Interactive method and system for teaching decision making

Abstract

The present invention is directed to an interactive computer tool for presenting and presenting documents directed to decision-making. The computer tool requires users to identify choice options and, for each choice option, relevant consequences, outcomes, and/or goals, for evaluating outcomes therefor.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computational system, provided on a communications network, having at least one computer together with both a display and data storage operably connected thereto, for processing user data, comprising:
 A selection means including the at least one computer, for selecting one of a plurality of different factual contexts for performing the operations (a) through (h) following by the at least one computer configured to perform predetermined computer programmatic instructions for performing the steps (a) through (h), wherein each of the factual contexts describes a corresponding situation within which a participant is presented with one or more choices for one or more possible behaviors for performing in said factual context, and wherein each of the factual contexts is provided as input to the computer programmatic instructions when these instructions are performed by the at least one computer;
 (a) presenting the one factual context to a user via by the at least one computer upon retrieval by the at least one computer of the one factual context from the data storage, wherein the one factual context resides in the data storage, the one factual context describing a situation wherein one or more possible behaviors are available to the participant of said one factual context;
 wherein the one factual context has associated therewith in the data storage 
 a plurality of choice option data items, distinct from the one factual context presented, describing choices of behavior for the participant, of the one factual context, for behaving in the corresponding situation, wherein the choice option data items include first and second different choice option data items, 
 
 wherein in response to the presenting of the one factual context to the user in operation (a), the operations (b) through (g) following are performed: 
 (b) requesting, via an output of the at least one computer, the user to specify a first collection of one or more of the choice option data items for identifying a behavior for the participant to perform in the one factual context, the requesting step (b) provided by the computer programmatic instructions performed by the at least one computer, the first collection including the first and second choice option data items; 
 (c) storing the first collection in the data storage; 
 (d) requesting, from an output of the at least one computer, the user to specify a second collection of the result data items corresponding to at least some of the choice option data items, the requesting step (d) provided by the computer programmatic instructions performed by the at least one computer; 
 (e) requesting, from an output of the at least one computer, the user to specify a third collection of one or more goal data items that are relevant to at least some of the choice option data items, the requesting step (e) provided by the computer programmatic instructions performed by the at least one computer;
 wherein each of the one factual context, the plurality of choice option data items, the plurality of result data items, and the plurality of goal data items reside in the data storage prior to an initial performance of the steps (a) through (e) for the user; 
 
 (f) requesting, by the at least one computer, data identifying a corresponding reasoning from the user for each of the first and second choice option data items, the requesting step (f) provided by the computer programmatic instructions performed by the at least one computer;
 wherein for each of the first and second choice option data items, the corresponding reasoning therefor includes data identifying a user reason in favor of the user selecting the choice option data item, and data identifying a user reason not in favor of the user selecting the choice option data item; 
 
 (g) receiving, by the at least one computer, data identifying a selected choice option data item of the first and second choice option data items, the selected choice option data item chosen by the user as having a preferred one of the possible behaviors over one of the possible behaviors for the other of the first and second choice option data items, the receiving step (g) provided by the computer programmatic instructions performed by the at least one computer; and 
 (h) determining, by the computer programmatic instructions, when the instructions are provided with additional reasoning from the user as to why the selected choice option data item is selected instead of the other choice option data item, a score or assessment of a proficiency of a decision making skill of the user;
 wherein the step of determining the score or assessment is dependent upon the computer programmatic instructions determining whether the additional reasoning includes either (h-1) or (h-2) following:
 (h-1) data indicative of the user having performed one of (i) and (ii) following: 
 (i) a comparison of: for the selected choice option data item, the user reason in favor of selecting the selected choice option data item, and for the other choice option data item, the user reason in favor of selecting the other choice option data item; and 
 (ii) a comparison of: for the selected choice option data item, the user reason in favor of selecting the selected choice option data item, and for the other choice option data item, the user reason not in favor of selecting the other choice option data item; 
 (h-2) no data indicative of the user having performed a comparison of: (i) the reason in favor of the selected choice option data item or the user reason not in favor of the selected choice option data item with (ii) the reason in favor of the other choice option data item, or the user reason not in favor of the other choice option data item; and 
 wherein the score or assessment is indicative of a higher user proficiency when the additional reasoning includes the data indicative of a performance of (h-1)(i) above instead of (h-1)(ii) or (h-2); 
 
 
 wherein the score or assessment is used for identifying a difficulty or defect.