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Design 4 schools is an education program which aims at inculcating

design thinking in school going children with a systematic approach. Program
aims which leads to Innovation, Problem Solving, Decision Making, Original/
Creative thinking, Connectivity to real life applications and sensitivity towards
self, others and environment.
Tis program is implemented in class 4th to 10th standard. Program is designed
to sensitize students about design and apply them in real life scenarios.
Grade 4th to 6th is design sensitization, where in children are exposed
to various facets of design discipline, the objective of this module is to generate
curiosity, awareness and understanding of design discipline in general. Children
get to be exposed to the principles and fundamentals of design repeatedly to
consolidate their conceptual understanding. Children get to work individually
as well as in teams during the assignments so as to understand signifcance of
individual and team work.
Grade 7th to 10th is design application, where in children begin to use
design understanding and process for creating products which could be tangible
or intangible (communication), the objective of this module is that in addition
to generating curiosity, awareness and understanding of design discipline in
general, children get to learn knowledge management (exploration, expansion,
encapsulation), Understanding (Self-Others-Environment), innovation meth-
ods (random unstructured, process oriented SCAMPER tool), design thinking
(Holistic-multidisciplinary-user-society) (Scientifc, Lateral, Divergent think-
ing) and approach which lead to problem solving (Analytical, creative, scenario
building, questioning), decision making (brainstorming, ideating), out of box
thinking (structure and unstructured ways), working within constraints (time,
material, space), creative & critical thinking (open-minded, clear and rational)
group and individual work dynamics, prototyping, expressions using media and
technology.
INTRODUCTION
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UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPT
Design4School education model is based upon a fve factors which are Howard
Gardners multiple intelligence, Learner centric, Constructive model of educa-
tion, creative inputs and child development model.
1. Howard Gardners Multiple intelligence-
Howard Gardner of Harvard has identifed seven distinct intelligences.
Tis theory has emerged from recent cognitive research and documents the
extent to which students possess diferent kinds of minds and therefore learn,
remember, perform, and understand in diferent ways, according to Gardner
(1991).
2. Learner centric-
Student-centered learning is an approach to education focusing on the
interests of the students, rather than those of others involved in the educational
process, such as teachers and administrators. Tis approach has many impli-
cations for the design of the curriculum, course content and interactivity of
courses.
3. Constructive model of education-
Constructive model of education is about getting students to take re-
sponsibility of their own learning, and is seen as a way of engaging students in
deep rather than surface learning.
4. Creative inputs-
Assignments in D4S program are inclined towards providing creative
inputs through their class room projects. Because of this the program becomes
more student centric which students enjoy while doing it.
5. WChild Development Model-
D4S believes in developing a child from all the aspects such as multisensory
development which helps students to develop skills like visual, verbal, bodily
and logical.
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Faculty Training-
Design4School has their own pool of faculties which goes to schools twice
a week and implements the educational program. Faculty goes through 15 days
training program at D4S. All the faculties are made to do all the assignments by
themselves before teaching them to students. Faculties are chosen from various
backgrounds like B.Com, Engineering, Design experts etc. Faculties are hired
on two years contract basis afer which they can again join D4S or D4S pro-
vides them with diferent teaching job at other schools through their own pool.
Pitching-
D4S goes to selected school to pitch about their program. Pitching is done
in front of school top Authorities like Principles and Trustees. Design4School
targets Tier-II and Tier-III cities to implement their program. Both the owners
of D4S select top 5 schools among 10-12 schools for pitching. Pitching is done
based on the new age education, emphasis on design thinking and accountability.
Implementation-
D4S starts with setting up the program in school according to de-
veloped curriculum. D4S program is a compulsory activity for all the stu-
dents at schools which take place twice a week from class 4th to 10th. Con-
stant mentoring is done by the teachers of D4S while carrying out the lectures.
Lectures and activities are learner centric which are constantly monitored
by the teachers who act as Mentors. All the exercises of students are grad-
ed by the students themselves on the basis of Skill, Attitude and Tinking.
WORK AREAS
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ORGANIZATIONAL MAPPING
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Strength:
Design4school is one of the few programs which induce Design Tinking in
school going students.
Program is designed in such a way which develops skill, attitude and thinking
ability in students.
All the assignments/exercises of the program are fun and playfulness oriented
which kids enjoy while doing it.
Exercises are real-life oriented which helps students to look into real life chal-
lenges.
