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Teaching Pack: Building Decision Trees

2022

In this teaching pack on Building Decision Trees, students learn how to structure the elements (e.g., objectives, alternatives, probabilities, and outcomes) of a problem into a decision tree model, conduct a baseline analysis of the expected value of different alternatives, assess the value of perfect information, and perform sensitivity analyses. Materials include an instructor's note, videos, companion slides, a glossary, an annotated bibliography, and sample exercises.

Learning Objectives

  1. Integrate the core elements (alternatives, chances, outcomes) of a decision problem into a decision tree model.
  2. Calculate the expected value of each alternative using a process of averaging and folding back the decision tree.
  3. Calculate the expected value of perfect information.
  4. Perform a basic sensitivity analysis and threshold analysis.

Teaching Pack Materials

  • Instructor's Note: Building Decision Trees
  • Videos, Part 1: A Father's Decision (2 videos)
  • Videos, Part 2: Mosquito-Borne Threat (3 videos)
  • Companion Slides to Videos, Part 1: A Father's Decision
  • Companion Slides to Videos, Part 2: Mosquito-Borne Threat
  • Glossary: Building Decision Trees
  • Bibliography: Building Decision Trees
  • Sample Exercises: Building Decision Trees

This teaching pack was developed by Sue J. Goldie at the Center for Health Decision Science, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The multimedia components were developed as part of a series of pilots in the CHDS Media Hub, led by Jake Waxman, where media-based pedagogy experiments contribute to new ways of thinking about short form content. More than 75 multimedia segments were created with a creative and consistent look and feel, designed to foster connection and social proximity with the instructor, while leveraging evidence-based multimedia design principles to optimize cognitive strategies for the learner.

 

Source:

Teaching Pack: Building Decision Trees. Center for Health Decision Science, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health 2022. http://repository.chds.hsph.harvard.edu/repository/collection/teaching-pack-building-decision-trees