Edward de Bono thought to be one of the leading authority in the world in the field of creative thinking and direct teaching of thinking as a skill. A de Bonian thinker states, "There are highly intelligent people who are poor thinkers. Intelligent people may use their thinking to simply defend a point of view. The more skilled they are at mounting a convincing defense, the less they see a need to explore that subject, listen to others, or generate alternatives. This is poor thinking" (Wiesendanger, 1991, p. 73).
He is the originator of lateral thinking. His other main ideas or developments are The Six Thinking Hats and the Cognitive Research Trust (CoRT). Lateral (Parallel) thinking is a system of thinking which considers all possibilities resulting in innovative thinking, rather than just the traditional solutions to the problem. The Oxford English Dictionary defines lateral thinking as "a way of thinking which seeks the solution to intractable problems through unorthodox methods or elements which would normally be ignored by logical thinking." It means thinking differently: thinking not only vertically or logically, but sideways too. It means being prepared to put forward unusual ideas to arrive at a new thought. Parallel thinking is designed to help an individual solving a problem, understand all aspects of the problem it focuses more-so on constructive and co-operative and co-ordinate thinking.
De Bono's six thinking hats use this lateral thinking technique. All members of a group will focus on a single aspect of a problem at the same time, moving on to another aspect together once discussion of the current one is exhausted. For example the Black hat is for judgment, the Green hat for creativity and the White hat signifies information needed or already know. This system is widely used for business' mainly in meetings, but also used in classrooms as well. is best understood in contrast to traditional argument or adversarial thinking. By wearing each hat you can effectively scan the entire situation and separate your thinking modes and ultimately embrace a more holistic or global perspective and approach to your problem or challenge. This approach is simple but powerful.
The last key concept and of major importance worth noting is de Bono's CoRT Thinking Program, which has been adopted around the world in several thousand educational institutions. "CoRT stands for Cognitive Research Trust. It can also be regarded as being short for CORTEX where all the thinking takes place in the brain" (de Bono, 1976, p.
Keith, T. Z., Kranzler, J. H., & Flanagan, D. P. (2001). What Does the Cognitive Assessment
Siegler, R., & Alibali, M. (2005). Children’s Thinking Fourth Edition. Prentice Hall Inc. Upper Saddle River NJ.
People spend their whole lives trying to gain knowledge in many different areas, while others stay focused on a single topic. Once vertical and horizontal thinking are combined people can gain more knowledge and understanding within several different topics. Sven Birkerts, the author of “The Owl Has Flown” explains in many ways how vertical and horizontal thinking are used in everyday life. Vertical thinking is a way in which a person goes more in depth to gain a better understanding of a certain topic. On the contrary, horizontal thinking is gaining more understanding on several different topics, but not as in depth as vertical thinking. There are other components to consider when trying to reach vertical and horizontal Engagement. Finding
Paul, R. and Elder, L., (2008). The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking-Concepts and Tools, 5th. Ed., Foundation for Critical Thinking Press: Dillon Beach, CA
A classroom of thirty is filled with a diverse group of students that think in all different ways. Each child’s brain processes informat...
Goldstein, E.B. (2011). Cognitive psychology: connecting mind, research and everyday experience. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
perception of what goes on in his mind. He also uses Watson as a sort
Searle, J. (1980), "Minds, brains, and programs", The Behavioral and Brain Sciences 3, p. 423.
Smith, E. E. and Kosslyn, S. M. (2009). Cognitive psychology: Mind and brain. New Jersey: Pearson Education
Wilson, V. (2000), Education Forum on Teaching Thinking Skills Online at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library3/education/ftts.pdf Accessed at 22nd February 2014
Cognitive development is defined as a field of study in Psychology focusing on a child’s brain development. Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky were major contributors to the cognitive development in Psychology. Both have contributed to the field by offering explanations for children’s learning styles and abilities; both offer suggestion on how to teach children in an appropriate manner.
What is not easily recognized is the fact that the very fabric of life is dependent on the ability to think properly and make good decisions. Improper thinking is costly in the quality of life and monetarily. The result of a critical thinker that has worked to cultivate proper thinking skills includes: the ability to ask vital questions and to identify problems with clarity. A critical thinker also collects relevant information while effectively interpreting it, thinks with an open mind, uses alternative systems of thought, and understands how to communicate while working to formulate a strong solution. In summary, critical thinking is self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking. Above all else, the standards of excellence are rigorous, and it entails the prospect of overcoming the challenge of sociocentrism and
Critical thinking a strong and powerful way to use the brain, it is used by millions everyday some without knowledge that they are even using it. Critical thinking according to Diane Halpern as " The use of those cognitive skills or strategies that increase the probability of a desirable outcome...thinking that is purposeful, reasoned and goal directed - the kind of thinking involved in solving problems, formulating inferences, calculating likelihoods, and making decisions when the thinker is using skills that are thoughtful and effective for the particular context and type of thinking task. Critical thinking is sometimes called directed thinking because it focuses on a desired outcome." Halpern (1996).
2. Richard, Paul “Critical Thinking: Basic Theory and Instructions Structures,” Foundations for Critical Thinking. 1977. P
Six Thinking Hats offers an original way to think. The author, Edward De Bono, has created an idiom to make decisions making, communication, and thinking more effective. De Bono believes thinking is the ultimate human resource and that we should want to improve upon it. He suggests that the main difficulty of thinking is confusion and that we try to do too much at once. In his book he puts forward a simple concept that allows a thinker to do one thing at a time. The concept is the Six Thinking Hats. Putting on one of these hats defines a certain type of thinking. It is in the convenience of the Six Thinking Hats that is the main value of the concept. The concept of the hats is that when you have one on you think in only that nature and then move on to the next hat. When you get to the last hat your answers or goal should be clear.