The Edward de Bono Foundation

Department of Education (Malta)
University of Malta, Malta

The Creative Thinking Programme was set up in October 1992 in collaboration with Professor Edward de Bono, the inventor of Lateral Thinking. The setting up of this programme has involved the teaching of Creative Thinking and Thinking Skills as a subject on an interdisciplinary basis within various faculties including the Faculty of Education, the Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy and the Institute of Health Care.

The University of Malta seeks to respond innovatively to the unceasing evolution of the global and the local context in general, and to the economic challenge in particular. This commitment to flexibility is directing the University of Malta towards new areas. In a changing environment the future is not necessarily a repetition of the past. There is a central role for human thinking processes to cope with and make the best of the changes which are occuring all around us. All the activities of the programme therefore focus directly on the skills of creativity and design.

For details on seminars and conferences, Master of Art in Creativity and Innovation, literature review, reports, discussion groups, please visit their web site.

Thinking Skills is a relatively new subject in the Maltese State schools. The Thinking Skills Programme based on Edward de Bono’s Methods was first introduced and implemented in the scholastic year 2000/01 in various primary and secondary schools. in tandem with the introduction of P.S.D. teachers in Primary Schools. One of the recommendations done within the National Minimum Curriculum is to introduce the teaching of thinking within the Curriculum, in fact Thinking Skills is presently embedded in the curriculum. A number of teachers have been trained in de Bono’s CoRT 1 and in the Six Thinking Hats Method. Presently there are 10 teachers in the primary sector (2 of which teaching early primary) and two teachers in the secondary sector. In The Secondary Sector the Thinking skills were inserted within the PSD (Personal and Social Development) lessons.CoRT Programme – Direct Attention Thinking Tools and The Six Thinking Hats Method are currently being taught in both the Primary and the Secondary Sector. Each year a number of Thinking Skills teachers, apart from teaching in schools, are involved in conducting action research. This is done in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the Programme in schools.

MISSION STATEMENT – to create a thinking community that considers thinking a skill that can be improved.

The aims of the Thinking Skills Programme are: -

To change the way children think individually and collectively when solving problems, planning and designing.
To improve pupils’ self-esteem and confidence resulting in an increase in participation in class discussions and activities.
To increase originality and to develop one’s skill of creativity which leads to design and action.
To help students improve their creative writing skills- planning better one’s essay and therefore improve the quality of their essays.
To teach students the right way to answer or react to a question

The objectives of teaching thinking in Maltese Schools are to create a thinking community which:

Considers thinking to be a skill that can be improved.
Makes use of the de Bono thinking tools which are simple, yet powerful and effective in order to broaden perception.
Reaches out to as large a section of the population as possible.
Facilitates transfer of these skills to other areas.
Considers thinking to be fun.
Increases team-work and extends participation to all involved.
Enables participants to become more autonomous thinkers and increases their self-esteem and self-confidence.

Marylyn Mifsud

Acceredited Trainer in Edward de Bono’s Six Hats Method