Cost, Benefit, and Beyond: Strengthening Critical Thinking Through Decision-Making Models

Empower your students with decision-making skills they’ll use for life! In this interactive workshop, you’ll explore two powerful economic models—Cost-Benefit Analysis and the PACED Decision-Making Model—and learn how to bring them to life in your classroom. Discover how these tools help students think critically, weigh options, and make smarter financial and personal choices. You’ll actively apply each model to real-world scenarios and collaborate with fellow educators to adapt them for economics, personal finance, civics, and history lessons. Walk away with ready-to-use resources, fresh ideas, and strategies to help students build confidence in making thoughtful decisions—in and out of school. This workshop content supports to the Connecticut Social Studies Standard’s “Dimension 2” of the Social Studies Inquiry Arc of “Thinking Like an Economist.”