Weakness:
D4S has their own pool of teachers which makes them heavily Human
Resourced based. It becomes difcult for D4S to take more than 5 schools at
times.
Intellectual property needs to be protected.
No tie-ups with ofcial government bodies.
Oferings are ever changing.
Opportunity:
Todays education needs learners, innovators and Critical thinkers to survive
in the future.
Global paradigm shif in education programs (exp.D-school)
First movers advantage in the education sector.
Student centric approach which students enjoy while doing assignments.
Treat:
Other model of education based on concepts like experiential learning.
Dependent on school authoritys attitude.
Tree level of transaction in pitching i.e. D4S-Schools-Parents
SWOT ANALYSIS
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PROCESS
DOUBLE DIAMOND APPROACH-
Te approach we used for the project is the double diamond approach designed
by UK design Council. Te problem discovers phase is open ended and does not
restricts. You have to converge all you data to defne the problem. Tis approach
allows the project at hand to diverge again afer deciding upon the problem
statement in order to fnd multiple solutions.
We decided to Discover about the organization in frst few meetings with the
owners and ofce staf. It gave us a clear understanding of the organization work
structure and its vision, Mission and values which are:
VISION
To provide Design Subject to each and every child in the world, trans-
forming their thought processes, so as to transform the very fabric of the world
MISSION
To be the Best Children Education Company in the world by year 2015
VALUES
To follow what D4S teach.
Defne step was to defne the problem area in the organization where we could
work and develop solutions to for the improvements.
In Develop phase we tried to develop on the possible solutions for the problems.
We tried to understand its application possibilities and end results.
Deliver Phase includes testing of he solutions and the afer results of the idea.
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We divided all the stake holders into four parts i.e. Keep satisfed, Minimal eforts, Key players and keep informed based on the organization work process
and delivery of the program. Stake holders coming into the category of keeping satisfed are Parents, Moderators, Tutors and students as these stakeholders are
in the Implementation phase and the success of the organization about the business. Owners decide about which school to select for the implementation of D4S
program. Keep informed depends upon their satisfaction and needs.
Minimal eforts segment has stakeholders as employee at ofce and government bodies which are part of the education environment but do not play major role in
the implementation as D4S is a private organization.
Key players in stakeholders are school admin, owners, Franchises and Equity holders as these are the players who run the business and take strategic decisions
category has Advisory board, school teachers and experts and content developers as these stakeholders are not directly connected to the program though they are
part of the D4S.
STAKE HOLDERS
Parents
Moderators
Tutors
Students
School admin
Owners
Franchisee
Equity holders.
Advisory board
School teachers
Experts /
content
developers.
Employees.
Government
Bodies.
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Afer chalking out the stake holders and categorizing them, the next
step was to interview the Stakeholder who are high on power and Interest Grid.
We decided to carry out unstructured interviews because
Tese are more like a social conversation where neither questions nor the
replies are fxed. Te agenda of the interview although was kept as perception
about FX-Design4School in each stake holders mind. Only the interviewer
knew about the exact agenda.
Unstructured Interviews: Tese interviews can really explore the persons inter-
ests, beliefs and opinions without the limitation of pre-set questions. We made
sure that person talking to us is comfortable and open to talk by building upon
conversation.
List of Interviews -
We decided to take interviews in two phases to have understanding of the topic
in depth by the owners and ofce staf who implement the program and the
curriculum developer who decides which exercises to be carried out in schools
for the program in schools.
Second phase of interviews were carried out with the school principles where
D4S has been carried out for more than one year to have a better understand-
ing of how they perceives this course. In this phase we interviewed Mentors
of D4S who contributed in initial phase of D4S and gave their inputs while
designing the curriculum. Our eforts were to understand their beliefs about
D4S and how it will help students in near future. We then Interviewed parents
who are the ultimately buyers of D4S.W
INTERVIEW GUIDELINES
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INTERVIEW INSIGHTS (DISCOVER PHASE)
Company Profling
Design 4 school prompts design thinking and approach amongst school go-
ing children. (i.e. Grade 4th to Grade 9th)
Design4school has been pilot testing their program in and around Gujarat
from the past 4 years.
Design4school is not a registered company as of now and soon planning to
launch their program all over India afer the registration.
Tere are only 6 people in the administration department who handles entire
program as of now.
Design4school lists down 12-15 schools in the city and selects top 5 schools
to implement their program.
