Edward de Bono and thinking skills
Six thinking hats®
Creativity
Benefits
Intuition
Information
Caution
Process Control
“Perhaps the most important benefit from teaching thinking is the increase in self esteem and self confidence of those taught. A youngster taught thinking feels in control of his or her life – instead of feeling like a cork carried along by the stream of life and controlled by the currents”Dr Edward de Bono
Essential tools for thinking
Dr Edward de Bono, the pioneer in the field of creative thinking, noted that the main difficulty with thinking is confusion. We try to do too much at once. Emotions, information, logic, hope and creativity all crowd in on us. It’s like juggling with too many balls! This led Dr de Bono to develop a number of thinking methods which are used around the world in education and in business with outstanding and measurable results.
The Six Thinking Hats® method is based on Dr de Bono’s extensive experience of the teaching of thinking across different ages and abilities, ranging from 5 year olds to senior corporate executives.
Can you define ‘Thinking’?
A skill, which can be developed
A brain based approach to information management and thinking skill development
Most practical when it occurs in the perception stage (in contrast to the logical stage)
These methods can be used to teach thinking across age, ability and subject boundaries- These methods can be used individually and within groups
- These methods can help us to deliver and live our values
Essentially, the Six Thinking Hats® is a simple concept that allows the thinker to do one thing at a time: he or she becomes able to separate emotion from logic, creativity from information, and so on.
The Six Thinking Hats® method can be used by individuals to help generate new insights and perspectives; it can also be used by groups to explore issues and possibilities in a constructive and collaborative way. It is simple, powerful and productive and the methods can be easily learned, practiced and applied.