from a teacher's perspective

The Fundamentals of Making Good Decisions introduces the core principles of Decision Quality. The booklet was originally designed for educators and parents but has proven accessible for students in the classroom.

Authors: Carl Spetzler, Tom Keelin, and Paul Schoemaker

The core principles of Decision Skills can be learned from the Decision Focus video series.

The animated videos average about 3 minutes and are appropriate for students and valuable for adults, as well.

Video 1 on the Decision Chain and video 2 on Decision Traps provide a solid overview of topics that are explored in more depth in the 12 videos.

These real life decision stories create opportunities to explore Decision Skills through relevant situations students want to talk about.

Pictured here is the Himalayan Decision, a two-part scenario that sets up a decision faced by students on a trek in Nepal. Students learn about decision making after discussing part 1 and see what really happened in part 2.

Other real life examples include students who used Decision Skills in choosing a college, deciding which extracurricular activity to drop, deciding to move to a different school to get specialized support, and more.

DEF has developed curriculum for Advisory, English, U.S. History, and other subject areas to integrate decision making into classrooms.

Many teachers have shared stories of how they have used Decision Skills to improve their decision making and help friends.

Few stories are as compelling and heart-felt as the decision Carrie Brumbach and her family faced with her husband's cancer diagnosis. She and her husband, Aaron, share how DEF's decision making framework helped them face these challenges.

Students share how Decision Skills make a difference in their lives. In this video, Isabella shares how she applied the tools she learned at a summer course at Stanford to her life when she got home.

Like many motivated students, Isabella was over-scheduled and stressed out. She was able to find a solution that worked for her parents, her friends, and for herself.

Joe Robusto contacted DEF during the school year about his interest in incorporating Decision Skills into his health class for seniors. DEF tailored a course module that fit his needs and took little of his time to implement.

"DEF is like a breath of fresh air…This isn't your father's decision making class. This worked great. I’d use it 100 times again. It was awesome. "

DEF has formal results showing Decision Skills can be taught in a way that improves subject learning and decision-making competence, which also correlates with better life outcomes.

Students, parents, teachers, counselors, and administrators have all shared the value they see in students learning Decision Skills.

Educators benefit from learning Decision Skills for their personal and professional use which strengthens the whole school community.