Module 5 lecture comments – part 2

2. Watch and listen to the lecture "Berry Picking and Sense Making" then post your thoughts to your blog.

Berry Picking Model

After watching the Wimba chat video, now I’m wondering if the way I prepare sermons (mentioned in part 1 of the lecture comments) is really Berry Picking and not the Environmental Scanning. I still think it sounds more like Environmental Scanning but I can see the similarities between Berry Picking and the “undirected viewing” step of the Environmental Scanning method.

I like models that take examples from nature. I chuckled at the beginning of the lecture because of the simplicity inherent in the model. When I heard the name, “Berry Picking”, I immediately thought of foraging through a forest looking for berries (something I haven’t done) and picking strawberries in a field (something I have done). It turned out that both images were relevant to this model. Admittedly I’m not breaking any new ground by commenting in this way, but I feel like it is important to keep things as simple as possible and if a person (me) who doesn’t know anything about the model (Berry Picking) can jump to accurate conclusions about the model almost immediately, it indicates some genius behind the model.

The six strategies mentioned are very clear and I think can help anyone break through the fog that sometimes envelops us as we are in the early stages of research. I’m somewhat concerned that Berry Picking might result in far too many resources but I think it depends on the individual. Some people are more comfortable with casting a wide net and catching a lot of information and others can become overwhelmed by that much information.

I especially liked the strategy called “citation searching” with the example from Google Scholar. I think this strategy can actually help narrow down potential sources because it helps us find what sources might be most important for our use thereby narrowing down our options.

 

Sense Making Methodology

I hope it is OK if I like this method, too! I trust that we learn these 4 methods because they have proven to work over time so maybe it isn’t surprising that we would find value in all of them.

This method is most like the one I might have created because I can only draw squiggly people. Actually, this method strongly reflects the way I view the world especially as it recognizes that groups of people exist but that each individual is unique and even those groups are made up of those unique individuals. Each person – every one of us – meets with barriers or gaps and we desire to find bridges to understanding. This model recognizes that we will sometimes be able to construct a bridge or a part of a bridge largely through our own efforts but that we might find that the assistance of others is especially helpful. We are also reminded that we can assist others in building bridges to understanding. We need help, but we can also offer help at the same time.

I like to question everything… even some of the most cherished beliefs that people or groups may have. If those beliefs can withstand the questioning, they remain. If not… they are thrown out and replaced by new beliefs based on better information. I really like that this model was birthed out of an observation of reference librarians who believed they were helping people but actually were not helping as much as they thought. I respect that sometimes it takes people from “the outside” of our field/organization/etc to help us know what we look like we are doing.

In another post, I mentioned how I can get trapped by my own tendency to be an introverted thinker. The way through the barriers I face is most often discovered by someone helping me talk through it in the way described by Dr. Roland in the lecture. I’m usually not looking for specific advice, but for good questions that will help me clarify what I’m really trying to learn about. I especially find helpful statements or questions that start with some variation of “I think I’m hearing you say that you…” or “If I’m understanding you correctly, you believe…” because those statements and questions help me know how I am coming across to the other person.