How one Upper School elective is shaping leaders across campuses

2/2/2026

When Dr. Tyler Yoder first began exploring the field of Behavioral Economics, he didn’t expect it to fundamentally change how he thought about teaching, or about the world around him. Trained as an historian of the ancient Near East, Dr. Yoder only encountered Behavioral Economics within the past decade. Encouraged to explore the discipline as part of an elective offering, he stepped into unfamiliar territory with curiosity, and what he found was transformative.

Now in his fourth year teaching Bias, Behavior, and the Brain: An Introduction to Behavioral Economics, Dr. Yoder continues to watch students experience what he describes as “threshold concepts”—ideas that, once understood, permanently alter how we view the world around us.

Students in the course regularly reflect on how the material applies beyond the classroom – from conversations at home with a parent, to choices about social media consumption, teamwork, and leadership.

That real-world relevance sparked an idea that would take the learning even further. During a class discussion last year, student Gianni Fedeli ’25 reflected on how powerful this information might have been if he had learned it during his formative Middle School years, and he had an idea: what if Upper School students shared their knowledge with their Middle School peers? The idea resonated immediately, especially for seniors in the class who were beginning to reflect on their legacy at US. With support from administrators at both the Upper and Middle Schools, Dr. Yoder and his students began developing a plan to share what they were learning on topics like screens, social media, and the brain with Middle School boys.

Each year, Upper School students in the course now prepare and deliver a presentation to Middle School boys on screens, social media, and decision-making. The experience is carefully framed around responsibility. Students spend time considering not only what they will say but how their message will be perceived and received by a younger audience. Dr. Yoder asks his students to remember what they were like at age 12, as a way to guide how to present the material to their younger peers.

The result is a powerful peer-to-peer exchange. Middle School teachers and administrators consistently share how meaningful it is for students to hear this message from older boys —students who were recently in their shoes and who speak with authenticity rather than authority.

For Dr. Yoder, the impact goes both ways. The experience challenges Upper School students to think deeply about leadership, ownership, and the influence that they can develop—qualities that reflect University School’s core values of Responsibility, Loyalty, and Consideration.

What began as an elective has become something more: a reminder that when students are trusted with responsibility, they are eager to rise to the occasion and bring others with them.

Experiences like this are possible because of the freedom and flexibility University School provides its faculty and students. Annual Fund support allows teachers to design courses with “open endings,” where student curiosity and initiative can shape meaningful, real-world learning. Thank you for choosing to support this kind of transformational work through the Annual Fund—work that empowers teachers to innovate and students to discover who they can become.

“This experience shifted how I approached the class. It was no longer just learning for myself but learning for others. My hope was that they would not treat it as a prescription, but as a nudge to inquire more deeply and begin asking their own questions about what it means to live well in a digital age.”

- Sahas Chhabra ‘27

“This experience fundamentally changed the way I think. Instead of wasting time on my phone, I’m now thinking about how I can be a voice in our generation around these ideas. There aren’t many spaces where young people are trusted to learn, reflect, and draw their own conclusions—and University School can be a leader in that space.

-Jack Nelson ‘27

Learn more about the US Annual Fund.

Back

- Sahas Chhabra ‘27 speaking to Middle School students
- Upper School students from the Bias, Behavior, and Brain course present to Middle School students on the Shaker Campusl