Decision Skills Take Flight at the University of Oregon's Bridge Program

Understanding the extreme value of having competent Decision Skills, Cindy Bandow, the University of Oregon Young Scholars Program Bridge Coordinator, incorporated decision education into this year's program.

“We are never really taught how to make decisions, we are just expected to pick something, and it’s nice to learn steps on how to go through with deciding something.” Sammi Momeni from Tigard High School, Oregon

The program invites rising 10th-12th graders to the UofO campus to experience college life firsthand. They focus on providing this opportunity to students of color, students from homes with limited incomes, and students who are the first in their families to be college bound.

This July, DEF educator Liz Thompson engaged the students in six hours of decision learning, spaced throughout the week. Students experienced traditional DEF video curriculum to learn about the Decision Chain and Decision Traps. They also played interactive games to challenge their decision thinking, including Decision Scenario Cards, specifically built to address decisions that students of varying ethnicities might face.

"Every student, at every skill level, at every age, needs to learn how to make good decisions and DEF gave these students the opportunity to learn the basics and then apply them to decisions for a post high school world." - Bandow

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