D4S implements their program in tier-II and tier-III cities in and around
Gujarat.
D4S is planning to launch in India, China and Korea simultaneously.
Program focuses on experiential learning, their exercises are designed in such
a way that students enjoy their work and assignments.
D4S is almost a fat organization where all the employees can report directly
to the owners.
Principles Interview-
We took interviews of principles of ADANI,Trinity and GIPS schools. We car-
ried out unstructured interviews and tried to make it as a conversation to make
them open up while talking with us. Following are the common insights came
out of their interviews.
D4S is in trial stage almost everywhere.
Playful environment is required for learning in students where they can enjoy
the activities rather than taking up them as a forceful assignments
Academically weak students should be benefted by D4S program. He should
be willing to participate in other activities of academics.
Tere is no assessment report by the year end from D4S which makes us dif-
cult to judge the benefts of the program.
Promises made during pitching not fulflled by the D4S.
No tangible output by D4S as there is no evaluation.
D4S has their own pool of teachers who conducts the program and we many
times have no idea about what is going on about curriculum.
Not sure how it would help students in longer run.
Confused about continuation of D4S next year.
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Owners Interview
We took few interviews with the owner and his business partner to have bet-
ter understanding of D4S program and its values which it provides to students.
Same as other interviews we took unstructured interviews with them. Both the
owner and his partner were open to provide us any information which helped us
to schedule few interviews. Following are the Insights of the Interviews.4
Introduces fun and motivation in education through the assignments and ap-
proach of mentors.
Induces self learning attitude where Mentors only guide the students while
doing the assignment and probe them to think over it.
It is a new age education which will help students in their future to have better
understanding of the world.
Introduces scientifc temperament in pupil.
Introduces Skill, Attitude, Tinking in students through assignments and ex-
ercises.
Results in whole brain development of a child.
Program targets on fundamental level.
Sometimes schools dont understand the concept of D4S which makes us dif-
cult to show benefts of our program.
Schools wants measurable outcome from the D4S as there is no report card.
Mentors Interview
As per the owner he had few mentors from NID who helped him defning the
objective of course and design the curriculum with accordance. We decided to
meet them and understand what they really expect this program to deliver and
how such programs can bring change in the students life.
Following are the key insights came out of from the interview with mentors:
Top economic layers are trend setters they need to be convinced to accept D4S
and rest of the layers will follow them.
Creativity and analytical thinking can be systematically taught and judged.
D4S should not be experimental. Rather progressiveness has to be portrayed.
People need to be educated, how and where design thinking can help them in
their life and career.
Disconnect would creep in when the teachers are not trained according to the
original philosophy retained by the concept.
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OPPORTUNITY AREAS- (DEFINE PHASE)
Afer conducting all the interviews with the stakeholders we observed
that there were few points which were being repeated in most of the interviews.
We listed down those points as follows on which we can work to improve the
organization:
Communication B -2-B
Gaps in stated ad Perceived Values
Curriculum Development
Curriculum Implementation
Business Proposals and Approach[Business Development]
Methods to Measure the End-Results.
From the principles and owners interview we realized that for them it
is being difcult to measure the end results of the program. Right now students
judge their own assignment of the skill, thinking and attitude basis which prin-
ciples feel is not appropriate to come up with any conclusion about the program.
We further decided to work upon this area to measure the improvement in stu-
dents. It was necessary to focus on the exact problem and to defne our problem
statement before starting up with any work to have focused results which will be
best suited for D4S.
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RE-ITERATED PROBLEM STATEMENT
Design4School is not able to justify its product to its customers (principals and
trustees of school) in some cases. A study needs to be conducted to fnd a solu-
tion which can be used to empower the customer (principals and trustees) to be
able to understand and verify the end results in a quantifable way.
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ACTION PLAN
Focusing on the stated problem we decided to divide our approach
into three Phases i.e. First phase- Interviews and Discussion, Second Phase-
Analyzing the data and Tird Phase- Literature and concept generation. Our
approach was to understand how these stakeholders perceive D4S and what
values they believe D4S should deliver for students.
We again divided interview phase into three segments in frst segment
we interviewed Mentors to understand concept of D4S before starting up the
program. Second segment was to have interview with owners to understand
how they developed the curriculum as per the concept and its stated values.
Tird and fnal stage of interview was to understand the implementation part
of the program and to understand how principles, parents and students per-
ceive this program. We decided to talk with the class 7th -9th students to have
better understanding as they had spent a decent amount of time with D4S
program.
