Preparing Students for Tomorrow’s Challenges An Overview of the F uture P roblem S olving P rogram

F uture P roblem S olving P rogram Opening doors to the future...

Designed to help students enlarge, enrich and make more accurate their images of the future, Future Problem Solving engages students in learning. FPS equips today’s young people with the vision and skills needed to anticipate, understand and solve the problems of tomorrow. FPSP is interdisciplinary and its components meet the creative thinking, creative writing, leadership skills and academic aptitude needs of gifted students.

FPSP Creative Problem Solving Activities Include: Team and Individual Problem Solving Community Problem Solving/ Service Learning Creative Writing Curriculum Centered Problem Solving

F uture P roblem S olving teaches students how to think... not what to think

Students develop generating and focusing skills while working cooperatively and collaboratively in groups

The FPSP six-step model for building dynamic, creative thinking  Identify  Identify Challenges ­ Select ­ Select an Underlying Problem ® Produce ® Produce Solution Ideas ¯ Generate & Select ¯ Generate & Select Criteria to Evaluate Solution Ideas ° Evaluate ° Evaluate Solution Ideas ± Develop ± Develop an Action Plan

The F uture P roblem S olving P rogram stimulates  Imagination  Ingenuity  Creativity

Through FPS, students… Develop creative thinking  Develop creative thinking Increase awareness of and interest in the future  Increase awareness of and interest in the future  Learn and employ problem-solving strategies Develop, utilize and improve research techniques  Develop, utilize and improve research techniques Exercise critical and analytical thought  Exercise critical and analytical thought Improve oral and written communication  Improve oral and written communication  Develop team work skills  Engage in real-life problem solving

The F uture P roblem S olving P rogram This award winning, educational program was founded in 1974 by Dr. E. Paul Torrance. Internationally renowned for his work in creativity and gifted education, he was also a distinguished professor emeritus at the University of Georgia.

“As we approach the millennium, we need models of instruction that provide us - teachers, students, administrators, parents and community members - with opportunities that challenge students to think creatively and productively about authentic problems and issues confronting our diverse society.” -John Barell, 1997 Future Problem Solving is research-based. Each year five topics are selected by students from: Social/Political Business/Economics Science/Technology

FPSP Participation 42 US states, Australia, Korea New Zealand (Mentored Countries: Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore)

Over 250,000 students participate in F uture P roblem S olving each year. FPS impacts positively the lives of 1,000,000 people each year. In a 1999 survey of CmPS students at the FPSP International Conference it was determined that the 55 Community Problem Solving teams participating in IC impacted 494,000 persons to date. This figure does not include the over 300 other CmPS teams not attending IC. Marie Doyle - Miami, Florida

FPSP Team Competition  Three divisions:   Junior – grades 4-6   Middle – grades 7-9   Senior – grades  Four-person teams + coach  Students explore complex societal issues  FPSP topics   Healthy Living, Air Transportation,   Genetic Testing, Water Quality, and Emergency Planning  Practice problems, qualifying problem, affiliate finals and international competition  Feedback and evaluation provided  Top teams advance to International Conference

Community Problem Solving (CmPS)  Team - Three divisions:   Junior – grades 4-6   Middle – grades 7-9   Senior – grades  No limit to the number of students on a team (limit of 15 students for International Conference)  Students identify and solve real community problems  Teams select CmPS projects from environmental concerns, human services, civic/cultural issues health concerns and education  Projects receive guidance, evaluation and feedback  Top teams in each division attend the FPSP International Conference

Community Problem Solving (CmPS)  Individual - Three divisions:   Junior – grades 4-6   Middle – grades 7-9   Senior – grades  One student working in either community service, community exploration or community action  Identifies and solves real community problem  Student selects project from environmental concerns, human services, civic/cultural issues health concerns and education  Project receives guidance, evaluation and feedback  Top individual in community action in each division attends the FPSP International Conference

Teams of four students apply the FPSP six-step model, facilitated by an FPSP coach. Today’s students solving tomorrow’s global challenges

2010 International Conference Junior Division Team Competition 2010 International Conference Junior Division Team Competition

Jaren Brownlee Peyton Heaberlin Hannah Smith Ethan Stanley FPSPI 2010 International Competition LaCrosse, Wisconsin

Prep-work.

The opening mixer is one of the highlights of IC where students make new friends and exchange mementos from their home state or country.

Nervous, Difficult, and Rewarding 2010 Competition

2001 Alternates Competition Champions Junior and Middle Division

What are FPS graduates doing now?

… to their homes … … to their communities … … to their workplaces. As FPS students mature, they take FPS with them … … to their homes … … to their communities … … to their workplaces.

From Melbourne to Manhattan, FPSP has offered me a wide range of valuable opportunities – opportunities which I would never have imagined would have been mine. I am certain that participating in FPSP has been an invaluable experience for me that has added much to my life, and, as I continue to be involved, I am excitedly hopeful that my ‘journey’ with FPSP will include many more surprise destinations. — Heather McKenzie Australia Future Problem Solver Australia Future Problem Solver “A journey has destinations of which the traveler is not aware at the outset.”

My involvement in FPS has greatly enriched my critical thinking and problem solving skills. It has broadened my world view and changed my perspective of where I belong in that view. Unlike any traditional curriculum that I have seen, FPSP utilizes skills and thought processes that are truly applicable to real life. Heather Gray — Heather Gray University of Michigan University of Michigan Elementary Education Elementary Education

The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible – and achieve it, generation after generation. — Pearl S. Buck

Help open doors to the future.

Join the Future Problem Solving Program today.

F uture P roblem S olving P rogram International Office 2015 Grant Place Melbourne, FL Phone: Fax: The Future Problem Solving Program is a non-profit tax-exempt educational organization.