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Impairment And Decision Quality Simulator

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About this MicroSim

Impairment And Decision Quality Simulator is an interactive MicroSim for this health-education textbook.

Students evaluate realistic decision scenarios under

Use the controls in the panel below the drawing to interact with the model, then talk through what changed and why. The MicroSim is width-responsive and can be embedded in any course page with the iframe shown above.

Bloom's Taxonomy level: Evaluate (L5) — evaluate, judge, assess, justify

Lesson Plan

Audience

This MicroSim is designed for Grades 9-12. For the K-3 bands the teacher typically drives the activity on a shared screen; older students can explore the MicroSim independently.

Learning Objective

Students evaluate realistic decision scenarios under

This activity targets Bloom's Evaluate (L5) (evaluate, judge, assess, justify).

Suggested Use (about 10 minutes)

  1. Warm up (2 min). Ask students what they already know about the topic and let one volunteer describe what they see on the screen.
  2. Model it (3 min). Demonstrate the interaction once, thinking aloud so students hear the reasoning behind each choice.
  3. Guided practice (3 min). Invite students to try the interaction and to predict what will happen before they act.
  4. Discuss (2 min). Ask why the result came out the way it did, connecting the on-screen result back to the learning objective above.

Check for Understanding

Have each student (or pair) explain their result in one sentence, using the vocabulary from this chapter. Look for reasoning that matches the Evaluate-level objective rather than a lucky guess.

Specification

The full specification below was extracted from Chapter 10: Substances - Effects and Safer Choices.

Type: microsim

**sim-id:** impairment-and-decision-quality-simulator<br/>
**Library:** p5.js<br/>
**Status:** Specified

Bloom Taxonomy Level: Evaluate (L5)
Bloom Verb: evaluate, judge, assess, justify

Learning objective: Students evaluate realistic decision scenarios under
three conditions (sober, mildly impaired, more heavily impaired) and judge
how impairment level changes risk assessment, impulse control, and
consideration of consequences, without depicting any method of
intoxication.

Canvas layout:
- Left (55%): one decision scenario at a time (e.g., "Deciding whether to
  get in a car with a driver who has been drinking," "Deciding whether to
  try an unfamiliar pill offered at a party," "Deciding how to respond to
  an escalating argument")
- Right (45%): an impairment-level selector (Sober, Mildly Impaired, More
  Heavily Impaired) and a feedback panel

Data Visibility Requirements:
  Stage 1: Show the scenario with the impairment selector set to "Sober";
  feedback panel shows the sober reasoning process (risk noticed, weighed,
  consequence considered)
  Stage 2: Learner selects "Mildly Impaired"; feedback panel shows how risk
  assessment and impulse control measurably shift, grounded in the
  documented cognitive effects covered in this section
  Stage 3: Learner selects "More Heavily Impaired"; feedback panel shows
  the further shift toward immediate reward and away from consequence
  weighing
  Stage 4: A "Why This Matters" closing panel connects the pattern to the
  fentanyl-contamination fact and to consent, both covered in this chapter,
  reinforcing that impairment does not just change mood — it changes the
  decision itself

Interactive controls:
- Impairment-level selector (three options)
- Scenario "Next" button
- Button: "Reset"

Default parameters: Three-scenario bank; starts at Sober for each new
scenario

Instructional Rationale: Judging how impairment changes the quality of a
decision across multiple realistic scenarios is an Evaluate-level task; a
selector-based comparison across impairment levels lets students construct
their own before/after judgment rather than being told the conclusion,
while avoiding any depiction of substance use itself.

Implementation notes: p5.js; scenario and feedback text stored in a
structured object; no scenario depicts a method of obtaining, using, or
concealing a substance — scenarios describe only the decision point and
its context. Responsive canvas.

References