Theories in Education
De Bono’s Thinking Hats
The White Hat is for information, data, statistics, expert opinion (or stakeholders’ opinions),
facts, etc. Think of a blank sheet of paper, which you are trying to fill with everything you
know about the issue you are dealing with. The White Hat, if used properly, helps to separate
fact from speculation.
The Red Hat is for emotion, gut feeling and hunches. Think of blood or your heart. The
beauty of the Red Hat is that it allows you to say how you feel with- out having to justify it. In
fact, the Red Hat should be used for less time than the others, as it is purely the chance to
say things like ‘great idea’ or ‘I feel uncomfortable about that’ without entering into prolonged
reasons why.
The Yellow Hat and the Black Hat tend to operate in tandem, although you would never
wear more than one hat at any time. Yellow is for logical positives, benefits, advantages,
feasibility (think of sun-shine) and Black is for caution, risk assessment, downsides or
dangers (think of a judge’s robes). Some mistake the Black Hat as the ‘naughty’ hat or
perceive it in a negative way, but in fact it is the most important hat as it allows us to analyse
risks and set up the road map for improvement that can be ad- dressed by the next hat...
The Green Hat creates a micro-culture for creativity. It allows you to explore alternatives,
possibilities and new ideas without being bogged down by evaluation of those ideas (which
comes later). Think of grass, trees and natural energy.
Finally, the Blue Hat is the chairperson’s or the metacognitive hat (think of blue sky
representing overview of the whole process). The Blue Hat wearer facilitates the whole
process, and at some point the whole group would don their Blue Hats in order to reach a
conclusion or to decide on next steps. You would also wear this hat to decide what sequence
of hats you were going to wear to tackle the issue, and for how long each hat should be worn.
(Wells, 2009)
Six Thinking Hats is a good technique for looking at the effects of a decision from a number of
different points of view. It allows necessary emotion and skepticism to be brought into what
would otherwise be purely rational decisions. It opens up the opportunity for creativity within
Decision Making. The technique also helps, for example, persistently pessimistic people to be
positive and creative (Mind Tools Ltd., 2011).
Six Thinking Hats gives the wearer of each hat the ability to look at a problem from different
perspectives. In the stage 4/5 syllabuses this theory may be introduced to students for them
to use as a tool to produce solutions to problems. By putting on a different hat they may be
able to see different possible out- comes to the problem or brief. To create sounder and more
resilient plans teachers could also use the six thinking hat theory.
Mind Tools Ltd. (2011). Six Thinking Hats - Decision-Making Skills Training for
MindTools.com. Retrieved March 6, 2014, from MindTools.com: http://
www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_07.htm
Wells, K. (2009, March). Thinking Hats
On. Retrieved March 06, 2014, from de Bono for Schools:
http://www.debonoforschools.com/pdfs/Thinking-Hats-On,March-09.pdf
Bloom’s Taxonomy
Bloom's Taxonomy was created in 1956 under the leadership of educational psychologist Dr
Benjamin Bloom in order to promote higher forms of thinking in education, such as analysing
and evaluating, rather than just remembering facts.
This compilation divides the three domains into subdivisions, starting from the simplest
behaviour to the most complex. The divisions outlined are not absolutes and there are other
systems or hierarchies that have been devised in the educational and training world.
However, Bloom's taxonomy is easily understood and is probably the most widely applied one
in use today.
The cognitive domain involves knowledge and the development of intellectual skills (Bloom,
1956). This includes the recall or recognition of specific facts, procedural patterns, and
concepts that serve in the development of intellectual abilities and skills. There are six major
categories, which are listed in order below, starting from the simplest behaviour to the most
complex. The categories can be thought of as degrees of difficulties.
Knowledge – the recall of specific information
Comprehension – understanding of what we read
Application – converting abstract content to concrete situations
Analysis – comparison and contrast of the content to personal experiences
Synthesis – organisation of thoughts ideas and information from the content
Evaluation – judgment and evaluation for personal reflection and improvement.
Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences
Howard Gardner of Harvard has identified seven distinct intelligences. Students learn in ways
that are identifiably distinctive. The broad spectrum of students - and perhaps the society as a
whole - would be better served if disciplines could be presented in a numbers of ways and
learning could be assessed through a variety of means.
The learning styles are:
Visual-Spatial – They are very aware of their environments. They like to draw, do jigsaw
puzzles, read maps, and daydream. They can be taught through drawings, verbal and
physical imagery.
Bodily-kinesthetic – They have a keen sense of body awareness. They like movement,
making things, touching. They communicate well through body language and be taught
through physical activity, hands-on learning, acting out, role playing.
Musical - They love music, but they are also sensitive to sounds in their environments. They
may study better with music in the background. They can be taught by turning lessons into
lyrics, speaking rhythmically, tapping out time.
Interpersonal - These students learn through interaction. They have many friends, empathy
for others, street smarts. They can be taught through group activities, seminars, and
dialogues.
Intrapersonal - These learners tend to shy away from others. They're in tune with their inner
feelings; they have wisdom, intuition and motivation, as well as a strong will, confidence and
opinions. They can be taught through independent study and introspection.
Linguistic - These learners have highly developed auditory skills and often think in words.
They like reading, playing word games, making up poetry or stories. They can be taught by
encouraging them to say and see words, read books together.
Logical -Mathematical - Think conceptually, abstractly and are able to see and explore
patterns and relationships. They like to experiment, solve puzzles, and ask cosmic questions.
They can be taught through logic games, investigations, and mysteries. They need to learn
and form concepts before they can deal with details.