1. ‘Six Thinking Hats’ – the ultimate tool for communicative task design? Presenter: Philip Saxon (Corvinus University, Budapest)

2. Edward de Bono’s idea ‘Six Thinking Hats’ is: “a simple, effective parallel thinking process that helps people be more productive, focused, and mindfully involved.” (de Bono Group)

3. So what’s it all about? ‘Six thinking hats’ is designed to facilitate better group discussion and better decision making. The key idea is that thinking aloud must strictly be separated into six distinct roles. Each is identified with a symbolic, coloured "thinking hat.” Switching hats redirects discussion.

4. Our first two hats…

5. And now another two…

6. And finally…

7. How can we use them? ‘Six Thinking Hats’ is a powerful, flexible concept that can be applied to role plays, process writing, project planning and even reflection on one’s own teaching! We will now put these ideas into practice…

8. So let’s get started! Find yourself a team, and pick a unique hat! Next, pick a question: Should 16-17 year-olds get the vote? Should knowledge that contributes to wealth-creation be higher education’s only priority? At work, should employees be allowed to discuss salaries with each other? You will have 15 minutes to discuss your topic.

9. Review Over to you now! How did you find the experience? Might you try this technique out with your learners?