DE BONO’S SIX THINKING HATS

De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats is a simple but powerful method to teach students to think about problems from different perspectives, and to work collaboratively. In this process, thought is divided into six separate areas in order to develop greater clarity over each aspect. Encouraging students to try out roles makes it easier for them to understand the approaches to thinking through problems.

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This approach can be used to discuss:

In this PowerPoint Marge D uses six thinking hats as a reflection tool for students to evaluate their progress in learning.

Teachers who need more information on Six Thinking Hats can watch the video in the Skype English Blog.

Here is another resource on 6 thinking hats by Dr. Kaya Prpic from the University of Melbourne.

This PowerPoint presentation by Microsoft Partners in Learning may also be helpful.

You can find many free resources on Six Thinking Hats and any subject you want to teach at TES (Time English Supplement), one of the  world’s largest online network of teachers. It’s a free subscription site and a great place for teachers who are looking for innovative ideas and resources.

Primary Resources is another website where you can find free resources prepared by teachers on every subject. Click on Learning Styles Resources for posters on Bloom question stems and six thinking hats

If there are other resources that you would like to share on Six Thinking Hats or how you are applying this technique in your classes, please let me know.

SOURCE: Rock.Paper.Scissors Blog

THE 3 C’S OF THINKING: HELPING STUDENTS DEVELOP CRITICAL, CREATIVE & COMPASSIONATE THINKING SKILLS

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Last year I attended ECIS November Conference in Nice with a group of colleagues from my school. On the first day of the conference, I attended a full day workshop by Dr. Lesley Fern Snowball on Critical Thinking Skills in an Inquiry-based Classroom.  We started the workshop by discussing why we should include thinking skills in our curriculum. The ability to think critically, creatively and compassionately is of fundamental importance as:

  • A tool for an inquiry-based  curriculum 
  • An essential life skill
  • A fundamental element of global citizenship.

 

Lesley pointed out that the 3 C s have become 4 in the 21st century:

1-      CRITICAL THINKING: Thinking deeply, analyzing.

KEY QUESTION: What does this really mean?

 

2-      CREATIVE THINKING: Thinking broadly.

KEY QUESTION: What are the alternatives?

 

3-      COMPASSIONATE THINKING: Thinking considerably.

KEY QUESTION: How will this affect others?

 

4-      COLLABORATIVE THINKING: Thinking collectively.

KEY QUESTION: How do my ideas interact with those of others?

 

You can download this poster in its original size by visiting Mentoring Minds website.

During the workshop, Lesley emphasized teaching thinking skills explicitly to make learners aware of themselves as ‘thinkers’ and how they process/create knowledge by learning to learn (metacognition).  She also focused on the significance of using graphic organizers as the human brain naturally looks for connections between old and new information and processes information most efficiently in chunks. She recommended using De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats and Bloom’s Taxonomy across all grade levels to improve high level thinking skills.

In the afternoon session, we first did a jigsaw reading activity on Cinderella. Then she teamed us in groups of six and asked us to discuss whether Cinderella should leave or stay when the clock struck twelve. Each team member put on one of De Bono’s thinking hats to analyze the situation from a different perspective. You can try this activity with your primary students to help them learn how to use De Bono’s thinking hats.

Here you can see some of the handouts from the workshop Lesley kindly shared with us. Enjoy:)