Know / Wonder

What is Know / Wonder?

Know / Wonder is a practical two-column inquiry activity for separating what a group knows from what it still wonders. In facilitation and business problem-framing, it is closely related to Tim Hurson's KnoWonder tool from the Productive Thinking tradition. In education and learning design, the same structure overlaps with KWL and Know / Wonder / Learn routines.

Participants add short notes under the two values from the Know / Wonder preset:

The activity is useful because it slows down the jump from partial knowledge to decisions. Instead of mixing facts, guesses, and questions in one conversation, the group can see what is settled, what is only assumed, and what needs follow-up.

You may also see related names such as KnoWonder, Knowonder, KnowWonder, Know Wonder chart, Know Wonder Learn, KWL chart, or Know / Want to Know / Learned. These names come from overlapping facilitation and education traditions, so it is better to explain the structure than to claim one single origin. The two-column Know / Wonder version is best for workshops and discovery sessions where the immediate goal is to reveal current understanding and open questions. A three-column KWL or Know / Wonder / Learn chart adds a Learned column for returning after a lesson, research cycle, or experiment.

When to use it

Use Know / Wonder when you want to make uncertainty visible before planning, learning, or decision-making.

It works especially well when:

• a team is starting a new project, lesson, research topic, or customer discovery effort,
• people each hold different pieces of context,
• assumptions are being repeated as if they were facts,
• a group needs to generate research questions before interviews, tests, or data analysis,
• a facilitator wants a calm structure for inquiry and curiosity,
• a class or training group needs to activate prior knowledge before learning something new,
• a remote or hybrid group needs a shared board that everyone can contribute to at the same time.

In training, Know / Wonder can be a fast reality check before you teach. If the Know cards are lighter than expected, or the Wonder cards show no appetite for technical detail, the facilitator can adapt the session before losing the room. In a strategy or change workshop, it can reveal who has read the previous communication, who helped shape the vision, and what questions or concerns still need to be surfaced.

Adapt or choose another activity when:

• the group already has enough evidence and only needs prioritization,
• the topic is emotionally charged and needs a safer reflection format first,
• participants do not yet have enough context to contribute meaningful Know cards,
• the goal is broad ideation rather than shared understanding,
• the facilitator cannot support follow-up after the Wonder questions are created.

How to run it

A typical Know / Wonder activity takes 20 to 35 minutes. Keep the pace simple and spend enough time at the end turning questions into action.

Tools and setup

You can run Know / Wonder with almost any shared surface. The method needs two clear columns, a focus topic, quiet writing time, and a closing step that turns important questions into follow-up.

Low-tech and general-purpose tools

For in-person sessions, use a whiteboard, wall chart, or sticky notes. For remote or hybrid groups, use a shared document, a spreadsheet, slides with two columns, a form that feeds a review board, a generic online whiteboard, or a workshop platform with card sorting.

Set up two columns labeled Know and Wonder. Put the focus topic at the top. Give participants time to add cards, then review each column in order. If the group is large, ask people to write first and discuss later so the board does not become a live debate.

The method is simple, but the facilitation work matters. Many boards fail because Wonder becomes a parking lot, or because the Know column fills with unsupported assumptions. Plan time to label weak evidence, cluster repeated questions, and assign follow-up.

Using Stormz

Stormz includes a Know / Wonder play mode preset that sets up a Kanban board grouped by a fixed Know / Wonder classification. The preset uses two values, Know and Wonder, and lets participants create cards freely.

For a live remote or hybrid session, a facilitator can start from the preset, open the workshop, and invite participants with a workshop link or QR code, depending on event access settings. Participants can add Know and Wonder cards in parallel, while the board keeps the two columns visible for review.

When the board grows, optional Stormz features can help the facilitator make sense of the cards. AI auto-tagging can suggest recurring tags, and the Tag cloud view can help spot repeated themes in a large set of Wonder questions. Use these as facilitation aids, not as replacements for evidence checks.

Keep the facilitator responsible for evidence quality. Stormz can help organize and review the board, but it does not decide whether a Know card is true.

Facilitation tips

Variations

KnoWonder and Productive Thinking

KnoWonder is the Tim Hurson / Productive Thinking name for this style of tool. It is especially useful during early problem framing, when the group needs to clarify what is known, what is unknown, and what information should be gathered before moving forward. Treat it as one important facilitation lineage, alongside education-oriented KWL and Know / Wonder / Learn routines.

Know / Wonder / Learn

Add a Learn or Learned column after a lesson, research cycle, interview round, or experiment. This variation is close to KWL-style classroom practice and works well when you know the group will come back after learning something new.

KWL chart

Use Know, Want to Know, and Learned. In many education contexts, W means Want to Know. Some newer versions use Wonder language instead. If you use KWL terminology, clarify the labels so participants know whether Wonder is a question column or a planning column.

Know / Think / Wonder

Add a middle column for hypotheses or beliefs. This is helpful when the group often confuses confirmed evidence with informed guesses.

See / Think / Wonder

Use this when participants begin from a shared artifact, such as an image, chart, video, prototype, or text. It is an adjacent visible thinking routine, not the same as Know / Wonder. See captures observation, Think captures interpretation, and Wonder captures curiosity.

Training opener

Use Know / Wonder before teaching a topic. The Know column shows what participants already understand, and the Wonder column reveals what they expect, fear, or want clarified. This can help the trainer adapt the level of detail live.

Strategy or change workshop

Use Know / Wonder before working on a new strategy, vision, or transformation. Some people may have helped prepare it, some may have read previous communication, and some may be discovering it for the first time. The activity makes uneven knowledge and important questions visible before the group moves into discussion.

Research planning board

After the first pass, convert Wonder cards into research tasks. Add fields such as owner, evidence source, deadline, confidence, or decision impact.

Decision readiness check

Before a decision meeting, ask what the group knows and what it still wonders. If the Wonder column contains critical unanswered questions, the group may need more evidence before deciding.

Common mistakes

Treating assumptions as facts

The Know column should not become a place where guesses gain authority. Ask for evidence, confidence, or source. If the group cannot support a claim, mark it as an assumption or turn it into a Wonder question.

Letting Wonder become a parking lot

Questions are useful only if they guide learning or action. End the activity by selecting priority questions and assigning next steps.

Writing questions that are too broad

A Wonder such as "pricing" or "user behavior" is hard to act on. Help participants rewrite broad labels as answerable questions.

Discussing too early

If discussion starts before quiet writing, early speakers can shape the whole board. Give everyone a few minutes to contribute first.

Trying to solve everything immediately

Know / Wonder is not a full research project. The session should identify important gaps and decide what to do next.

Skipping the return visit

The activity is stronger when the group comes back after learning. Revisit the board, update assumptions, and record what changed.

Source note

Know / Wonder sits at the intersection of several related practices. In business facilitation, it is closely related to Tim Hurson's KnoWonder tool from the Productive Thinking tradition, described as a way to list what a group knows and what it wonders during early problem framing. In education, similar Know, Wonder, and Learn structures appear in KWL-style routines, with KWL commonly attributed to Donna Ogle's 1986 work. This guide uses the readable Know / Wonder name while treating both lineages carefully and avoiding a single-origin claim.

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