Next week's question

We had a brief discussion with our class about the question for next week's 6 hat debate. We agreed on "Should all education in the UK be state run?"
Nico asked if he could also bring into the discussion topics on class divides in all areas of society.
Ibrahim, Karla and I agreed that that would come under Black hat thinking, but will still be very useful in the debate.

What works?

Today Nathan, Aisling and Ibrahim did their 2nd training of BTEC 1st drama students using the debating question: "Should EMA be cut?".

In many many respects it was a much more successful session.

(1) Sam Punnett, the tutor for this group who recorded the session on flip camera, remarked at the end that "Surprisingly, ome people who never speak up did for the first time."  Ibrahim thought this happened because the 6 hat sets up a situation that is informal and calm. Everyone has an equal chance to speak and that prompted everyone to speak. Plus there is the buiilt in expecation that everyone should contribute something.
 
(2)The horn prop is really agood tool in these sessions. Aisling & Nathan said "It shows we are not really teachers - makes it less formal and awkward. Breaks the barrier between us."
 

 (3) At the end of the session - when the Blue Hat was out to review what had taken place - two students said that they missed using the old for and against debating style of argument.  They said they missed the energy and passion of a debating style. Aisling agreed but also pointed out that they'd discovered that people could have an intense and long argument which feels good but which doesn't actually include any facts at all! That runs on pure emotion and opinions. Ibrahim thought that maybe these two students missed the old style debating format because they had not gotten use to 6 hats yet. He thought by the time they had practised it a couple of times they'd see the benefit. Nathan said it was because it wasn't a real discussion yet, mainly because we made them write everything down - one person for each hat, using markers on a large flip chart paper. This was, in a bit of a mistake, because it slowed everything down and made '..us seem like teachers . saying write it down etc'. This was a big discovery: that writing down got in the way. Nathan pointed out that the group were thinking in 6 hats but THEY were NOT DISCUSSING in six hats mode. Good point Nathan
So rather than make students write it down -which is  bit teacherly and laborious and slow, Karla will have to do it instead. This will free everyone up and make it more energetic, hopefully.

(4) One idea to keep the energy in the room: was to have a quick debate with class before so they get a bit involved using FOR and AGAINST style argument to start with. Then bring in 6 hats technique to contrast with that way of thinking and talking and discussing. 

(5) TOPIC NEEDS TO BE SOMETHING THEY CARE ABOUT - Aisling brought this up. The EMA issue was definitely close to their hearts. All debates using parallel or 6 hats thinking needs to be on specifically emotive issues.

(6) Aisling proposed a better order for the hats based on today's experience. White hat, green hat, yellow hat were really productive..and so she thought that.maybe we should structure for that. Aisling suggests RED, WHITE, GREEN first ...and then do black and then end with yellow - before doing round up with BLUE. After the session, debate ensued between the 3 of them about what might be the best order of the hats. Aisling reckons green hat should be before black hat because, today for instance, the learners had so many ideas about alternatives. Nathan says maybe we can do green twice. His point was that the green hat should be responding to info on all the different hats to give a different choice and you can't do that if you haven't had all the hats out - specifically the problems. Ibrahim & Aisling disagreed - they pointed out that Edward De Bono always says the hats can be in ANY order that is appropriate to the group or the question. Aisling said that it might avoid having to keep halting everything and keep saying 'no no we are not on that hat yet, we can talk about that later'. Its about being intuitive - trying to figure out what the group needs to speak about.
Eventually, everyone thought Aisling's idea of having green hat thinking come up twice could work and they should experiment in the next session with BTEC Media - either two green hats or at least put green hat before black hat. Teasing out alternatives seems like a good idea.

** Next week's question is  "VIDEOGAMES ARE HAVING NEGATIVE EFFECT ON YOUNG PEOPLE" - how will green hat thinking work with that???

What did you learn from last week?

Nathan, Ibrahim & Aisling: in preparation for your 2nd training session with Btec 1st (drama):

you learnt a lot last week!

The main point was that you should use your theatre skills to engage the audience.

The 2nd training session takes place today between 12-1pm today.  You are still using the same question: Should EMA be cut?

To prepare for this:

(1) REHEARSAL: Watch the video we made of you rehearsing a more theatrical version of the training to remind yourself of the style and energy and language needed for these sessions.

