Supporting people to make sense of stories, observations from practice and other data can be facilitated by using the collaborative sense making tool. The sense-making tool is comprised of a number of prompts or phrases including:
Risking it, Recurring theme, Almost Unmentionable, It’s Complicated, Surprises, Unfinished business, Diverse views, Hallelujah, Hot topic, Previously hidden.
The tool has the potential to be used in a variety of ways including:
- As a visual tool to prompt storytelling
- As a co-analysis tool, through theming data under the headings
- As a catalyst for idea generation and discussion
- As a reflective tool to stimulate self-reflection or group reflection
The How
- As a visual tool to prompt storytelling
Present the prompts either by laying them out on a table or putting as a wall display. Ask people to consider the experience of caring for a person with a dementia and use the prompts to stimulate different aspects of their experience/story.
One person told a story using the following prompts:
Almost unmentionable – I find it really hard to communicate with a person with advanced dementia – I never know if I am saying the right thing. I remember one time I had said to a patient that her husband was no longer alive – as she kept on talking about him as if he was here. She became really upset and other staff frowned on me. I wish I knew more about how to be with these people.
- As a co-analysis tool, through theming data under the headings
In the discover phase of appreciative inquiry you may have a great deal of data from observations, stories and other feedback. It can be useful to read through the data as a whole and then theme the data under the headings in the collaborative sense making tool.
- As a catalyst for idea generation and discussion
- As a reflective tool to stimulate self-reflection or group reflection
Resources to download
Making Sense of It- Collaborative Sense Making Tool