspective would be essential to students understanding the complext concepts that Dervin discusses.
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Nancy
6/14/2017 09:03:17 pm
Jimmy,
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Dan
6/15/2017 10:52:54 am
The video was so helpful for me too! It was reassuring that the subject matter was difficult for you and some of the other too. You did a great job of breaking it down and making it more understandable.
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Patrick
6/15/2017 06:10:23 pm
I completely agree that I would be hesitant to work on this with students. I feel like students, especially ones without research experience to lean back on, maybe benefit from some type of simulation. They might more easily be able to adopt the actor's perspective and think about the purpose of the systems in place and how they impact individuals.
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