Our idea was to select at least three common values which all the stake-
holders perceive in D4S and to develop a solution which can judge or mea-
sure the values at the years end. Tis would help D4S to show their results in
pitching with the new schools and to modify their curriculum if results are not
satisfactory.
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VALUES MAPPING CHART
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THE FINDINGS

Following are the 3 common values which came through interviews
of various stake holders. Most of the stakeholders believed that this course
should help students in their future. Tey believe it gives them an idea about
the decision making skills and critical thinking. Whereas parents most the time
confused this course with a new art and craf course and believed it should in-
crease their creativity level. Most of the assignment of D4S is creativity orient-
ed which are judged by the students by their own on the basis of skill, thinking
and attitude. Assignments are designed in such a way that they allow students
to create things and think about them simultaneously which helps them to
improve their decision making skills and critical thinking.
1. Creativity-
Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and valuable is created
(such as an idea, a joke, an artistic or literary work, a painting or musical com-
position, a solution, an Invention etc.).
2. Critical Tinking-
Critical thinking is a way of deciding whether a claim is true, partially true, or
false.
3. Decision making-
Decision making is the cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or
a course of action among several alternative possibilities.
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Te studies directed us to develop a tool which can calculate/quantify & assess
changes in the decision making skills of a school going children in a given frame
of time.
Tis Tool will Enable:
A.
B.
C.
A. Company to justify its concept to schools by showing them factual
results.
B. Company to re-evaluate the concept from time to time.
Te Schools to show some ground results to the inquisitive parents.
THE SOLUTION - DEVELOP PHASE
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Dybdal, L., Sondag, K. A., (2000). Developing Decision Making Skills
through the use of Critical Incidents. Journal of Health Education, March/
April.
Te authors discuss a teaching technique focused on development of
good decision-making skills. Te technique takes students through the steps
of the decision making model. Tese steps are, describing problem, checking
infuences, identifying alternatives, checking risks and consequences, decision
action and evaluation. Te technique advocates use of pre-written scenari-
os and worksheets as teaching aids. Factors that infuence decision-making
among the youth are listed and students are expected to react to them depend-
ing on the critical incident they are dealing with.
Ochoa-Becker, Anna S. Decision Making in Middle School Social Studies:
An Imperative for Youth and Democracy.
Argues that social-studies curricula should foster values and practices
consistent with democratic values; that this requires critical thinkers who can
make informed decisions; and that decision making is based on being able to
ask good, probing questions. Discusses the nature of middle-school learners,
the strengthening of democracy, and socialization and counter-socialization.
Elias & Tobias,1994, Teaching Problem Solving to Students
Youth who make decisions to engage in risky behavior can negative-
ly afect themselves and society in general. Making sound decisions not only
assists youth in resisting pressure to engage in risky behaviors, but also fosters
social skills and social awareness, and encourages them to think about conse-
quences, decide on goals, and understand their own and others feelings (Elias
and Tobias 1990)
CASE STUDIES REFFERED LITERATURE STUDIED
CONCEPTUALIZATION AND OPERATIONALIZATION
Measurement is one of the most important pillars of social science research.
Researchers need measures to test hypotheses and gather data. Measurement
begins afer a researcher has formulated a research question, refned it into a
focused research problem, and determined the variables and units of analysis
that will be used in the research project. When developing measures, the re-
searcher is primarily concerned with developing clear defnitions and creating
measures that will yield precise, accurate fndings. Scientists measure three
things: direct observables (things we can see directly), indirect observables (like
observing a persons race from the check mark made on the questionnaire),
and constructs (theoretical creations that cannot be observed directly or in-
directly). Te measurement process begins with concepts and ends with spe-
cifc, concrete indicators. Te researcher then uses measures to produce data.
Conceptualization is the process through which we specify what we mean when we
use particular concepts in a study. (Concepts are mental images or abstract aspects
of reality). Conceptualization is the process of thinking through the meanings of a
concept. It involves describing the indicators (measurable evidence) well be using
to measure the concept and the diferent aspects of the concepts called dimensions.
An indicator is a sign of the presence or absence of the concept were studying.
Te specifcation of concepts in a scientifc inquiry depends on nominal and
operational defnitions. A nominal defnition is a statement that assigns a def-
nition to a concept while operational defnition specifes the operations in-
volved in measuring a concept. Examples of questions that we might ask in
this stage are: What does income mean in my study? Should income include all
sources of income or should I restrict it to income from paid employment only?
