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Dynamic Decision Making

Key Economic Concepts:

• Cost/Benefit Analysis
• Decision Making
• Opportunity Cost

Description:

Students will be introduced to the PACED Model and learn to use the parts of the model-- Problem, Alternatives, Criteria, and Evaluation- - in solving problems and making decisions. They will practice using the model in decisions about meals and career possibilities.

Lesson Objectives:

Students will:

• Learn to use the PACE Decision Making Model for more effective problem solving.
• Compare the costs of a decision with the benefits of that decision.

Introduction:

The PACE Decision Making Model is a matrix from NCEE curriculum materials that can be used to help students problem solve. They will practice using this matrix with fast food choices after visiting several restaurant websites. They will next look at career choices that interest them at http://learnlink.org/ ^[1] . Students will select four possible careers and use the PACE Model to find the best career option for them. In this lesson, you will learn to use the PACE Decision Making Model to help you solve problems and reach decisions. You will also compare the costs of your decision to the benefits of your decision.

Resources:

PACE Decision Making Model matrix-- a problem solving grid from NCEE Master Curriculum Guide- Gr. 3-4, used to visually see alternative choices and criteria to judge these choices in order to come to a decision.
 

• Burger King: This fast food website is used to find lunch menu choices for the PACE matrix.
  www.burgerking.com/bkglobal/ ^[2]
   
• Subway Restaurants: This food website will also provide menu choices for students.
  www.subway.com/subwayroot/index.aspx ^[3]
   
• Pizza Hut: This food website will give students different menu alternatives.
  www.pizzahut.com/ ^[4]
   
• Career Center: This career website provides a variety of job clusters, linking to individual careers and detailed information on each.
  http://learnlink.org/ ^[1]
   
• USA Today- Virtual Career Quest: This website compares individual educational levels to salary levels in careers.
  www.usatoday.com/educate/careers/snap24.htm ^[5]
   
• Job Profiles- Your Guide to Careers and Education: This website shows job overviews.
  www.jobprofiles.org/ ^[6]

Process:

Introduce the steps and terms of the PACE Model: identify the problem; brainstorm alternatives to the problem; use criteria to judge the alternatives; evaluate the solution. Look at the PACE Model to visually see steps on matrix. Do sample fast food/lunch problem using Click here, discussing how to rank alternatives with happy--plain--sad faces. Introduce costs and benefits of decision making and find several of each in the lunch decision making process. Introduce http://learnlink.org/ ^[1] as a website to explore careers. Ask students to click on 'Grade 4-6' and 'Jobs' to look at job opportunities. After this overview, ask them to pick four career possibilities that they are interested in pursuing. Use the PACE model to list these careers as alternatives. Use the criteria words from the job titles on the site for the PACE Model. Complete Click here using the same happy--plain--sad face rating system. Evaluate career choice by comparing costs/benefits of that decision.

Conclusion:

The PACE Model is a matrix that can be used in the decision making process. The PACE steps of Problem, Alternatives, Criteria, and Evaluate help us to problem solve more logically. Using this visual model can help students make choices more readily. Comparing the costs and benefits of those choices is also easier to do using this grid model, and leads to wiser decision making.

Assessment Activity:

1. Review the PACE Model with students. Ask them to write answers to the following questions. Discuss with the class as a follow-up activity.

1. What does each letter of the PACE Model stand for? Write a sentence to explain each key word. [problem, alternatives, criteria, evaluate;  A problem is a question or situation that needs to be solved. Alternatives are choices you can use to solve your problem. Criteria are reasons used to judge your alternatives. Evaluate is judging your alternatives to reach a decision.]
2. What is a cost in decision making? What is a benefit? [a loss in making our choice; a gain in making our choice]
3. Explain how the PACE Model helps us make more informed decisions. [The PACE Model helps us make wiser decisions by helping us judge alternatives with criteria on the grid to solve our problem.]

2. Student should print a copy of the PACE Model grid. He/she should complete the grid successfully using the problem of
"What type of pet should I choose?" The grid should include four pet alternatives and three criteria to judge each pet. Ask student to share the results with the class.

Extension Activity:

Challenge students to learn more about the jobs they've chosen by doing extra career research at: www.jobprofiles.org/ ^[6] Have each student try and find an overview of their dream job.

To learn more about how their educational level affects their future salary, have students go to: www.usatoday.com/educate/careers/snap24.htm ^[5] . This site compares educational levels to salary levels. Ask students if the salary they might make would affect their career decisions. Have a discussion on the economic reasons why this might be true.

Links Used:

1. ^{^ ^ ^} "http://learnlink.org/" - (learnlink.org)
2. ^{^} "www.burgerking.com/bkglobal/" - (www.burgerking.com)
3. ^{^} "www.subway.com/subwayroot/index.aspx" - (www.subway.com)
4. ^{^} "www.pizzahut.com/" - (www.pizzahut.com)
5. ^{^ ^} "www.usatoday.com/educate/careers/snap24.htm" - (www.usatoday.com)
6. ^{^ ^} "http://www.jobprofiles.org/" - (www.jobprofiles.org)

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