(2) SCRIPT: Write down exactly what you are going to say about each of your hats (two per person) so that you don't woffle, or get stuck. The description of each hat should be scripted - you should use same language and keep refining and honing it to end up with best version. Don't improvise the descriptions. Script them!!

(3) PROPS:  Make sure you have list of all the props you are going to use and know HOW you are using them. Most importantly - how are those hats going to be used in the session. Give Btec 1st opportunity to look at the posters before you start. You'll have flip chart paper and pens - assign 6 people to make list of all points.

(4) This time - make sure every student makes a comment -  however small or repetitive - on each hat. Keep it to one comment per person to begin with then let anyone who has a second idea add theirs at the end. If some one gives a black hat comment during a green hat moment - dont ignore it - make sure its written onto the black hat sheet, but DO identify it as Problem or Critical Thinking (black hat) NOT alternative ideas (green hat).

Please post your feedback on this session during the week.

White Hat- Facts

 

• Facts OR Beliefs
• Facts can be Checked or Unchecked
• Aims to be neutral, logical and objective
• Just most relevant information

Red Hat - Emotions

• Feelings, intuitions, gut reactions
  No need to justify or explain your emotions
  Intuition coud be based on previous experience
  Placed at right moment, it allows people to express their feelings
  
  
  
  

Black Hat - Problems

• Problems - negative
• Critical thinking - why it won't work
• Challenges facts and figures
• Reasons for judgement is given
• Not problem solving - just highlighting what are the problems

Green Hat - Alternatives

• Alternatives & change
  What if we...
  Movement versus judgement
   New ways of looking
  Escape from old ideas
  Create new ideas
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Yellow Hat - Benefits

• Benefits!
• Positive and optimisitc
• More logical than emotions - not just looking on bright side!
• Constructive speculation
• What works

Blue Hat - Overview

 

• Overview
• Focus
• Organises the sequence of hats
• Control
• Summarise discoveries at the end

The Blue Hat is all about getting the big picture or overview.  Blue hat keeps the group focused and helps guide change. Blue hat helps decide the order of the hats - for example if the debate is about an emotional issue it might be best to get Red Hat (emotions) out first and then go back to Red Hat at the end to see if emotions have been altered by the process of thinking around the subject.

We train Karla in 6 Hats Thinking

We choose to debate this question: " Is Drama school/Univercity training necessary".
Present: Nathan, Aisling, Ibrahim and Karla.
1)Introduction: By all three
To begin we talked about Edward De Bono's six thinking hats as opposed to the western way of thinking.
Examples used:
The Elephant Analogy (Indian tale, with the six blind men using two diagrams by Nathan)
Could use the house Analogy ( this would be brought up by Ibrahim Shote)
2)Explain what the hats represent (Aisling)
a)what are the hats for? (er..why not socks???)
Reffers to the thinking hats and it's a visual way to remember. Each hat for diffrent occasion and each hat for diffrent thinkings. Looking in the same direction at the same time, essential that everyone is wearing the same hat at the same moment. Put on and take off a hat easy and deliberatley, assosiation with thinking 'put on your thinking hat'. Hats are METAPHORICAL.
b)what would the outcome be?
c)Importance of useing it.
d) Start with red hat, easy to explain. Emotion, colour, passion. White hat, 'think of a computer print out', facts and information. What we know, dont know, and need to find out. Yellow hat, looking at positive aspects, what will work. Black, critical, problems, 'direct opposite of yellow hat', areas we should be cautious of, why it wont work. Black hat thinking is the classic western way of thinking.

Test case: Ibrahim has got out the blue hat and layed out the question, then under the blue hate we will decide what order the rest of the hats will go in to produce the most productive thinking structure. Order; Blue hat, white hate, red hat, yellow hat, black hat, green hat.

Parallel Thinking - Elephant Analogy

Aisling, Nathan & Ibrahim - could the Elephant analogy be used as way of explaining/defining parallel thinking quickly and simply? Is it better than the house analogy?  Do you need to tell the story or does this image do the trick? Is there a better analogy to explain Parallel Thinking?