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Operationalization is the development of specifc research procedures that will
result in empirical observations representing concepts in the real world. So-
cial scientists consider the following issues during the measurement process:
RANGE OF VARIATION: In operationalizing concepts, the researcher
must be clear about the desirable range of the attributes composing each vari-
able in the study. Te range of variation is not a concern in the measurement
of a variable like gender but it applies to many social science variables. For ex-
ample, the variable annual income ranges from none to billions of dollars. How
far to the extremes should annual incomes extend? It is recommended that a
researcher should try to capture the full range of variation of the variable but the
fnal decision on the range of variation should be governed by the nature of the
study and the expected distribution of attributes among the subjects of the study.
Variations between extremes: Another choice pertains to how fne the dis-
tinctions will be among the various possible attributes composing a giv-
en variable. How much detail do you need? Tis choice is also infuenced by
the purpose of the study, but social scientists err on the side of gathering too
much detail rather than too little when they are unsure about how to proceed.
Use of single or multiple indicators: Some variables are easily measured through
a single questionnaire item - Gender: Male Female is a simple example.
We may also determine a survey respondents age by asking: How old are
you? Other variables (like the GPA) are less straightforward and may require
a researcher to use several questionnaire items to measure them adequately.
Mutual Exclusiveness and Exhaustiveness: Attributes of a variable should be
exhaustive and mutually exclusive (no overlapping attributes). Exhaustiveness:
Te attributes composing a variable are exhaustive when every observation can
be classifed in terms of one of the attributes composing a variable. In other
words, there must be sufcient categories so that virtually all persons, events or
objects under study will ft into one of the categories. Te variable race whose
attributes are African American and Asian does not meet the exhaustiveness
criteria. Why? Mutually exclusiveness: Te persons or things classifed must
not ft into more than one category. We must be able to classify every observa-
tion into one and only one attribute of the variable (no overlapping attributes).
CRITERIA OF MEASUREMENT QUALITY:
A. Precision and Accuracy: Precision concerns the fneness of dis-
tinctions made between the attributes that compose the variable.
B. Reliability is defned as the degree to which a procedure produces consis-
tent estimates over time. Reliability involves whether a particular technique
applied repeatedly would yield the same (consistent) results each time it is
applied to the same object (as long as what you are measuring is not chang-
ing). Researchers can test or improve the reliability of measures through the
test-retest method, the split-half method, the use of established measures,
and examination of work performed by researchers (e.g. calling a sample of
respondents so that their responses can be verifed). Can you think of prob-
lems with the test-retest procedure? (An example of split-half method: I have
14 questionnaire items all measuring political conservatism among college
students. I randomly divide the items into two groups of 7. I use the frst 7
questions and fnd that a class of 100 sociology students is twice as conser-
vative as a class of 100 business majors. I get the same results using the sec-
ond set of 7 questions. I would conclude that my measure is very reliable).
C. Validity refers to the extent to which an empirical measure adequately re-
LITERATURE STUDIED
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fects the real meaning of the concept under consideration. Validity refers to
the getting results that accurately refect the concept being measured. Validity
can be enhanced through establishing face validity, criterion related validity (or
predictive validity), construct validity and content validity. Face validity is the
easiest type of validity to achieve. It is the judgment by the scientifc communi-
ty that the indicator really measures the construct. Face validity addresses the
question: On the face of it, do people believe that the defnition and method
of measurement ft? Content validity involves whether a measure captures the
range of meanings included in a concept. For example, we can defne feminism
as a persons commitment to a set of beliefs creating full equality between men
and women in the areas of the arts, intellectual pursuits, work, politics, edu-
cation, etc. We can proceed to create a measure of feminism which asks two
survey questions: (1) Should women and men get equal pay for equal work and
(2) should men and women share household tasks? Tis measure of feminism
has low content validity because the two questions ask only about equal pay and
household tasks and ignore all the other areas. Criterion validity is related to the
extent to which a particular measure is related to later criterion ( e.g. If stress
is known to cause sickness, a really good measure of stress should predict the
likelihood of getting sick in the future), while construct validity is based on the
way the measure relates to some other variables within a theoretical relationship
(e.g. does authoritarianism vary, in the predicted way, with child rearing prac-
tices and voting behaviour? If you hypothesized that self-esteem would be more
likely to be high among students who participated in extra-curricular activities
at school than among those who did not, you might correlate the self-esteem
scale with participation rates in school activities as a means of gathering one
kind of evidence that the self-esteem scale was measuring what you believed .
