Future Problem Solving Program International: Difference between revisions

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{{short description|Non-profit educational program}}

{{More citations needed|date=September 2024}}

{{Infobox organization

| image = Future Problem Solving Program International logo.png

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'''Future Problem Solving Program International''' ('''FPSPI'''), originally known as '''Future Problem Solving Program''' ('''FPSP'''), and often abbreviated to '''FPS''', is a non-profit educational program that organizes academic competitions in which students apply critical thinking and problem-solving skills to hypothetical future situations. The program looks at current technological, geopolitical, and societal trends and projects those trends 20–30 years into the future in order to train students to develop solutions to the challenges they may face as adults. FPSPI was founded by creativity researcher [[Ellis Paul Torrance]] in 1974.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fpspi.org/what-is-fpspi/|title=What is FPSPI?|access-date=2019-02-23}}</ref> Today, thousands of students from over 2014 countries participate in the program each year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Find an Affiliate |url=https://www.fpspi.org/slider/find-an-affiliate/ |language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-02}}</ref> Most FPSPI components are open to students who are in the equivalent of the [[Education in the United States#Educational stages|U.S. grade level]] range of 4 through 12.

== Structure ==

{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2024}}

FPSPI consists of state and nationwide organizations called affiliates. Each affiliate is responsible for conducting the competitions which take place in its own geographic area. Students begin preparing for competition at the start of each school year. Depending on the affiliate and the type of competition, there may be regional, state, or national levels of competition that take place during the year. Only the winners of any given competition qualify to proceed to the next level. The highest level of competition takes place at the annual International Conference (IC), which is held in May or June, at the end of the United States' school year. The IC is held at the campus of a public university in the United States (the country with the largest number of competitors), with a new ___location being chosen every two years.

== Pedagogy ==

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FPSPI was originally founded to train students to use a specific six-step problem-solving process:

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# Develop an elaborated Action Plan based on the highest-ranking solution.

The original Future Problem Solving competition—now known as '''Global Issues Problem Solving''' (GIPS)—evaluates students' competency in using this problem-solving process in the context of a fictional future situation. Students in the GIPS competition are grouped into grade level ranges and may compete as individuals or as teams of four. Prior to each competition event, FPSPI announces the competition topic (such as "Artificial Intelligence" or "Oceans") and provides a list of suggested readings. Students spend 1–2 months researching the topic with an eye to potential future challenges and solutions. At the beginning of the competition, students are given a Future Scene (FS), a one- to two-page document that describes the hypothetical future situation having to do with the pre-announced topic. Competitors then proceed according to the six-step process. Students are graded on their correct application of the process and on their use of cited research and creative originality. After completing the six-step process in two hours, students then immediately begin work on a second competition called "Presentation of Action Plan" in which they illustrate their final solution by preparing and performing a skit.

FPSPI later developed additional programs that make use of the six-step problem-solving process, or that otherwise train students in creative critical thinking. In the '''Community Problem Solving''' (CmPS) competition, students are evaluated on how well they apply the process to present-day problems in their own community. The '''Action-based Problem Solving''' (AbPS) program adapts the process for classroom use. In the '''Scenario Writing''' competition, students write a short story, set at least 20 years in the future, based on one of the GIPS competition topics. The '''Scenario Performance''' component is similar but is geared toward students who prefer telling stories through oral communication. Finally, students can also compete in the '''Presentation of Action Plan''' competition. After completing the six-step process in two hours, students then immediately begin work on a second competition called '''"Presentation of Action Plan"''' in which they illustrate their final solution by preparing and performing a skit.

