By investing in these initiatives, the Alliance is advancing its goal of empowering every student with the essential skill of decision-making
PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Alliance for Decision Education is proud to announce the grantees of the 2025 Alliance for Decision Education Research Grant. The grant provides a total of $1 million in funding to studies that fill critical research gaps to strengthen the evidence base for the field of Decision Education. This inaugural selection includes researchers and organizations generating insights that can work towards the Alliance’s goal of demonstrating the impact on K-12 students' lives, informing policy, and driving effective implementation in schools nationwide. Meet this year’s grantees:
Julia Minson, Ph.D. (Professor of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School) is the recipient of a grant to support the research project Using Generative AI to Train Teens in Engagement with Opposing Views. The study tests an intervention designed to help students engage thoughtfully with differing perspectives, reduce confirmation bias, and make more informed decisions. Because the intervention is technology-based and scalable, it has the potential to be implemented in classrooms nationwide.
Audrey Michal, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor of Psychology at University of Michigan-Flint) & Priti Shah, Ph.D. (Professor of Psychology at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor) received a grant for their project, Impacts of an Everyday Scientific Reasoning Intervention on Evidence-Based Health Decision-Making Among Adolescents. This study will add to the evidence base of effective, school-based curricular interventions by evaluating the impact of an intervention designed to improve adolescents' ability to critically assess health information.
Laura Mason, Ed.D., (Curriculum Development Director at Tennessee Board of Regents) & Juliette Biondi (Director at Tennessee Board of Regents) received a grant to evaluate SAILS (Seamless Alignment and Integrated Learning Support) Mathematical Reasoning for Decision Making (MRDM) among over 7,000 high school students in Tennessee. This research will measure the impact of the curriculum's finance, algebra, geometry, and statistics modules on students' financial literacy and post-secondary planning—adding to the evidence base of effective interventions and exploring best practices for scaling Decision Education to a broad range of students.
Mike Sell, Ph.D. (Professor of Language, Literature, and Writing at Indiana University of Pennsylvania Research Institute) & Rachel Schiera, Ph.D. (Associate Professor of Education at Lander University) received a grant for Decision Education, Decision Literacy, and Digital Storytelling in the High School English Language Arts Classroom. This study explores effective interventions for incorporating Decision Education into English Language Arts classrooms, adding to the research base on how Decision Education can be integrated into core subjects.
Azzurra Ruggeri, Ph.D. (Professor of Cognitive and Developmental Psychology at Technical University of Munich) received a grant for Developing and Testing the Active Learning and Decision Assessment Protocol (ADAPT). This project will design and validate a classroom-friendly measurement tool for assessing decision-making competencies in children and adolescents aged 8–16 years. The tool will make it easier to measure students’ decision-making skills consistently, giving educators and researchers clearer insights into how to support student development.
“We are thrilled to support this diverse group of research projects directly addressing critical questions in Decision Education,” said David Samuelson, Executive Director of the Alliance for Decision Education. “From leveraging AI to foster civic dialogue to developing the first classroom-ready assessment tool for decision-making skills, this year's grant recipients are pioneering research that will shape how we teach students to make better choices.”
For more information about the grant recipients and the Alliance for Decision Education’s work, click here.
About Alliance for Decision Education
The Alliance for Decision Education (the Alliance) is a national nonprofit and field builder with the mission of improving lives by empowering students with essential skills and dispositions for making better decisions. The Alliance partners with teachers, academic and business leaders, families and community members to raise awareness and lead the growing call to have Decision Education taught in schools across the country.
Media Contact
Ivy McDaniels
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ivy@alliancefordecisioneducation.org
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