I am the product of an education system that challenged students to "think harder," to "think again," and frequently, to "put our thinking hats on." Although most of us understood the message behind our teachers' directions, no one had a clue about how to power-up our thinking.

The Six Thinking Hats approach can be used to address almost any problem-solving activity you might encounter in the classroom. Assigning each thinking style a color serves as a visual cue to help students recognize the thinking skill they are using. The six different hats students might wear, and the kinds of thinking they represent, are briefly described below:

• White Hat. Discuss the facts and other objective information about the problem.
• Red Hat. Share feelings and emotions about the issue.
• Black Hat. Present negative aspects, or worst case scenarios, regarding the situation.
• Yellow Hat. Consider positives, or advantages, of the situation.
• Green Hat. Consider creative ideas that come from looking at the problem in a new way.
• Blue Hat. Sum up all that is learned.

DEALING WITH DISAPPOINTMENT

Recently, one of my colleagues had an opportunity to put the Six Thinking Hats thinking tool to use. In order to prepare students for an upcoming achievement test, a small group of students had to be pulled from phys ed class once a week to work on writing skills. Those students were upset -- phys ed was their favorite subject, and they didn't want to miss it. The teacher, realizing that she needed "buy-in" from the students, decided it was time to look at the problem from different vantage points. Over the next 40 minutes, she deliberately led her students through a discussion that focused on the different perspectives represented by the Six Thinking Hats. By the end of the period, her students

• were able to separate the facts from their feelings;
• had an opportunity to express their disappointment, frustration, and anger;
• learned how to recognize the positive things that could come from preparing for the writing exam.
• were able to brainstorm ways they could make their tutorial time an enjoyable experience; and
• were able to summarize what they learned from this experience and to envision ways to use that learning in the future.

As a teacher who gets to tag along on my students' thinking journeys, I often discover nuggets of revelation as my students try on different thinking hats. Like a fly on the wall, I get to hear them express their innermost feelings, suggest innovative solutions, and discover profound insights. Just as the kids do, I often find myself changing my mind as they think aloud.

Edward de Bono suggests that we need to be thinking about "what can be," not just about "what is." Using the Six Thinking Hats frees students to move past obvious problems to creative solutions.

• Students Talking While Others Are Talking or Teaching. Use the Six Thinking Hats to confront an age-old problem.
• Turning a Sad Goodbye into a Problem-tunity. Another application of the Six Thinking Hats.

Brenda Dyck teaches at Master's Academy and College in Calgary, Alberta (Canada). In addition to teaching sixth grade math, Brenda works with her staff in the area of technology integration. Her "Electronic Thread" column is a regular feature in the National Middle School Association's Journal, Middle Ground. Brenda is a teacher-editor for Midlink magazine.

Article by Brenda Dyck
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