A Case Study in Sensemaking:
A Thesis submitted to the faculty of graduate studies at the University of Calgary
Note: This document has been reformatted from its original format,
This thesis is an inquiry into the nature of sensemaking. It is an account of the events occurring during one specific pre-conference geological field trip through the Canadian Rocky Mountains associated with an international scientific conference held in eastern Canada. And it is about how those events, as shared experiences, influence the participants in their efforts to develop shared understandings of various natural phenomena. Hence, the purpose of this study is not to examine the knowledge claims made by the participants of the field trip but to investigate the processes occurring during the field trip which contribute to the development of knowledge claims. It is also an account of my journey as researcher and learner, about how I came to make sense of the events that occurred on the field trip, and how I arrived at the subsequent interpretation of those events. The two accounts blend into one through the lived experience of the field trip that forms the basis and stimulus for my investigation into the construction and evolution of knowledge. The account is divided chronologically into three main sections: first, the six day geological field trip described in chapter three; second, the development of an epistemology of participation, which serves as the theoretical foundation for the analysis and interpretation of observations made during the field trip, described in chapter two, and finally, the analysis, interpretation, and discussion of insights gained described in chapters four and five. The account, preceded by chapter one, includes a discussion of what makes this particular case study an instance of sensemaking (chapter four) and an instance of pilgrimage (chapter five) as well as a discussion of what inspired me to pursue an exploration of what counts as knowledge.
Karl Weick1 explains sensemaking as the act of making a situation sensible, as a process or activity rather than a product, as more invention than discovery. He sees it as the creation of that which is to be interpreted. It is that which proceeds interpretation and yet includes interpretation. It involves the progressive clarification of a situation. In other words, sensemaking is what people do to construct the reality of the world in which they live. Karl Weick defines a situation as an instance of sensemaking, as opposed to other explanatory processes (interpreting, comprehending, or understanding), in the following manner: A process that is
The geological field trip which is the focus of this case study exhibits each of these seven characteristics as outlined below in brief and discussed more extensively in chapter four. "Sensemaking begins with a sensemaker."3 Sensemakers initiate the sensemaking process by constructing their identities through interactions with others. Consequently, identity construction is the continual process of defining and redefining appropriate identities within a given situation or community. The geological field trip, consisting of fifteen professional, amateur, and student paleontologists from around the world, provided an opportunity for individuals to establish, adjust, and maintain their professional identities through prolonged face-to-face interactions with each other. Sensemaking as a retrospective practice gives meaning to "lived experience."4 That is to say, meaning is always assigned to an event after the fact. Any time a moment in the flow of experience is interrupted, be it through reflection or other "act of attention,"5 that moment becomes a distinct event to which a meaning can be assigned. Consequently, the six day field trip, as an interruption in the flow of the participants' daily lives, is a distinct event. Hence, it becomes a focus of attention and an occasion to either confirm what is already known or to assign new meanings to what is now a new lived experience. Enaction is a precondition of sensemaking.6 It is through the actions we take that we create our reality (this notion is discussed at length in chapter two). In Weick's words, "people create their environments as those environments create them."7 The geological field trip provided participants with the chance to create meanings based on their first hand experience with the physical environment of the areas visited as well as the social environment of the group. Thus, the field trip entails social sensemaking. Sensemaking is social in that people acting together influence each other's conduct and one's conduct is dependent upon the conduct of others. Accordingly, people shape each other's meanings and sensemaking processes (interpretations and interpretings) through joint actions.8 "Sensemaking is ongoing and neither starts fresh nor stops cleanly."9 The field trip as an instance of sensemaking is a moment extracted from a continuous flow of moments in the lives of the participants. The field trip emerges from actions taken prior to the field trip and extends on through the remainder of the conference and beyond into the daily activities of their lives. In retrospect the field trip becomes an experience from which cues are extracted and meanings created. "Extracted cues are simple, familiar structures that are seeds from which people develop a larger sense of what may be occurring."10 Extracted cues are observations that when linked with general ideas clarify particular ideas which in turn modify the general ideas.11 The field trip brings participants into direct contact with each other and with places previously known only indirectly. These direct contacts serve as new reference points for further sensemaking. Finally, sensemaking is about plausibility rather than accuracy. It is about coherence, reasonableness, and social acceptability and credibility.12 Weick argues that while accuracy is nice it is not required in that all accounts of past events are always edited reconstructions. They are evolving stories that show "patterns that may already exist in the puzzles an actor now faces, or patterns that could be created anew in the interest of more order and sense in the future."13 The function of the field trip is to provide first hand material for the ever evolving geological and paleontological accounts told by the participants. Not only is the geological field trip in and of itself an instance of sensemaking but so is the case study as a research project. As a researcher, I participated in the enactment of a geological field trip throughout which I observed the social interactions of the participants. I noticed things; I extracted cues from an ongoing flow of events. In retrospect, I speculated on the meaning of those cues and wove them together into a plausible account, an account used to establish my identity as a researcher within a community of educational scholars. It was my desire to construct a personal identity which initially brought me to this research.
