i may be way off, but here is a shot. the context can be anything in your daily life, from simple (looking up a phone number, or directions to an address on google) to complex (performing a literature review).  To make this assignment more relevant to you, pick an information seeking activity that is related to something you enjoy.  For example, if you are a marathon runner, one information seeking behavior would be finding, reading, and understanding an advance training guide.  You will have five components: situation, bridge, verbings, gap, and outcomes.  The situation is the status quo.  What do you know about the world, how do you see the world as it pertains to advance marathon training programs. The outcomes are the possibilities of your sensemaking status at the end of the process, does the plan make sense? you can have full comprehension and you can be even more confused, both are acceptable outcomes in this model.  The gap is what you recognize of your own limitations of the situation.  I don't know what base miles are, why do i have to do so many? how do they help me perform better?.  The bridge contains your own interpretation of the answers to the questions proposed by the gap, "i get that, but this leads to another question".  Finally the interplay between the gap and the bridge is verbings or sensemaking.  There is an iteration between these two components until an outcome is reached (which can be positive or negative). 

Does this make sense? :)

Okay, now I'm starting to get a better picture of this model.   Roughly, I have a better idea of what her model is trying to analyze.  It's still kind of hazy though.  The assignment asks me to pick an "information behavior" and then apply one of the two models of information behavior introduced in class (Kuhlthau's ISP model or Dervin's Sense-Making model-those were the two.).  Initially, neither of the two really resonated with me.  I kept looking at them and I couldn't get any traction out of them or the "information behavior" I was supposed to be picking.  I'd really appreciate it if you could help me with this as I'm into programming not so much the cognitive theories that arise out of interacting with technology.  What should I pick as pick as my "information behavior" that I could easily apply Dervin's model to.  Perhaps that will help me get some momentum going-once I pick a behavior that truly resonates with me I can expound on it.  Typically, I browse the internet almost every day.  But that's not any different than a lot of people.  Let see, what else do I do that I could consider a habit?  I mean, I log in to my e-mail account-I have several e-mail accounts that I habitually log into w/o giving much thought to it.  Beyond that, more recently, I find myself searching youtube for study music, etc.  I tend to look stough up on Google a lot.   The key is it has to be some kind of information technology-based information seeking behavior.  That's what's making this a hassle.  I tend to peruse Facebook quite a bit knowing I'm wasting my time doing it.  How can I glean an information seeking behavior from what I've mentioned, apply Dervin's model to it, and turn it into a 1000-word essay.  Could you maybe help me with a thesis statement/impact statement using an information seeking behavior form what I've mentioned?  I think can pick it up from there.

Alex, it looks to me that the requirement of the assignment is constrained to just information-seeking behaviours & the structure of the assignment is fairly straightforward. The big difference in the approaches by Kuhlthau & Dervin is that Dervin's has applicability beyond information-seeking.. Information-seeking may be a part of sense-making, it may be subsumed by it, or it may be equivalent to it -- the context will determine this. But to answer your question directly, I do not think there is a "proper context" in relation to applying Dervin's model because it is so focused on the act (or actions) of sense-making itself.

Okay, can you give me an example of an information seeking behavior that would be in alignment with Dervin's model.  In other words, from start to finish, (Situation-Context-Bridge-Gap-Outcomes) can you relate a behavior to the model.  That's what I'm trying to come up with so I can get a better handle on the model.

Firstly, I think the situation is the context - they are one & the same. So, let's say the situation is that Alex is seeking information about how to better understand Dervin's Sense-Making methodology. The "Gap" that confronts Alex is to do with his current understanding of the model but not being clear about "how" to use it in discussing an information-seeking behaviour. The "bridge" manifests in a number of ways ... interactions on research Gate, another search of key literature, etc ... The outcomes are as Alex describes them (or "makes sense" of the situation-gap-bridge-outcomes)

Thanks mate!