I Notice, I Wonder, It Reminds Me Of
I Notice, I Wonder, It Reminds Me Of is a three-prompt observation routine from naturalist John Muir Laws, in which people look closely at one object or scene and say aloud what they notice, then what they wonder, then what it reminds them of. Speaking the observations slows people down, keeps observing apart from interpreting and helps details stick in memory. It comes from nature journaling, where the BEETLES Project at the Lawrence Hall of Science also publishes it as a field activity, and it transfers well to artefacts, data and prototypes.
Facilitation script
- 1
Hand out or point to the object. Explain that there are three short rounds and that everything is said aloud to a partner.
3 min - 2
Demonstrate 'I notice' with a few plain observations, then let pairs alternate observations. Call out a few to the whole group afterwards.
5 min - 3
Introduce 'I wonder'. Pairs alternate questions and leave them unanswered. Hear a few in plenary.
5 min - 4
Introduce 'It reminds me of'. Pairs alternate connections and comparisons. Hear a few in plenary.
5 min - 5
Free practice: people choose something else to observe and use the three prompts in any order, with notes or sketches if they like.
10 min - 6
Debrief: ask what people saw that they would have missed at first glance and which questions are worth following up in the work ahead.
5 min
Tips
Model each prompt with two or three sentences of your own before the pairs start, and include a dull, obvious observation so people do not wait for a clever one.
When someone slips an explanation into the noticing round, ask what they saw that led to it.
Keep the rounds short and spoken aloud; the pace of saying one thing after another is what gets people past their first glance.
Common pitfalls
Accepting interpretations as observations in the first round ('it looks unfinished'), which removes the separation the routine is meant to train
Letting people answer each other's wonderings, so the questions stop coming and the round turns into a discussion
Doing it silently in writing only: without the spoken exchange people produce fewer observations and do not build on their partner's
Treating the third prompt as optional, although the comparisons and analogies are often where a new idea about the object appears
Running it once as a novelty and never using the prompts again in the session, so the habit does not carry over to the real observation work
Variations
For research synthesis or critique, put one artefact on the wall and run the three rounds with the whole group, capturing wonderings on sticky notes as open questions. Online, share one image or screen and run each round in breakout pairs or as a chat waterfall. Outdoors, follow the original and let participants pick their own object. Note that Notice and Wonder is also the name of a separate routine in mathematics teaching, and See, Think, Wonder is a related but different thinking routine.
Where it fits
When to use it
A group is about to do interviews, site visits or user tests and tends to record conclusions instead of what happened
A team reviews a prototype or draft and usually goes straight to liking or disliking it
You are presenting a chart or dashboard and want people to read it properly before debating what it means
A session takes place outdoors or on site and you want participants to pay attention to the surroundings
You need a short, low-risk opener that gets everyone speaking within the first few minutes
When not to use it
The group needs to reach a judgement or decision about the object. The routine stops before evaluation, so follow it with a Design Critique or use that directly
There is nothing concrete to look at. For abstract topics a conversation format such as ORID Focused Conversation fits better
Participants already know the artefact inside out and time is tight; another observation round adds little
You want to track how views changed over a session. Use I Used to Think... But Now I Think... for that
Related methods
Frequently asked questions
What is I Notice, I Wonder, It Reminds Me Of?▾
It is an observation routine built on three sentence starters, developed by naturalist and educator John Muir Laws for nature journaling. People look closely at something and say aloud what they notice, what they wonder and what it reminds them of. The aim is careful attention and curiosity before any explanation or judgement.
Why are the observations said aloud?▾
Laws explains that hearing yourself describe what you see reinforces the observation and helps it move into memory. Speaking also makes it a shared activity, because partners pick up on each other's observations and add to them. Written notes can follow, but the spoken round comes first.
Can the routine be used outside nature education?▾
Yes. The prompts work on anything concrete: a prototype, a photograph, a data chart, a customer letter, a workplace. Facilitators use it before research, critique or analysis to get a group to look before it interprets.
How long does it take?▾
A first introduction with all three rounds and a short free practice fits into 15 to 40 minutes. Once a group knows the prompts, a single round on a new object takes a few minutes. The sources do not prescribe a duration.
How is it different from See, Think, Wonder?▾
See, Think, Wonder asks for an interpretation in its middle step. This routine leaves interpretation out and adds a prompt for associations and analogies instead. Choose it when you want observation and curiosity without early conclusions.
Plan your next workshop with AI
Workshop Weaver helps you combine methods like I Notice, I Wonder, It Reminds Me Of into a complete, timed agenda in minutes.
Try it freeMethod descriptions on Workshop Weaver are original content written by our team, based on established facilitation practices. This method was inspired by work from John Muir Laws.