Over 50 phases and sub-steps common to decision-making processes are discussed in an effort to create a clearer view of individual, group, social, and political decision making. The discussion is intended to encourage social studies teachers to use an action-oriented approach to teaching decision-making skills. (Author/RM)

Outlines steps toward integrating student opinion into the policy and decision-making structure of the school. The objective is to provide students a way to achieve meaningful participation in the school setting. The relationship among academic achievement, dropout rates, and student participation is discussed and a student opinion questionnaire…

Examines "Decisions, Decisions-Revolutionary Wars: Choosing Sides," an Apple II software package that emphasizes student decision-making about the nature of revolutions. Targeted at grades 5-12, the product covers a broad range of issues. Concludes that "Decisions, Decisions" models an effective decision-making process and has…

Maintains that decision-making and social-action skills are basic to geographic instruction and suggests ways in which these skills can be developed. (Author/DB)

Focuses on the use of graphic representations to enable students to improve their decision making skills in the social studies. Explores three visual aids used in assisting students with decision making: (1) the force field; (2) the decision tree; and (3) the decision making grid. (CMK)

Discusses the connection between economics and decision making in everyday life. Compares basic economic concepts such as choices, scarcity, opportunity costs, indirect costs, and decision making to the choices that students make in their personal lives. Maintains that through the study of economics, students can become responsible decision…

Computer software that will help intermediate and secondary social studies students learn to make rational decisions about personal and societal concerns are described. The courseware places students in the roles of business managers who make decisions about operating their firms. (RM)

Illustrates how economic content and methodology contribute to citizenship education. States that economic courses should emphasize performance measures, the concept of scarcity, and risk management. Suggests that textbooks should become less important as instructional resources and that students should learn critical thinking skills through case…

Recent developments in the field of cognitive psychology, particularly in the area of information processing, have shed light on the way people think in order to make decisions and solve problems. In addition, cooperative learning research has provided evidence of the effectiveness of cooperatively structured group work aimed at problem solving.…

This description of a process used in a social studies methods course presents an experiential approach to helping students learn power sharing and decision-making skills. By leaving students alone with instructions to decide cooperatively on desired class changes, type of evaluation, and leadership, students gain experience in negotiation and…

This simulation can be used to help secondary students examine the national and global energy issue. Students role-play various groups, including the Departments of Energy and Transportation, the U.S. Automobile Manufacturer's Association, oil lobby groups, conservation groups, citizen groups, a solar lobbying organization, and a nuclear power…

This course guide provides a framework for teaching an ethics course, developed for eighth-graders, that explores the development of values, the decision-making process, and the role of community. Class objectives, procedures, and assignments for 48 class periods are divided into 10 units. Student handouts along with unit assignment lists,…

This paper delineates a process of rational decision-making and social action. To make a rational decision, the social actor must use concepts, generalizations and theories from the social sciences, knowledge which has high predictive value, and knowledge which constitutes the structures of the social science disciplines. He must also identify,…

The purpose of this study was to develop an observation system which would describe some of the important phenomena in groups that have the task of making a decision about a controversial issue involving value conflicts. The basic design to develop the observation system involved the analysis of transcriptions of group discussions of controversial…

Asserts that a goal of social studies instruction is to help students make decisions about complicated social issues and that this goal is best accomplished through development of postformal cognitive processes. Defines postformal thought and examines two types: relativistic and dialectical. Shows how postformal thought can be promoted through two…