ABSTRACT
This chapter delves into the role of schools, particularly teachers, to help students become responsible decision makers in a world where many adults have stopped providing moral guidance. It discusses own thoughts regarding responsible decision-making, and helps us to learn how to help students develop personal ethics. The chapter also helps us to learn to incorporate responsible decision-making into classroom culture. Students whose emotional needs are being met in classroom have a better chance of remembering what is taught, both for an assessment, but also as a larger schema of information that guides their decision-making. Infusing decision-making into a biology class can serve dual purposes. Students will be highly engaged in the content in order to authentically apply the learning, thus moving the information from their short-term memory to their long-term memory. Additionally, students are able to rehearse their decision-making based on personal ethics, a skill that will greatly benefit students socially and emotionally in their futures.