ASSESSMENT & EVALUATION IN EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION
- AMANDA BOROW
Experiential Education is a pedagogical approach that facilitates student learning
through refection on active experience. Each student constructs knowledge based
on his or her own interpretation of an experience through his or her unique frame
of reference; consequently, each students learning outcomes are personal and
varied. Given this core aspect of experiential education, assessment and evalua-
tion of student learning within an experiential education program is challenging.
My introduction to assessment within the context of experi-
ential education occurred at the Courageous Sailing Center.
I was tasked to develop an evaluation strategy to measure the impact
of the 2012 Summer Youth Sailing Programs on students. As the Courageous
vision states, the Youth Programs aim to provide students with both the tech-
nical skills of sailing as well as the opportunity to develop character skills.
In line with this vision statement, the evaluation focused specifcally on mea-
suring the impact of the program on the development of the following charac-
ter skills: Confdence, Responsibility, Respect for Diversity and Preparedness
for the Future. Tere were some initial challenges in developing the assessment
tools and implementation strategy. First, although the development of these
character skills is part of the Courageous mission, there was no explicit curric-
ulum to encourage or facilitate students development of these skills. Second, I
did not have prior knowledge regarding the theoretical foundations of experi-
ential education nor the role of assessment within experiential education and
was therefore unprepared in many respects to develop the assessment strategy.
LITERATURE STUDIED
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Mean Values:
Te mean of a numeric variable is calculated by adding the values of all ob-
servations in a data set and then dividing that sum by the number of ob-
servations in the set. Tis provides the average value of all the data.
Mean = sum of all the observation values number of observations
T-Test:
We use this test for comparing the means of two samples (or treatments), even
if they have diferent numbers of replicates. In simple terms, the t-test com-
pares the actual diference between two means in relation to the variation in the
data (expressed as the standard deviation of the diference between the means).
t= [mean(x2) mean(x1)] / SEM
Standard Deviation:
In statistics and probability theory, the standard deviation shows how
much variation or dispersion from the average exists. A low stan-
dard deviation indicates that the data points tend to be very close to
the mean (also called expected value); a high standard deviation indi-
cates that the data points are spread out over a large range of values.
Table of Critical Values:
Mean values can be misleading sometimes and variation can be re-
sult of chance or probability. We have to countercheck it on every step.
Table of Critical Values gives the t-val-
ue at which the result has a particular level of signifcance.
Cronbachs alpha coefcient:
Cronbachs (alpha)is a coefcient of internal consistency. It is commonly
used as an estimate of the reliability of a psychometric testfor a sample of
examinees.
Cronbachs alpha statistic is widely used in the social sciences, business,
nursing, and other disciplines
Te theoretical value of alpha varies from zero to 1, since it is the ratio of two
variances.
However, depending on the estimation procedure used, estimates of alpha
can take on any value less than or equal to 1, including negative values, al-
though only positive values make sense.
Higher values of alpha are more desirable.
Some professionals,as arule of thumb, require a reliability of 0.70 or higher
before they will use an instrument.
LITERATURE STUDIED
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A comprehensive study of all the case studies and the Research Papers gave a
conclusion about the elements or rather Skill Set those are inclusive in them-
selves and collectively defnes a Decision-Making Process
Tose Skill Sets are:
Defne Problem:
Systematic Goal Formation
Precise Description of problems
Reaction to situation/incidents
Analytical thinking and interpretation of situation
Willingness to make a choice
Generate Alternatives:
Ability to Question Peoples Choices.
Searches for new info. About choice.
Describe facts and note accuracy of info about alternatives.
Use of Combination of choice alternatives.
Check Risks and Consequences:
Describe pros/cons of decision
Compromise to modify for viable options.
Check range of objectives and values
Develop criteria for discussing solutions
ASSESSMENT TOOL
Select Alternative:
Make a choice from the list
Plan for implementation of decision
Commitment to selected alternative.
Evaluate:
Observe and interpret Outcomes
Judge worth of decisions made
Correctness of choices are reasonable than others
Understand need to use information for future decision making
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In order to capture each factor on the assessment tool, multiple questions
based on the sub-skills were employed.