As an undergraduate in the nineteen-sixties, I was inspired by the ancient command of Thales of Miletus, "Know thyself,"14 to undertake a degree in biology. This study of biology taught me about myself as Homo sapiens, an animal that has evolved through the ages from a simple single-celled life form to the most complex of all life forms in the history of the planet. Consequently, I came to know myself in relation to the rest of the living world both past and present. This knowledge, while not the whole story, replaced the teachings of my Roman Catholic upbringing and served as an adequate guide for more than twenty years. Although this knowledge provided me with a better sense of my identity, something was missing; I felt that there had to be something more than just the biological self. In the late nineteen-eighties, I commenced a Master of Arts degree in applied behavioral sciences with the hope of coming to understand that part of my self unaddressed in my biological training. In my masters program, I learned about various psychotherapies, personality type, family-of-origin dynamics, cognitive development, and social development as well as the cultural dimensions influencing human functioning. So it was that I came to know myself psychologically and sociologically as an individual embedded within a given culture in a given period of history. Having obtained two degrees focusing on the nature of being human, I imagined the quest for knowing myself complete. However, upon reflection I began to realize that instead of one comprehensive model of self I possessed two distinct models of self based on different epistemologies each of which to some extent denied the other. Thus, after six years of university education and fifty years of lived experience, I was left with a fragmented understanding of self rather than the integrated identity I was seeking. Seeing that my quest for knowing myself was not yet over, I enrolled in a doctoral program in educational research. As my doctoral studies progressed, it became obvious that in order to understand myself, I must first develop a theory of knowledge, an epistemology that would allow me to explore the nature of knowledge and reality, both of which are core to self-knowing.15 Thus the goal of my studies became to generate a viable, integrated epistemology in which the biological, psychological, sociological, and cultural models of self are grounded in a single understanding of knowing, knowledge, and reality. The epistemology I seek is one that will allow me to "know thyself," not just in terms of myself, not in an isolated fragmented sense, not in a theoretical sense separate from the lifeworld, but rather in a holistic integrated sense within the lived experience of life. In other words, I seek an epistemology that truly represents a living human being, not simply an epistemic one. It is from the perspective of this integrative epistemology that I give meaning to my research. The importance of my quest for self-knowledge is based on the notion that to a large extent self-knowledge is fundamental to gaining outside-knowledge,16 that is, knowledge about the rest of the world. Or as Ken Wilber says: "All knowledge of other is simply a different degree of self-knowledge, since self and other are of the same fabric, and speak softly to each other at any moment that one listens."17 Thus, as I come to know myself, I come to know the world; as I come to know the world, I will come to know myself. Self and world co-evolve. The identity I construct is not only of self but of the world as well.
Now, with courses and field work complete, I begin to write this thesis. Having spent considerable time studying the works of various scholars in hope of finding the answers to my quest, it is now time to abandon the external path of knowing, the endless gathering of others' ideas, and pursue the internal path of reflecting and writing. It is time to write an account of my journey in coming to an understanding of the sensemaking processes which occurred during the case study. Historically, I have pursued the internal path by retreating to the solitude of the wilderness to reflect and gain insight into the matter at hand. Since coming to Alberta, my favorite place of solitude has been along the barren slopes of the foothills overlooking the Ghost River. There, facing the mountains, I have sat in front of an open fire contemplating life, conversing with trees, mountains, and stars. There, alone by the fire ruminating about what it means to be human, I have engaged in imaginative conversations that take my thinking beyond the horizon to places previously unexplored, conversations that have transformed my thinking. Inspired by such nights before the fire, I have chosen to write the next chapter as a conversation about the evolution of what counts as knowledge, about the nature of knowing, knowledge, and reality. I invite you, the reader, to join me in experiencing this conversation not simply as one occurring on these pages, but as one situated far from civilization, overseen by stars and inspired by the transformative powers of fire.
An Instance of Sensemaking
Know Thyself
Chapter 2: The Evolution of What Counts as Knowledge
May the FORCE be with you!
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