As the commands in the name, this strategy consists of three actions that display cause-effect steps that can be rotated over and over. Learning starts with careful observations that lead to analysis, inquiry, and hypothesis.
How?
See: observation is encouraged with a focus on description. Observations work as a research tool that gathers as much information as possible. This step requires avoiding interpretations and judgements and focusing on objective evidence. Select an artwork and ask, ‘What do you see?’
Think: analysis of artworks leads to hypotheses and interpretations based on the evidence. Encourage discussion by asking: ‘What do you think about that?’
Wonder: interpretation leads to curiosity and further exploration. Wondering is the effect of curiosity and can be due to different reasons such as intrigue, confusion or emotion. Encourage, facilitate and expand the discussion by asking: ‘What does it make you wonder?’
Example
This is a useful strategy for museum visits. It is conducive to taking notes while seeing , thinking and wondering. A handout with the three tabs will suffice as students write their impressions. I used this strategy to work with coins from the numismatic section at the Yale Art Gallery. Observing a coin, especially a small one without much additional information, provoked many questions that promoted further exploration. Topics like material, dates, and images started a deep discussion about the Spanish Empire and the importance of silver during its rule.
I include these extra resources (also available on the library site)
https://pz.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/See%20Think%20Wonder.pdf