Reading Dervin’s work feels a little bit ironic. As you consider a text on sensemaking, one would hope that it was possible to make good sense of the reading about such a topic. However, when I read the text from Dervin, I found myself thinking more about how I was going to make sense of the content than I expected to. The main comprehension strategies I used to study the passage were note-taking and re-reading. As I tackled this complicated text about an abstract topic, I made sure that I was reading for understanding. When I had finished reading a section or sentence that I didn’t understand, I went back and looked at it again, trying to pull out key words or details that could help me make sense of what the author was trying to describe. From my own reading notes, I was able to conclude that sensemaking is about information and interaction. It’s the order of a system and how the user of said system bends to meet it. Sensemaking is related to personal experiences and the way people use information. Using the graphics and video of how other people interpret the reading about sensemaking helped me to understand it more thoroughly. After interacting with these inputs, I have concluded that sensemaking involves information meeting people’s minds where they are at. It’s a lot like bridging a gap and using differentiation strategies to meet people on the same level of thinking and understanding regarding a specific topic. Each person when they read Dervin’s text- or try to make sense of anything else that they see, read or experience brings with them their own lens, their own unique perspective, biases, misconceptions, life experiences, patterns of thinking and so much more when attempting to make sense of the task at hand. Thinking about my students in my classroom this concept feels overwhelming and frustrating- to try to meet every child where they are when I am presenting information. I must remember that all of my students are coming from different places of learning and understanding than myself and each other. This explains why I can teach a math concept 5 different ways, and the “Oh, I get it.” moment comes at a different time and place for nearly all of my students. They already have their own ideas about math, how numbers work, how their own brains work, whether or not they believe they are good at math, and so much more that affects the way they make sense of new information. If I had to teach sensemaking using Dervin’s writing to a group of high school students, I would probably approach it with a close reading jigsaw. I would split this text up into small sections and have students highlight only very important keywords, phrases and ideas. I would have students represent the information they obtained from the reading visually with words and pictures, connections, questions, and vocabulary; and then share out their work with their peers. Students would be encouraged to take their time and ask a lot of questions about the text. The class would have a discussion after this reading of the text and jigsaw activity. It wouldn’t be a closing discussion, rather a conversation starter about what sensemaking is and how it applies to student’s lives. I selected this graphic to represent sensemaking, because I feel that when I personally try to make sense of something, I need to communicate ideas with another person on the same topic. Whether that is being done in a face to face conversation, over the phone, via email or text, video, blog, article, etc. I find that when I have other people’s ideas to work with and someone to bounce my own ideas off of, making sense of something complex becomes so much simpler.
3 Comments
Rian
2/4/2018 11:05:55 am
Your graphic is a great representation of what, I believe, the concept of sense-making really is. I appreciated your math scenario, as many students already have pre-conceived notion as to what math is and is not. I think the purpose of this article may have been to force us to look at our teaching?
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Lisa
2/4/2018 04:29:39 pm
It's great to struggle with a text a bit. I like the strategies you used to really work with it, note taking and writing down key words. The text is dense and it takes several readings. The challenge before you is to take the empathy you feel for your students and translate that into actionable events in the classroom. The great things is that you can reconnect with those feelings whenever you reread your blog posts!
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Maria Dowling
2/5/2018 09:10:33 pm
I think we all struggled with this text. It definitely was complex and very dense. I really connected with this statement you made: " I must remember that all of my students are coming from different places of learning and understanding than myself and each other."
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AuthorKayla Bryant is an elementary school teacher in Napa, CA. This year she teaches a 2/3 combo class. She keeps a journal with funny quotes from her students, and enjoys learning and laughing alongside them. Some of her main educational interests are related to goal setting, growth mindset, and creativity. Archives
July 2018
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