Teaching HSIE using DeBono's 6 Thinking Hats
White Thinking Hat
WHAT IS IT, AND HOW IS IT USEFUL? The white hat focuses on information and facts. In a potentially controversial issue such as refugees, having a strong focus on known facts is important to establish a neutral basis, and also to counteract misunderstandings and myths that may permeate students’ thinking.
ACTIVITY IDEA: Having established flaws in the presentation of refugees in the article, the focus then moves towards amending these flaws. In small groups, students are set the task of designing their own set of enquiry questions to learn more about refugees, in particular Sri Lankan refugees. Allowing students this level of personal choice and control should make what could be a low level comprehension task motivating for students, as it makes the activity more personally relevant to students (McInerney & McInerney, 2005, p. 208). The teacher should help students create questions that reflect typical ‘white hat’ style thinking processes, such as ‘what information do we have about the problem’, and ‘what information do we need to find out’? (De Bono Thinking Systems, 2012). The students are then set the task of finding this information; although for safety reasons the teacher should provide a list of suggested resources, such as web sites which provide accurate and appropriate information.
Useful list of websites:
http://www.abs.gov.au
http://www.humanrights.gov.au
http://unhcr.org
http://www.rescue.org/refugees
http://www.refugeecouncil.org.au
http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/60refugee.htm
http://www.amnesty.org.au/refugees/
http://www.ras.unimelb.edu.au/Refugees_Australian_Stories/
http://www.rethinkrefugees.com.au/
http://www.hreoc.gov.au/human_rights/immigration/asylum_seekers.html​
Students should then produce an information report on the factual details of Sri Lankan refugees in Australia.
LINKS TO SYLLABUS: This activity links to students’ understanding about the impact of current events, and also their understanding of the cultural diversity of Australia, linking to outcomes CUS3.3.
