Communication

8. Improving communication with your own child

8.2. Six Thinking Hats activity

ACTIVITY		30-45 minutes
	Should I do the activity alone?	It can be done individually, but best be done in groups or in your family
	After completing the activity…	I should be able to: be aware of the different elements of critical thinking become aware of different approaches to thinking and decision making further develop my critical thinking skills and different layers of communication/decision making raise the level of consciousness when communicating with my own children
	Before I start, what will I need to do this activity?	Nothing special.
What do I have to do? 1. Read the following background information about the Six Thinking Hats Six Thinking Hats – TM’d methodology by Dr. Edward de Bono Dr. de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats® is a tool that can empower teachers/trainers to motivate students to use critical thinking and problem-solving skills, while expressing inner creativity. Assigning each thinking style a colour serves as a visual cue to help participants recognise the thinking skill they are using. The participants wearing the hats of a certain colour will be invited to do the following: White Hat. Discuss the facts and other objective information about the problem. Red Hat. Share feelings and emotions about the issue. Black Hat. Present negative aspects, or worst case scenarios, regarding the situation. Yellow Hat. Consider positives, or advantages, of the situation. Green Hat. Consider creative ideas that come from looking at the problem in a new way. Blue Hat. Sum up all that is learned. 2. Think of a communication issue – it can be a communication difficulty between you and your child, you and a professional, or your child as a professional. Write a short description of the issue for yourself. 3. Brainstorm solutions using the Six Thinking Hats as follows: 4. Use the following storyboard to describe a solution:
	What to do next?	Did this activity help you to understand diverse perspectives of issues? Will you be able to use this tool to address situations when critical thinking is necessary? …?