Tese Questions needs to be answered on a likert Scale ranging from 1-5
1- Never
2- Rarely
3- Sometimes
4- Ofen
5- Always
Te Questions were:
Defne the Problem ( cronbachs alpha= 0.6340)
I easily identify my problems.
I think about the problem before I take action
I look for information to help me understand the problem
I ask others to help me identify my problem.
Identifying Alternatives ( cronbachs alpha= 0.7057)
I think about ways of dealing with my problem.
I think before making a choice.
I discuss choices with my friends.
I discuss choices with my parents.
Identify Risks and consequences ( cronbachs alpha= 0.6577)
I look for positive points of possible choices.
I look for negative points of possible choices.
I consider the risks of a choice before making a decision.
I consider the benefts of a choice before making a decision.
Selecting Alternatives ( cronbachs alpha= 0.8456)
I make decisions based on what my parents tell me.
When faced with a decision, I realize that some choices are better than
others.
I make a decision by thinking about all the information I have about the
diferent choices.
I prioritize my choices before making a decision.
Evaluate Decision ( cronbachs alpha= 0.8960)
Before making another decision, I think about how the last one turned out.
I do think of past choices when making new decisions.
If I experience negative consequences, I change my decision the next time.
Tis Tool has to be used in two phases in order to compare the results in order
to assess impact of the Program to be tested : Pre-Test and Post-Test
Tis Assessment tool can be flled up by mentor(same mentor for pre and post
test) in case of child being unable to do it himself or by the student himself if
capable.
QUESTIONNAIRE
23
Te next step is to check and evaluate the fndings for the results.
It is divided into 3 Steps
Tis Value- of T-static can be both Positive and Negatives.
Te Positive Value of T-Static means a positive change in Decision Making
Skills of the student under consideration and negative value depicts a decrease
or degradation in the skills when considered to pre-test results given the T-static
value lies over the 80% confdence level Bracket.
To Calculate the mathematical Mean of
the scores obtained by student
To Compare both the means- T-Test to
be conducted to fnd t-static
t-static to be checked in the table of crit-
ical values to check the surity or conf-
dence level of answer being correct.
RESULTS
24
SCREEN SHOT OF THE DEVELOPED CALCULATION TOOL
25
SCREEN SHOT OF THE DEVELOPED CALCULATION TOOL
26
Te study conducted gave us an insight that any similar program such as De-
sign4School inculcates 2 types of skills in an user:
1. Hand Skill
2. Life Skill
Te Hand Skills are tangible and visible to naked eye. Tey can be measured,
judged and appretiated by any human having some experience in the domain.
While on the other hand, In this rapidly changing world, youth need to be
equipped with skills to guide them as they make decisions. Young people make
lifestyle and career choices that impact their futures and the future of society.
Life skills of personal fnance and consumerism are grounded in the ability to
make sound decisions (Jump$tart Coalition 2002).
Decision-making can be taught in a variety of curriculum areas, such as
resource management, food and nutrition, textile science, health, and personal
development. Educational resources are needed for teachers and volunteers
using curricula to efectively convey the steps in the decision-making process
to ensure that youth understand and practice the skills necessary to make
sound decisions. Youth curricula should be designed to include both activities
that teach decision-making skills and opportunities for youth to practice these
skills.
So, the tool developed at the end of the study, tries to measure Decision
Making in the given context and assumptions that, same environment and con-
ditioning is provided to the user of the service i.e. school going kid.
Further research is needed to explore the frequency of use of deci-
sion-making skills among diferent groups of youth. Developing a parallel
assessment instrument for other necessary life skills is also needed.
CONCLUSION
27
REFERENCES
Barkman, S. 2002. Te Four Fold Youth Development Model.
Dybdal, L., and K.A. Sondag. 2000. Developing decision-making skills through
the use of critical incidents. Journal of Health Education, 31(2): 115-118.
Elias, M.J., and S.E. Tobias. 1990. Problem Solving/decision-making for social
academic success.
Ochoa-Becker, A.S. 1999. Decision-making in middle school social studies: An
imperative for youth and democracy.
Mincemoyer, Claudia C., and Daniel F. Perkins. 2003. Assessing decision-mak-
ing skills of youth
Amanda Borow, Assessment & Evaluation in Experiential Education
[ONLINE] http://ext.wsu.edu/ ( Washington State University Extension