Decisions Decisions

Did you know that decision making is a skill, one you can teach and learn?

In its list, Wikipedia states that decision making “might be regarded as a problem solving activity which is terminated when a satisfactory solution is found.” In myexperience - with kids, and with adults, its reaching that satisfactory solution that is the challenge. For many of us, deciding anything... what to eat for lunch, where to go on vacation, what we want to do with our lives, is a problem to solve.

In our increasingly complicated world, all of us need to be able to make good decisions. The good news is that decision-making is a skill; it can be taught. The process can be surprisingly easy, lots of fun, will teach and build on an array of thinking skills, and be integrated into almost any subject or project going on in your classroom, program or family.

Criteria: A standard, rule or test on which a decision can be based

To begin to make good decisions, we must be able to:

• Recognize situations in which we make decisions and choices (ACTIVITY TIP: Have kids brainstorm lists of the kinds of decisions they need to make every day - what to eat, how to spend time, which book or movies to choose, friends, etc.)Identify conditions, constraints and criteria that are important to the decision
• Identify our options
• Evaluate the information we are considering as the basis for the decision
• Predict effects or outcomes of a particular decision or choice
• Evaluate our options as they relate to all criteria
• Generate or revise decisions in response to new information (e.g., compromise)
• State the information and values on which your decision was based

The following three activities teach how to identify and frame criteria... essential skills we all need to make good decisions. These are fun, and can stimulate lively and interesting conversations on a variety of topics. Because it is one of my favorite topics, I decided to start with an art based activity. Then, I've added two more things to do, but you decide where you want to begin :-)

Gallery Stroll - this activity not only builds decision making skills but is an opportunity to develop language for discussion art. Expect to hear words that describe color, shape, motion, emotion, and much more.

• Arrange ten to fifteen pictures (magazines, photos, paintings) around your room to create a gallery
• Have kids walk around the gallery and study the images on the walls
• When they have completed inspecting each picture, have kids rank the pictures numerically, from their favorite to their least favorite. (Note: Suggest that kids write or sketch a brief “memo” of each image in a notebook.)
• After they’ve made their choices, have kids write out their reasons (criteria) for choosing their three favorites and their least favorite. Then, in small groups, or all together ...
• DISCUSS: What attracted you to the pictures you liked best? Why did you choose the one you did as your least favorite.
• Remind kids that the reasons for their choices are their CRITERIA.

2. Where Should We Go?

• Imagine: You are planning a family vacation (or a class trip) for next summer
• Discuss: Where you might go and the things you might do when you get there
• List: the criteria you will need to consider so that you can make the best choice (these include money, time, interests, transportation, family members, physical limitations, interests, etc.)
• Discuss: How did the criteria you determine affect your vacation planning?

3. Pick a Pet

• Imagine: You are about to select a new pet
• List: Potential pet choices. Everyone can choose their particular favorite.
• Brainstorm: Take five minutes to list all the criteria you can think of that will affect your choice of pet. (Pets you already own, allergies, cost, yard, house size, etc.)
• Discuss: Has considering the criteria about pet selection affected your decision about your choice of pet? Based on what you have considered, which pet would work best for your family.

Stimulate Creative Thinking

Sherlock Holmes was one ... he was a great a detective (and a fictional character), but first and foremost, he was an ASTUTE OBSERVER. He was smart, and he knew a lot about many subjects, but his remarkable knack for solving crimes arose from his ability to use his senses. When he arrived at a crime scene, he sniffed the air, he touched surfaces, he listened for creaks and sounds, he tasted the dust on the table, and he observed - everything, every detail.

If we want our kids to grow their awareness of the world around them, and, as a result, increase their abiltiy to think creatively, we need to encourage them to use their senses. There are many ways to teach kids to SEE, HEAR, TOUCH, TASTE and SMELL, but the following ideas for brainstorms are fun, and encourage them not only to pay attention to the world around them, but to put words to images, and images to words.

To get started:

Present one of the following brainstorm challenges and ask kids to start a list of things they notice that fit the challenge. Have them keep the list open and available so that they can continue to add ideas and observations as they discover them. Remind them that in this activity, as in all brainstorms. creative, original, unusual, different, strange, imaginative, even silly responses are all welcome.

THE CHALLENGE

Brainstorm a list of as many things that you notice or think of that are:

• As round and as red as a red dot (there are so many answers to this one, answers will wake you from your dreams)
• Taller than a telephone pole
• Louder than a cricket
• Smell like a holiday
• Smooth
• Upside down
• Shiny
• Used only in water
• Sour
• Made with carrots

Creative Thinking Strategy: BRAINSTORMING

"To have a great idea, have a lot of them."

                                                - Thomas Edison

In our increasingly complex world, our kids need to know more than how to access facts and restate information. They need to be able to make choices and decisions, identify and solve problems, and find answers in different ways. They need to be able to THINK - clearly, creatively, flexibly, and in their own way. Simply put, they need to know how to brainstorm.

The dictionary defines brainstorming as:

• A method of shared problem solving in which all members of a group spontaneously contribute ideas.

• A process undertaken by a person to solve a problem by rapidly generating a variety of possible solutions.

Brainstorming is fun, flexible, relevant to any and all content areas and situations. It fosters the production of a quantity of responses, a variety of options, and the ability to see things from many angles. When done in an open and idea friendly atmosphere (see Rules below), it provides opportunities for kids (and adults) to:

• Think divergently
• Look at problems and situations in many ways
• See a multitude of possible solutions
• Think creatively
• Think critically

TRY THIS: Techniques to Stimulate Brainstorms

 RULES: There are only 3 rules for effective brainstorming:
1. NO WRONG ANSWERS - so all ideas are welcome.

2. The more ideas the better
3. Your good idea may be the jumping off point for mine (this is called piggy-backing).

The following EYE OPENING questions are intended to stimulate the production of lots of ideas - in your classroom, after-school program, or around your dinner table. Choose one or many, and, please, share your results in the comment box at the bottom of this post.

 NAME AS MANY

Ask everyone in the classroom or small group to:

• Name as many EYES as you can think of (responses might include eye glasses, island, eye witness, eye of the storm, eye see you, ICU)

• Name as many tools to SEE WITH as you can (responses might include binoculars, glasses, camera, contact lenses, crystal ball)

• Name MATERIALS THAT CAN BE USED TO SYMBOLIZE EYES IN ARTWORK (peas, pin pong balls, marbles, buttons, bottle caps)

METAPHORS

• How is an eye like a zipper?

• How is an eye like a clock?

• How is an eye like a book?

• How is an eye like an ear of corn?

 IN WHAT WAYS:

• In what ways do artists draw eyes? To make the most of this question, collect examples from as many places and styles as you can. Arrange them. Ask kids - do you notice any patterns, any similarities. Any differences? How are eyes drawn by Picasso like, and unlike eyes drawn by Da Vinci?

• In what ways are the eyes of a cow like the eyes of a mouse? In what ways are they different?

• In what ways can an eye be used as a symbol?

• In what ways has the word EYE been used in book titles and song lyrics?

• In what ways would things change is vision was not one of our senses?

WHAT IF

• What if we had one eye instead of two?

• What is we had many eyes. (The legendary Argus had a head encircled by 100 eyes.)