links to the new zealand curriculum
De Bono’s Thinking Hats support learning across all areas of the New Zealand Curriculum. The Thinking Hats are used to strengthen critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity skills within the classroom.
Learning Areas
Here are some examples of how De Bono’s Thinking Hats can be used and support learning across the Curriculum.
Learning Areas
Here are some examples of how De Bono’s Thinking Hats can be used and support learning across the Curriculum.
De Bono’s Thinking Hats can be used to help children think critically about their reading, particularly texts that involve problems or conflict.
The teacher can begin by discussing the text with the children and making predictions about what they think the text will be about. As the teacher reads, they should pause in certain parts and encourage discussion where the children can critically analyse the text using the 6 Thinking Hats.
White Hat
What do we know about the characters?
What do we know about the setting?
What am I not sure about?
Tell me what has happened so far
Yellow Hat
What is the big problem?
What are the benefits?
What are the negatives / positives?
Red Hat
How do you feel about…?
Have your feelings changed? Why?
Blue Hat
What is the main idea?
What are they key words?
Summarising the text and main ideas
Green Hat
What are the possibilities?
What do you think the solution will be?
Black Hat
Children make judgments using facts and opinions about the text.
The teacher can begin by discussing the text with the children and making predictions about what they think the text will be about. As the teacher reads, they should pause in certain parts and encourage discussion where the children can critically analyse the text using the 6 Thinking Hats.
White Hat
What do we know about the characters?
What do we know about the setting?
What am I not sure about?
Tell me what has happened so far
Yellow Hat
What is the big problem?
What are the benefits?
What are the negatives / positives?
Red Hat
How do you feel about…?
Have your feelings changed? Why?
Blue Hat
What is the main idea?
What are they key words?
Summarising the text and main ideas
Green Hat
What are the possibilities?
What do you think the solution will be?
Black Hat
Children make judgments using facts and opinions about the text.
De Bono’s Thinking Hats should be used to help the children solve problems in mathematics. The Thinking Hats can be used to work out the best method to solve problems. For example, the 6 hats could be used for choosing between whether to use a calculator, pencil and paper method or a mental computation strategy to solve a problem. A class brainstorm may uncover several reasons to choose particular methods that individual students may not have arrived at on their own.
Figure 1 illustrates all Six Thinking Hats by colour and type of thinking identified as relevant to the mathematics curriculum in no particular order.
Figure 1 illustrates all Six Thinking Hats by colour and type of thinking identified as relevant to the mathematics curriculum in no particular order.
Technology and Science
"Technology is intervention by design: the use of practical and intellectual resources to develop products and systems (technological outcomes) that expand human possibilities by addressing needs and realising opportunities." (Ministry of Education, 2007).
De Bono’s Thinking Hats are fabulous to support children during inquiry units. Each of the hats can help break down the thinking process to ensure that the children succeed in their inquiry learning and science investigations. During the inquiry / investigation, each child should experience all six levels of thinking. The six hats take the ego out of thinking and allow more objective and comprehensive consideration of the issue.
"Technology is intervention by design: the use of practical and intellectual resources to develop products and systems (technological outcomes) that expand human possibilities by addressing needs and realising opportunities." (Ministry of Education, 2007).
De Bono’s Thinking Hats are fabulous to support children during inquiry units. Each of the hats can help break down the thinking process to ensure that the children succeed in their inquiry learning and science investigations. During the inquiry / investigation, each child should experience all six levels of thinking. The six hats take the ego out of thinking and allow more objective and comprehensive consideration of the issue.
Dance, Drama, Music and Visual Arts are the four components of The Arts Learning Area. Using de Bono's Six Thinking Hats in each of these learning areas is an effective way to expand students learning and the way they think about learning.
Here is a song to help remind the children about each of the 6 Thinking Hats
De Bono’s Thinking Hats can be used to develop children’s understanding of the factors that influence the health of individuals, groups and society (Ministry of Education, 2007). It is important that we educate children, so they know why feeling good about themselves is important and how it can help them lead a healthy lifestyle.
Using the 6 Thinking Hats will show children that unlike other subjects, there is no right answers in health and physical education, instead it is about sharing your own ideas, values and beliefs and taking on a socio-ecological perspective, enabling the children to respond to an ever-changing world.
This creates a supportive environment, free of judgement, which helps build children’s confidence and encourages them to participate.
Graphic Organiser 2: An example of the different pathways of each Thinking Hat