Week #2: Reflection 1 

deBono’s Hats Activity

This week I was re-introduced to the concept of the deBono’s Hats activity. When I was in late primary my teacher had actual hats in all the colours and we had to debate from the point of view of the hat we were wearing.  I really loved it, and looking back I’m really grateful that I had such an awesome teacher that worked so hard on our higher order thinking skills. Did anyone else use deBono’s hats in their primary or secondary schooling? 

For those of you who may be reading this and DON’T know what deBono’s Hats are, watch the YouTube video below for a brief overview.

So, why is deBono’s Hats considered such a pedagogically sound teaching tool? I believe it is because the design of the deBono’s Hats activity covers off on all of the eight principles of good pedagogy introduced in this weeks course work. Take this weeks activity as an example:

1.   The questions prompted and scaffolded the development and use of higher order thinking, hence promoting deep knowledge.

2.   The online and group work aspect of this particular deBono activity facilitated and encouraged conversation and hence collaborative learning.

3.    By not dictating the information sources that informed this activity, the participant was able to source and learn information in a way that they felt comfortable with and they knew suited them.

4.     The topic of “Mobile Phones in Classrooms?” posed a problem (should we let them? Or shouldn’t we let them? Why?), and related to our potential experience in the classrooms where we will teach.

5.   The topic was relevant to us as we are budding teachers, and I believe will have connected to at least a little background knowledge for each of us through our own experiences.

6.    As with (3), learning and engagement were managed by the participants, with only the necessary scaffolding provided by the activity organiser.

7.   The tool is socially supportive, engaging, encourages the voicing of cultural knowledge by incorporating ideas from a diverse group of people in an environment where participants can feel safe to do so.

8.   The slight problem with the activity (the ability to over write someone else’s contributions) is actually encouraging the development of active citizenship and group identity by making participants work as a team to be considerate of others and careful with how they enter their contributions.

So, I’ve determined that the activity ticks all the boxes for a pedagogically sound teaching tool; but which of the learning theories informs it? Does it take principles from just one learning theory, or does more than one apply?

The interactive group nature of the activity demonstrated to me that Social Constructivism was at play.  A key premise of Social Constructivism is that learning is scaffolded by more knowledgeable others. A participant in the activity can view each of the other participants’ responses and this gives a guide to the way they should be thinking about and approaching the problem.  I know for myself Cassandra’s early start on the activity helped me to feel more confident that the way I was answering the questions was on the right path.  I do however see a possible pitfall with this approach, what if she had been completely wrong, and then I followed, and the next followed etc?!? We would be a herd of mature-aged lost university student sheep!! Definitely a note for my own classroom use of Constructivism, keep an eye on the kiddies so they don’t get lost.

The next learning theory I identified in the activity was Connectivism. We were given absolutely no background information on this topic.  I imagine fifty years ago, a class given this task would have had their own knowledge, colleague’s knowledge and the library to work from. How lucky are we that without leaving our camp dongas (I’m on shift at work), we can google up all the information we could possibly need to present an informed opinion? I think I am going to have to remove the isolation valves on the pipework that I used when doing my thesis and had to access scholarly articles (remember the phrase “the pipeline is more important than the contents of the pipe”). Google can only take one so far.

Social Constructivism and Connectivism were used as a basis for an activity that scaffolds higher order thinking skills by asking leading and probing questions that encourage a structured, thorough pattern of thought which considers all possible angles. The activity encourages learning outcomes that include creativity, high order thinking and metacognitive skills. These are skills that are not just going to be in demand, but be absolutely crucial for success in a post-industrial age society (if you haven’t yet watched Sir Ken Robinson’s speech from our first weeks learning materials, do it, I’ve linked it in my references).

My brain is loving all this new and interesting information! I’m going to go see who else has completed their first BIG SCARY ASSESSMENT TASK.

 - Isabel -

What is Pedagogy. Accessed 13/03/15. Retrieved from: 

https://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/page/view.php?id=15618

A Brief Overview of Learning Theory. Accessed 13/03/15. Retrieved from: https://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/page/view.php?id=15608

Sir Ken Robinson: Do Schools Kill Creativity. Accessed 13/03/15. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY

Debono’s Six Thinking Hats: A Brief Guide. Accessed 13/03/15. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbUgJpV8t94