PO(w)
Photo: Dan Burton via Unsplash
Learning is a pain.
Not always perhaps, but this constant invocation of a beginner’s mind, it can be exhausting. Summoning the energy and humility to keep at it sometimes takes provocation. Focusing attention can require an emotional hook.
I got punched in the nose once, by a kid named Joey in the first grade who decided thereafter that we would be friends. That punch rearranged my nose, soaked us both in blood and strangely rearranged what we thought of each other. That is exactly how provocations work. They land emotionally, they arrest your attention, they compel you to action, but they do not tell you where to go or what to do. They upend your preconceptions and the way you think, but leave the rest to you. They can be destabilizing or disorienting, or simply inspire you with a challenge.
Consider: Do you get your students emotionally involved in your lessons? How?
Edward de Bono called it a PO:
“…which stands for a provocation operation…A PO provides the same sort of value that has been provided historically by accident, mistake, eccentricity, or individual bloody-mindedness. The PO (provocation) serves to take us out of the comfort of an existing pattern”. ”
The point of a PO is movement: to jump the well-worn tracks of our traditional thoughts and thinking in order to carve a new trail. De Bono imagined this as integral to what he called lateral thinking, which he took pains to distinguish from brainstorming. Brainstorming was invented to support advertising teams in search of something new. In advertising, mere difference is enough to attract attention, which in itself is mission accomplished. Brainstorming derails the well-worn train of thought. In any other field though, ideas must be tethered to logic, potential and practicality. Ideas must lead somewhere. Lateral thinking is more like bushwhacking a trail than derailing a train. It is more a process than an event.
De Bono’s metaphoric “six thinking hat system” offered a comprehensive and flexible approach to lateral thinking, proposing six different ways of thinking applicable to a problem or situation that could reliably help individuals and teams think productively and make space for creativity. “Switching hats” and thereby changing the mode of thinking is an invitation to jump the rails of mind and start building new tracks in new directions.
White hat: thinking about data and what is known
Red hat: space for intuition and emotion
Black hat: pessimistic: looking with judgement, caution, logic
Yellow hat: Optimistic: generative thinking
Green hat: provocations, possibilities and ideas about change
Blue hat: thinking about how to improve the thinking
So, what is a PO? Any circumstance structured to change your thinking. When Reggio Emilia educators propose the environment as a third teacher, they are acknowledging that the physical environment can be arranged to direct or inspire student thinking. The environment can be a PO. So can humor, opposites, inversions, exaggeration, distortion, and extremes. Random words or loose parts can provoke new ideas. Any assertion could invite counter-attack, thus becoming a PO. The best PO would be emotional though, something that irritates, ignites or invites emotional engagement. A blank canvas can be like that, or a new assignment or a pop quiz.
Learning can feel harder than riding a bike uphill. Like a dog at your heels or the possibility of a panorama up top, provocations put the pedals in motion.
Consider:
Does the distinction between brainstorming and lateral thinking hit home for you?
How could you use PO and the 6 hat system to teach your students to think creatively?
References:
De Bono, E. (1995, September). Serious creativity. The Journal for Quality and Participation 18(5). 12-18.
Your thoughts on this journal post are highly valued, as I continue to build and refine my perspective on schools and the school environment. Please share your own experiences and perceptions of the school environment below!