Professional Development Activity
Edward DeBono's Six Thinking HatsInstructions:
Before coming to the next seminar, please review the materials on this blog. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to use"the comments" feature near the end of this post.
Who is Edward DeBono?
- Born in 1933, Dr. Bono has a degree in medicine, psychology, and physiology.
- Dr. Bono is widely regarded as a lead thinker about thinking. In his book, Six Thinking Hats, he presented the power of lateral thinking.
- He acts as a consultant where he helps other people in solving various types of problems.
There is a powerful learning tool called the Six Thinking Hats. Using the Six Thinking Hats, one can look at a decision from various perspectives. Therefore, you do not have to reply on peanuts for brain power anymore. Many successful people think from a rational, positive standpoint. This is part of the reason that they are successful. However, sometimes people fail to look at a problem from an emotional, intuitive, creative or negative viewpoint. This can mean that they underestimate resistance to plans, fail to make creative leaps and do not make essential contingency plans.
Description of the Six Thinking Hats
Each hat represents a role your mind plays in a thinking process. By switching from one hat to another as you think about your topic, you are looking at a topic from various perspectives.
White Hat - Think about the facts, figures, and other objective information
Red Hat - Elicit the feelings and emotions
Black Hat - Think about the worst-case scenario, the risks and problems
Yellow Hat - Think of all the advantages, opportunities, outcomes and benefits
Green Hat - Think of all the innovative and creative ideas
Blue Hat - Think of the next step and plan of action
Now, I am going to look at a problem in my life using the Six Thinking Hats technique, and solve it using all approaches. Put on your thinking hats, my friends!
Scenario: The Burden of Graduate School
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White Hat - Textbooks are expensive! Tuition increases annually! Drexel is a tier one institution, which awards those people with high SAT scores and GPAs. As a result, students borrow a vast amount of loans to pay for college. In addition, other expenses may include transportation, food, credit cards, and more. However, there are thousands and thousands of scholarship opportunities out there! Do not forget about welfare either!
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Red Hat - Indeed, life is not fair! I am a twenty-three year old with an empty wallet. Yes, I am overwhelmed, depressed, stressed, and angry! Before I can move on to the next hat, I must set my feelings aside!
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Black Hat - What is the worst thing that can happen? I may go bankrupt, and owe a lot of money when I graduate from Drexel. I may even be homeless! If I cannot maintain a certain GPA, I may lose my financial aid package. If I have a financial hold, I might drop out of graduate school.
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Yellow Hat - "For every action, there is a reaction." Like Ying and Yang, there are positive outlook about graduate school. I will graduate from Drexel with a good degree. I have the potential to get good jobs because of the co-op experience. Since I am an education major, the loan forgiveness program is available for me. If I find a job within the school district of Philadelphia, the government pays 1/3 of my loans.
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Green Hat - After I take everything into considerations, I can set up vehicles to chart out growth. What does not break me makes me a stronger person. I can write grants and create jobs for people including myself! I can work on the weekends and use the money to pay off debts and college loans.
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Blue Hat - After I summarize what I learned, I have to look for the most logical step and develop a plan of action. NOYCE, for instance, a two year scholarship, is for those who are interested in teaching science and mathematics within the School District of Philadelphia. Every little counts, right?
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Put the Petal to the Metal
- You just learned about a power tool: lateral thinking using the six thinking hats. You do not have to rely on peanuts anymore!
- I have used this model with my first love. Even though we are not together anymore, we are still friends. I looked at it as boot camp (black hat), and now I am trained for my second relationship (yellow hat).
- Now, use testing as an issue, decide which of the hats would be good to start with and work your way through all six hats. Look at sample test and determine the common problem.
