1. Question 5 – De Bono’s 6 think hats in the classroom
We all tend to think in different ways about different things; “some of us are more ‘emotional’ thinkers,
and others more ‘clinical’ or factual’” (Conley, de Beer, Dunbar-Krige, du Plessis, Gravett, Lomofsky,
Merckel, November, Osman, Petersen, Robinson & van der Merwe, 2010:90) which De Bono
(1990:29) says restricts us from thinking about things we feel we have no opinion about. De Bono’s
six thinking hats describe ways in which to help us think beyond the mental restrictions we place on
ourselves, “reinforcing the intention to be a thinker” (De Bono, 1990:18) which he sees as an
operating skill (1990:18), something you can get better at; does not involve being right or wrong, not
does it involve being clever, rather it involves consciously wanting to think about things and by using
his six thinking hats, offers a “tangible way to translate intention into performance” (1990:19). The six
hats offer us a means to role-play in different forms of thinking we would not necessarily partake in,
helps direct our attention to issues and themes we may avoid or not see because of our thinking
restrictions, offers a convenient way of “switching gears” of thinking, and offers rules of the game of
thinking, criteria to help with thinking differently in various situations (1990:29-30); these values make
De Bono’s six thinking hats an effective way of teaching your learners to view an issue from
differently perspectives.
Preparing a lesson using De Bono’s thinking hats would involve me supplying as much information
regarding the topic as possible, to allow them to think about it in a lot of detail. Using a crude version
of the jigsaw method, I divide the class into 5 color-coded groups, each color reflecting a thinking hat
besides the blue hat (I will explain later the role it will play in the lesson), e.g. group 1 = white, group 2
= red, etc. Each group is given a detailed description of what they must look for within the specific
topic, is this example I will use Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ Within each group, one member is
elected to wear the Blue hat, and is tasked with controlling and organizing how the respective group
approaches and sets out accomplishing the task assigned to it. I will create a information pack used
by the group, which indicates the task they must complete and how they must approach it, differing
depending on the groups color and how this links to De Bono’s thinking hats. Included in each pack,
is a briefing for each Blue hat leader, explaining what is required from them within their group. The
White group will be tasked with looking for the facts, looking at the play from an objective point of
view, details such as the setting, who the characters are, etc. The Yellow group must find all the good
elements from the play; discuss the love story that ensues in the play, the relationship between the
main characters, all the positive aspects of the story. The Black group on the other hand looks at the
negative elements of the play, critically thinking about ‘Romeo and Juliet;’ the tension caused by their
forbidden love, the death of the main characters, etc. The Red group is encouraged to freely and

2. openly discuss how the play made them feel, the emotions it created within them, they need not
justice it, they must just allow their emotions guide their responses regarding the play. The Green
group is asked to think a little more creativity about the play, they need to re-think it and suggest
possible alternatives to the story-line, perhaps ways they would do it differently if they were
Shakespeare or one of the characters, how they would portray the love affair in a uniquely individual
way. After each group has had an opportunity to analyze ‘Romeo and Juliet’, a group based debate
will be held, chaired by the me, will allow the members of each group to debate and discuss the play
in regards to how they analyzed it, to agree or disagree, and conceptualize their views with the rest of
the class. An alternative is to split them into mixed groups contain one think hat, allowing them to
debate the play and give feedback to the rest of the class.
Another suggestion would be to introduce the concept of the thinking hats to the class at the
beginning of the year, giving each student a ‘guide’ to the various hats that they need to familiarize
themselves with. When a topic arises and they wish to address it, they can begin by stating which hat
they are figuratively wearing when answering or commenting on the topic. It is made clear that by
wearing the ‘hat’, the learner is given academic and thinking freedom when commenting or
responding, without fearing criticism from the rest of the class. An emphasis is placed on each hat
carrying with it freedom and respect that needs to be maintained from each member of the class. It is
however imperative that the teacher observe, assess and prevent this becoming a free-for-all and
open roasting. The value of the rules of the game (De Bono, 1990:30) need to be instilled early on to
help with the role-play encourage by using the thinking hats.
There are many other ways of incorporating De Bono’s thinking hats into a lesson play, with an
advantage being that it helps encourage learners to rethink and reconsider sensitive issues (Conley
et al., 2010:90). It allows the learners to think and look at topics and themes from a different point of
view, forcing them to not only rethink, but critically reflect on how they think about specific issues,
making them consciously aware of their own thinking. The core values of the thinking hats need to be
maintained and implemented to get the most out of its use in a lesson, as they can also be to its
disadvantage; the need to direct attention, which prevents the lesson derailing or moving into
unexpected and unnecessary directions, to keep it convenient and easy for the learners to use it in
the classroom during lessons, to encourage role-play with clear indication of the rules of the game. It
allows freedom of expression through the safety of role-playing associate with the hats, and if the
element of safety and respect is instilled early on in the classroom by the teacher, the interactions
between the learners can be hugely beneficial to the learning process.

3. Table of references
Conley, L., de Beer, J., Dunbar-Krige, H., du Plessis, E., Gravett, S., Lomofsky, L., Merckel, V.,
November, I., Osman, R., Petersen, N., Robinson, M & van der Merwe, M. (2010). Becoming a
teacher. Cape Town: Pearson Education.
De Bono, E. (1990). Six thinking hats. Penguin books, Ltd.