Online classrooms have many advantages: the ability to wake up five minutes before class, the absence of a commute, and the opportunity to attend class in pajamas, among more academic advantages. One of the disadvantages of online classes, though, is the difficulty in conducting natural, free-flowing conversations and debates. This limits the ability of students to learn from their peers.

Ineffective classroom discussions

The feeling will be familiar to (and dreaded by) any instructor, whether in an online or physical classroom. You ask the class a question and are met with a sea of blank stares and silence. At this point, most instructors have to call on individual learners to encourage them to speak and then act as the moderator for the discussion, asking more probing questions to get learners to respond.

Or an instructor might have the opposite problem: class debates get completely out of hand. Multiple learners have points of view that they present energetically, but they speak over each other, making it difficult for the rest of the class to follow what’s happening. Quieter learners are left at the fringes of the discussion. Even if they have points to add, they may not feel comfortable participating in a vigorous debate. Some learners may act like the goal of the discussion is to “win,” even in cases where the main purpose is simply to explore a topic more fully.

Breakout rooms and small-group discussions are useful tools in many situations. Sometimes, however, an instructor might want all learners to participate in the discussion, or it might be difficult for the instructor to moderate or keep track of multiple small-group discussions.

How can instructors structure online debates and discussions in a more natural way and encourage all learners to participate?

The Six Thinking Hats method

One way is by using Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats method. This began as a decision-making and brainstorming technique, but it is easily modified to suit classroom discussions. De Bono proposed the Six Thinking Hats as an alternative to the adversarial discussions of most meetings, where Person A proposes an idea and everyone else either applauds it or finds fault with the idea. These kinds of discussions rarely result in coming to the best conclusion or solution.

How is the Six Thinking Hats method different? In this method, every person in the room considers a problem from multiple perspectives, one perspective at a time. People provide their thoughts one at a time, and (ideally) refrain from directly challenging the perspective of another person immediately, instead waiting for their turn or for the appropriate time. The goal is for the entire group to come to a consensus or common understanding of the problem, rather than anyone “winning” the discussion.

How it works

The method organizes the different perspectives about a problem using six “hats” of different colors. The entire group puts on one “hat” at a time and looks at a topic from that perspective. They go around the group, with each person adding their point. Next, everyone in the group puts on another hat. They go around again, with each person looking at the problem from this new perspective.

White hat: Focus on data, facts, and information that is known and that should be gathered.	Red hat: Talk about your emotions about a decision and think about how others may react emotionally to that decision.	Yellow hat: Talk about the positives and benefits. Think optimistically.	Black hat: Think about weaknesses and possible negative outcomes. (This helps to plan ahead for solutions to those outcomes.)	Green hat: Think creatively. Come up with creative approaches to a problem. (When using this hat, brainstorm about ideas, and refrain from criticizing any ideas.)	Blue hat: Control and organize the discussion, suggesting which hat should be used and summarizing the discussion.

So, for instance, if a group is discussing the best approach to pick for a research study, the entire group may first use the white hat. They list all the facts and data they have and think about what additional information they might need to make their decision. Next, they may move on to the yellow hat and think of all the benefits and positives of various approaches. Next, they might move to the black hat and look for possible weaknesses and negative outcomes. The blue hat is used to guide the discussion, suggesting the hat to be used for each round of discussion. This process helps the group develop a complete perspective, allowing them, in this example, to choose the best approach for the research study.

There’s no strict order to the hats. Some groups may prefer to allow everyone to speak without any immediate questioning, others may allow for challenges and questions after each round, and others may allow group members to challenge or question as the discussion goes on. You can choose the method that works best for your topic.

How to modify the method for a classroom

You can change this method to suit your classroom and the topic under discussion. You can keep the focuses for the hats as they are, or define new focuses depending on your topic. For instance, if you teach history, your hats could be as follows:

• Long-term causes
• Short-term causes
• Social and cultural effects
• Economic effects
• Political/legal effects
• Negative effects
• Positive effects

The benefits of this method

Using this method has some benefits over more usual classroom discussion or debate:

• Everyone in the class has the chance to speak or make their points: This is especially beneficial if the group has a mix of very quiet members and very talkative members, where the quiet members may hesitate to speak.
• It gives the group a complete perspective of the subject or problem: With argumentative discussions, the group may be fixated on arguing back and forth about a single point. Using this method, you get a chance to cover multiple aspects of a problem.
• It aims to achieve consensus, not victory: This method allows everyone to hear the same points and (ideally) make a judgment or come to a decision based on the points. In a more adversarial discussion, on the other hand, an argument about a single point can lead to other points being overlooked.
• It gives different group members a chance to facilitate the discussion: As the discussion format is well-defined, anyone can lead or facilitate the discussion. There’s less need for an instructor to moderate or break up vigorous arguments.
• It relies less on nonverbal cues and body language to convey a point: This is especially useful for online discussions in which video may be turned off or not good enough to convey facial expressions. Because of the structure, it’s easier to follow what each person is saying.

Ultimately, you can pick the elements of this method that work for your classroom and your learners’ needs and personalities. You can “mix and match” elements of this method with other methods, as well, until you find a discussion technique that suits you best.