Decision Education Research Grants and Awards Program

Investing in building a knowledge base for the field of Decision Education

About the Award

The Decision Education Research Scholarship Award is open to current graduate students from any academic discipline. Winning research papers that demonstrate insight and innovation in the growing field of Decision Education will receive a $1,500 award.

All graduate students currently enrolled in a degree program (master’s degree or doctoral degree, part time or full time) are eligible to apply.

The deadline to submit papers has closed.

Paper Requirements

Research papers should meet with the following criteria:

Submissions will be evaluated based on the clarity of the literature review, depth of analysis, quality of scholarship, focus on child or adolescent populations, and relevance to Decision Education.

Information and Learning Sessions

If you have questions about Decision Education or your paper topic, we invite you to attend one of our upcoming virtual information sessions or drop-in hours. Please note that attendance is not required for award consideration.

Please contact the Alliance Research Department with additional questions, or if you are interested in attending a session but not available on the above dates.

For information on other opportunities, please fill out the interest form below to connect with the Research team.

Guidelines for Writing Papers

Papers submitted for the Decision Education Research Scholarship are meant to contribute to and enhance the field of Decision Education. Research paper submissions should be an analytical literature review focusing on a topic related to the four K–12 Learning Domains of Decision Education: 1) Recognizing and Resisting Cognitive Biases, 2) Valuing and Applying Rationality, 3) Thinking Probabilistically, and 4) Structuring Decisions.

Please see our list of sample topics below. Applicants are welcome to explore other subjects closely related to the learning domains. We do, however, strongly urge applicants interested in alternative topics to contact us at research@alliancefordecisioneducation.org before writing their papers to ensure their topic aligns with the paper requirements.

Papers should include a review of research outlining major findings on the topic area and demonstrate clear and explicit relevance to Decision Education. They should also address implications for student learning and outcomes and provide suggestions for future research.

Suggested Topics

*Please note: If you are interested in submitting a paper on a topic not listed below, we urge you to contact us at research@alliancefordecisioneducation.org to ensure the topic is eligible for award consideration.

Recognizing and Resisting Cognitive Biases

  1. Training interventions or instructional strategies to help children and/or adolescents resist cognitive biases
  2. The impact of specific cognitive biases and heuristics on child and/or adolescent judgment and decision-making
  3. The development of cognitive biases in childhood and/or adolescence

Valuing and Applying Rationality

  1. Child and/or adolescent metacognition (including training interventions to improve K-12 students’ metacognition)
  2. The development of active open-mindedness and/or intellectual humility in childhood and/or adolescence
  3. The impact of self-regulation on child and/or adolescent decision-making

Thinking Probabilistically

  1. Training interventions or instructional strategies of probabilistic thinking tasks, activities, or concepts for children and/or adolescents
  2. Expected value, probability theory, or game theory in child and/or adolescent development

Structuring Decisions

  1. Decision structuring tools (decision trees, weight-and-rate tool, etc.) and their use/impact on judgment and decision-making for children and/or adolescents
  2. Grit and commitment devices and their use or efficacy for choice follow through among children and/or adolescents

Example Papers

The following papers received the Decision Education Research Scholarship Award previously due to their quality of analysis, focus on K–12 populations, and relevance to Decision Education:

Read more about previous award recipients on our blog.

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