Reflection
Mobile phones are a very debatable and controversial topic in the academic world. Using De Bono's 6 Thinking Hats this topic was unfolded step by step. Through scaffolded questioning, every aspect, both positive and negative sides of the topic were considered. Instead of presenting one opinion with a generalist yes or no undertone, the thinking hats allowed me to see a more comprehensive and objective consideration of the issue (Parade College, 2013).
The other opinions presented by peers meant I was able to see other perspectives and therefore develop my own personal opinion. The individual opinion by each student on this wiki page allowed for online collaboration, feedback and discussion about ideas. In undertaking this collaboration the learning that was facilitated began to develop higher order thinking by analysing others theories or opinions.
This type of activity can be related to the social constructivism theory. Our learning process in this activity is collaborative and knowledge is deepened through this communication with peers. The University of Houston (2014) states that a teacher who creates a learning context where students are engaged and interested will always facilitate learning. This was reflective in my participation in this task where I was engaged by the different types of questioning through De Bono's Thinking Hats. The topic of the task was highly relateable to contemporary issues faced in today's society. Therefore, I was able to use my current knowledge on the context but also learn more through discussions with peers. I also believe this forum is a reflection of cognitive constructivism due to students building on their current knowledge through interaction in the forum. The learning design of this task allows us to present our opinions/answers through short summations under each thinking hat.
With some of the hats I struggled to phrase my answers in a way that was concise, yet thorough. However, the ideas and comments from peers on the wiki page enabled me to build and develop my opinions. In any task there are people who struggle and people who don't, so choosing the wiki as a technological resource caters for this. The web page is easy to use, whilst peers also have the option of remaining anonymous if they feel their opinion could perhaps be objective (something that is not possible in a real classroom).
I enjoyed participating in the wiki as I have had exposure to this type of online forum before and the instructions on how to use the page were set out in a clear and concise way. The only downfall would be that due to this task being accessible for the whole week, it becomes hard to interact with peers at the same time. Yes you can see and discuss opinions but due to everyone logging on at different times it becomes hard to interact with peers at one time. If used in a classroom setting it could contribute to the learning of students in various ways including:
- teaching students how to use and navigate through a classroom forum
- how to work collaboratively to deepen knowledge
- demonstrate what a scaffolded task is (e.g. de bonos thinking hats, blooms taxonomy)
- how you can break down information
Bibliography:
Parade College. (2013). Defining: Edward de Bono's six thinking hats. Retrieved from: http://www.parade.vic.edu.au/MD/teacher_research_guide/Defining/defining_debono.htm
University of Houston. (2014). Social constructivist theories. Retrieved from: http://viking.coe.uh.edu/~ichen/ebook/et-it/social.htm
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