"There is a tale from India about six blind men who wish to discover what an elephant is. Since none of then could see the animal, each one was given a different part to touch. The first man holds onto a leg and says an elephant is like a tree trunk. The second touches its tail and thinks an elephant is like a rope. The third holds its trunk and so says a snake; the fourth says a fan because he is touching an ear, the fifth feels the animal’s side and says a wall and the sixth likens the elephant’s tusk to a spear. The moral of the story is clear: each one of the men only hold a small part of the truth about an elephant and therefore in order to get a larger and more accurate perspective they needed to share that knowledge and listen to one another.  That's what parallel thinking (or 6 hats thinking) is designed to do...."

Definition of Each Hat

Parallel Thinking -the house analogy

Imagine a house

(1)  Walk around and look at it from the front. The sun is shining and since the house faces south the whole front of the house is lit up in the sunshine. You see the red geraniums  istin clay pots outside the front door. The front itself is painted a glorious mediteranean blue and has a multi-panelled glass insert, highlighted with tiny etched stars. There's a brass door knocker in shape of a hand, a brass letterbox.and the numbers '82' are picked out in Roman brass letters. Outside the front door is a hard-wearing seagrass welcome mat to rub mud off before entering the house. There's a window to the left, hung with attractive and expensive looking curtains. To the right is a large picture window that juts out over the small, but well kept front garden. The curtains are drawn, but on the windowsill are more pots and tubs containing crocuses, and newly opened daffodils. There is no garden gate, just a series of steps leading up to the door. The whole appearance is of a well kept and welcoming home.

(2) The back of the house faces front, there is less light here, and the height of the fences on either side cast the small narrow garden into shade.  You enter from a litter strewn back lane, through a broken and peeling wooden gate, to a concrete back garden that is long and slim. Some tubs of flowers haphazardly placed by the back door. The paths have been swept and there is a disability rail running up the 3 stpes that lead to the backdoor. A metal garden table with 2 metal chairs sits in a small patch of sunlight. On the table is a huge ashtray filled with cigarette butts and a stack of old newspapers. The backdoor is also painted mediteranean blue, but is in need of a second coat. There are, surprisingly, two bells on the door, each with different numbers and names.  The nearside window has a lace curtain, the far side window has a crack. A radio can be heard in the background., tuned to radio 4. A linen horse sits outside the  backdoor, over which an assortment of laundry is drying - what looks like undergarments for a large, elderly woman.

(3) From the right side of the house the property ends with a tall wodden fence atop which sits some cruel looking barbed wire. Graffitti has been erased from the fence. There's a side gate with a padlock. Above the fence the upper bend has girly-pink curtains, and the sound of teenage laughter drifts down from it. On this windowsill sits a glossy white cat, cleaning her ears.

(4) From the left side of the house a long narrow alley way, barely wide enough to fit a human form. This runs the length of the house. Along the wall is an immaculate row of 19th century hooks from which is suspended an astonishing assortment of household items- ladders, bikes, wheelbarrows, skateboards, broken microwave, glass, wood, rope, sacks, bricks, piles of rubble, fragments of a wendy house, storage bags, stacks of gardening pots & equipment, a rotary linen line, and assorted rusting and new tools.  A makeshift shelter made of plastic is suspended above this alleyway to keep the items dry.

(5) A birds-eye view from above shows a newly repaired roof, devoid of weeds, swept clean and well cared for. despite this, a blackbird has made an early spring next at the farthest edge of the front gutter and is busy building up its fortifications. In the centre, next to 3 Victorian chimney pots, and from  the pot that arises from the back of the house, a little puff of smoke erupts. Towards the front of the roof stands a small forest of anetennae, 2 sky dishes and assorted cable connections.

(6) From the cellar, looking up towards the underside of the house all is dark, dank, noisy and cramped. The cellar use to house coal, and is a narrow torture chamber, reeking of mould, gloom and neglect. Bare brick walls are moist and cold. The roof of the cellar is barely 5' high, and above the ground floor of the house is porous - soft silt drops down through the floor as feet tread, walk, run back and forth, including the clickety clack heels of a woman and the tick tack toe of a dog.

IF you were to take just ONE view of this house - what would be your overall impression?  The house, in this analogy, is a complex multi-dimensional dwelling which can only be understood or 'seen' from multiply (or 6) different perspectives.

Comments?

In the beginning there was Edward de Bono...

The ideas used in this project originate with Edward de Bono: