Trade-Off Analysis

Before an effective decision can be made, multiple points of view must be considered, analyzed, and resolved. Trade-Off Analysis is used dring decision making to determine the possible effects of lessening one or more important factors while at the same time increasing one or more other important aspect of the issue or problem.

Implementation

1. Assign students to groups to ensure that they represent different interests or attitudes related to the problem being examined.

· The problem should be one that reflects conflicting values so that trade-offs are required to resolve the issue.

2. Each group may have a different problem or all may work on the same.

3. Monitor the groups during the discussion to ensure that they are on task and that all students are involved.

 

Classroom Management

1. Assign students in groups a problem to be solved.
2. Students brainstorm a list of all elements and factors represented by different perspectives on the problem.
3. Next, have students generate alternative ideas that represent opposing viewpoints to the ones they originally identified.
4. The final step in the trade-off is to review all the ideas they have collected and priority rank them according to their likelihood for solving the problem.
5. Trade less popular alternative solution for others requires students to relinquish some options.
6. Each group will prepare an explanation of the key points in their process to share with the entire class.