The Six Thinking Hats as a method of Instructional Design

To help ensure that instructional sessions are presented with clarity and structure, a new approach is to the design of lectures and assessments using “The Six Thinking Hats” is presented. The hats can be used systematically in order to explore a subject in a short amount of time. To facilitate this a sequence of hats is developed and each hat is considered in turn for a fixed period of time. The sequences can be fixed, flexible or evolving.

The lesson plans in this case consist of a sequence of hats (each for a fixed amount of time), which are designed to ensure that the lesson has a beginning, middle and end. Additionally it is important that each hat is present in the sequence so that the same topic is illuminated from a range of different perspectives to give a more rounded view of the topic. The requirement that each hat lasts for a fixed period of time is to help focus both the teachers and students in a series of short, sharp sessions.

• Introduction

• Instructional Design

• Learning Styles