Six Thinking Hats

Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats names temporary modes of attention that every participant can use. The group starts with one question or object. For a short period, everyone uses the same hat and looks at the same kind of information. They then change hats together. This parallel structure keeps the whole group on one dimension at a time and moves everyone through each dimension together.

White asks for facts: what do we know, what is missing, and what needs checking? Yellow looks for benefits and value. Black examines cautions, weaknesses, constraints, and risks. Black gives risk checking a defined place in the process. Red records an immediate feeling or intuition as a distinct input. The feeling is a snapshot that may change. It can help a teacher notice the mood in the room. Green develops alternatives and new possibilities, including responses to problems found under black. Blue runs the process: set the focus, choose the order, keep time, summarise, and redirect comments that belong under another hat.

The facilitator acts like an umpire. During white-hat work, park a comment about future benefits for the yellow-hat stage. This discipline gives the discussion a clear structure. A group can practise one hat at a time before running a full sequence. One person can also use the hats to review a decision or a written proposal.

In class, white can gather what students already know, black can surface cautions, and a yellow-black-green sequence can structure feedback: what worked, what could fail, and what should change? Use the method for teaching, presentations, feedback, or decisions when the question and sequence are clear. Participants remain responsible for judging the answer. The method broadens the discussion and reduces argument.