|
Your business tag line here. |
|
MICHIGAN Future Problem Solving Program |
|
About Us |
|
Phone: 810-923-1484
E-mail: mfps@chartermi.net Web: www.michiganfps.com |
|
Opening doors to imagination, ingenuity and creativity, Future Problem Solving stimulates critical and creative thinking skills. The Future Problem Solving Program (FPSP) is a nonprofit educational corporation administering creative problem solving activities for students. The Future Problem Solving Program is open to all students through grade 12. A school affiliation is not required to participate. The Future Problem Solving Program charters forty-one affiliate programs throughout the United States, Australia and New Zealand. Affiliate programs, under the direction of an affiliate director, administer FPSP activities within a geographic area.
The Future Problem Solving Program features several curricular as well as co-curricular opportunities to engage students in problem solving. Students or teams participate in one of three divisions in competitive FPSP components. Junior Division - Grades 4 - 6 Middle Division - Grades 7 - 9 Senior Division - Grades 10 - 12
FPS: - Is student centered and action oriented - can be applied across the academic - curriculum and within different curriculums - Involves teaching and learning of processes - provides opportunities for students to apply process tools and methods to real life problems - prepares students for constructing a positive future |
|
To contact us: |
|
Team Problem Solving Four-member teams research and apply the six-step FPS process to at least three different topics annually. A future scene, an imagined future, prompts students to tackle social, scientific, political, economic or technological issues. Under the guidance of a trained coach, students master the FPSPI six-step model. Teams explore challenges as they refine their critical and creative thinking skills, focus on one problem area to solve, produce solution ideas, generate criteria to evaluate their solution ideas and develop the action plan. Students develop generating and focusing skills while working cooperatively and collaboratively in groups.
Community Problem Solving (CmPS) CmPS focuses on real community problems. Teams explore local issues and select a CmPS project from environmental concerns, human services, civic/cultural issues, health concerns and education. A middle grade team in Texas focused on relieving the boredom and depression of adolescent hospital patients by creating and delivering “Boredom Buster Kits” to four Houston area hospitals, as well as three hospitals in Eastern Europe.
Scenario Writing Encouraging creativity, scenario writing allows an individual writer to create a futuristic scenario based on one of the five FPSPI topics. Students develop and polish their creative writing skills. FPSPI scenarios are limited to 1500 words and must be placed at least 20 years in the future.
Action-based Problem Solving This noncompetitive creative problem-solving component is designed for the regular classroom. Action-based Problem Solving explores authentic concerns in the local community and prepares students to take positive action. |
|
Through the Future Problem Solving Program students. . .
· Develop creative thinking abilities · Increase awareness of and interest in the future · Learn and employ problem-solving strategies · Develop teamwork skills · Improve oral and written communication · Exercise critical and analytical thought · Engage in real-life problem solving · Extend perceptions of the real world · Explore complex societal issues · Develop, utilize and improve research techniques Our FPSPI six-step model serves as the foundation to building dynamic, creative thinking processes.
1. Identify Challenges Related to the Topic or Future Scene 2. Select an Underlying Problem 3. Produce Solution Ideas to the Underlying Problem 4. Generate and Select Criteria to Evaluate Solution Ideas 5. Apply Criteria to Solution Ideas 6. Develop an Action Plan |
