How the De Bono's Thinking Hats benefits our students
Thinking for yourself and finding your own solutions can become a fashion statement (for your brain) with the six De Bono thinking hats. The six thinking hats is a system designed by Edward de Bono, which describes a tool for group discussions and individual thinking involving the following six coloured hats.
Paul Foreman did research regarding the six thinking hats.
The red Feelings hat signifies feelings, hunches, gut feelings and intuition – the place where emotions are placed without explanation or justification. This can be paired with a strategy ‘Making Thinking Visible’ (MTV). The learner has to think about two statements regarding a topic when it is being discussed; I used to think (previous knowledge) and now I think (knowledge learnt). Students are taught not to feel bad about their feelings. Feelings are part of everyday life and everything is done using emotions.
The yellow Benefits hat symbolizes brightness and optimism. You can explore the positives and probe for value and benefit. ‘I think, I feel, I wonder’ is a strategy that can be used to explore the benefits. Being positive is something that has to be learnt by some. The Benefits hat helps students explore their positive side.
The green Creative hat focuses on creativity, possibilities, alternatives and new ideas. It is an opportunity to express new concepts and new perceptions – lateral thinking could be used here. Using the ‘Number Heads Together’ Kagan’s strategy can help a group of students to come up with the most creative solution together. Not everyone is equally creative, but someone else’s creativity might spark something new and adventurous.
The white Facts hat calls for information known or needed. Global Competency Skill – Reflective thinking – can be included. Reflective thinking helps the student to think of past concepts and information, and how it relates to the new discussion. Kagan’s ‘Round Robin’ strategy helps students to discuss their opinions and to come to a conclusion. For the student who loves History, Geography and Science, the Fact hat will become a favourite. The student that has a more humorous side will learn to pay attention to the facts and us it to their advantage.
The blue Process hat is used to manage the thinking process, organize thinking and the planning for action. It ensures that the ‘Six Thinking Hats’ guidelines are observed. The ‘All Write Rally Robin’, a Kagan’s strategy, will work well. All students write their ideas, they compare and devise a plan of action. The unorganized student will learn to order their thoughts and ideas.
The black Caution hat signifies caution and critical thinking, why something may not work. Students may be presented with a scenario. They need to discuss the positives and negatives and give feedback on solutions on how to turn all the negatives into positives. Conflict resolution is a perfect example. The self-conscious student will learn and benefit the most from this skill. Conflict resolution will perhaps not feel like the punishment it used to be!
Being able to think for yourself, to analyse the problem, looking at the facts and solving the problem, empowers students. By using the black Caution hat, students can learn to solve peer pressure and conflict, which can lead to putting an end to bullying.
At Maragon Ruimsig, the educators equip the students by including the De Bono’s Thinking hats as well as the Global Competency skills into their daily teaching. This way, the students can see how to apply these skills to everyday life.
Some benefits of using the De Bono’s thinking hats include the following:
·Students learn to make mature decisions by themselves
·Students’ thinking is more focussed
·It improves the students’ creativity, innovation and collaborative thinking
·The ego is removed from all decisions
·It saves time
The De Bono’s Thinking Hats is not just a skill, it is a life skill.