== Topic History ==

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{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible"

|-

! colspan="6" | List of past and current FPSPI topics<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fpspi.org/pdf/Topic_History.pdf|title=FPSPI Topic History|format=PDF|access-date=2019-02-23|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190223185312/https://www.fpspi.org/pdf/Topic_History.pdf|archive-date=2019-02-23}}</ref>

|-

! Academic Year

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! Affiliate Bowl

! International Conference

|-

! 2024-2025

| Food Security || Rising Sea Levels || Agricultural Industry || Nanotechnology || The Future of History

|-

! 2023-2024

| Tourism || Urbanization || Antarctica || Autonomous Transportation || Air Quality

|-

! 2022-2023

| E-Waste || Digital Realities || Robotic Workforce || Throw-Away Society || Currency

|-

! 2021-2022

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! 1996–1997

| Homes of the Future || Extraterrestrial Life || Cashless Society || Competition || Increasing Life Span

|-

! 1995-1996

| Firearms || Mental Health || 21st Century Marketplace || Cybernetics || United Nations

|-

! 1994-1995

| Cities || Homelessness || Kids and Violence || Prejudice || Privacy

|-

! 1993-1994

| Robotic || Antarctica || Extinction of Animals || Space Law || Control of Disease

|-

! 1992-1993

| Stress on Students || Hunger || Oceans || Drugs || Nuclear Waste

|-

! 1991-1992

| Space Exploration || Legal Epidemic || Sports Ethics || Land Use || Advertising

|-

! 1990-1991

| High School Dropouts || Ozone Depletion || Transportation || Censorship || Corruption in Government

|-

! 1989-1990

| Shrinking Tropical Rainforests || The Arms Race || Poverty || Medical Advances || Crime

|-

! 1988-1989

| Energy Sources || Youth and the Law || Nutrition || Employment || Terrorism

|-

! 1987-1988

| Space Travel || The Elderly || Acid Rain || Immigration || Birth Defects

|-

! 1986-1987

| Garbage || Changing Family Structures || Water || Illiteracy || The Impact of Media

|-

! 1985-1986

| Endangered Species || Feeding the World || Artificial Intelligence || American Legal System || Organ Transplants

|-

! 1984-1985

| Drunk Driving || Nuclear War || Education || The Greenhouse Effect || Industrialization of Space

|-

! 1983-1984

| Electronic Games || Prisons || Lasers || Nuclear Waste || Genetic Engineering

|-

! 1982-1983

| Ocean Communities || Robotics || Pet Overpopulation || Computers || Nuclear War

|-

! 1981-1982

| Child Abuse || Extranormal Mental Powers || Drug Use || Endangered Wildlife || Space Colonization

|-

! 1980-1981

| Solar Energy || Transportation || Home Computers || Hunger & Malnutrition || Increased Longevity

|-

! 1979-1980

| Transportation || Space Travel || Ocean Farming || Hypnosis & Psychic Energy || Alternative Energy Sources

|-

|}

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* [[Allison Schroeder]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.geekgirlmeetup.co.uk/blog/2017/2/27/geekgirl-meets-hidden-figures-screenwriter-allison-schroeder|title=GeekGirl Meets Hidden Figures Screenwriter, Allison Schroeder|access-date=2019-02-23|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171229033446/http://www.geekgirlmeetup.co.uk/blog/2017/2/27/geekgirl-meets-hidden-figures-screenwriter-allison-schroeder|archive-date=2017-12-29|quote=I’ve been writing since a young age. I used to compete in Future Problem Solving Scenario Writing, a competition where you project a world problem into the future as a science fiction short story. I won first place internationally for my scenario on toxic waste in seventh grade [in 1993], so that was probably the beginning [of what led me to become a screenwriter].}}</ref> Academy Award-nominated screenwriter

* [[Meganne Christian]]<ref>https://www.linkedin.com/in/megannechristian/?originalSubdomain=uk {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}}</ref> Astronaut and researcher

*[[Jack Petocz]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ryan |first=Shaun |title=Flagler middle-schoolers helping fight delinquency |url=https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/local/flagler/2018/03/11/flagler-middle-schoolers-helping-fight-delinquency/13004883007/ |access-date=2024-07-23 |website=Daytona Beach News-Journal Online |language=en-US}}</ref> LGBTQ+ Activist

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