future problem solving australia

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Future problem solving.

Future Problem Solving is an international educational program that focuses on the development of creative thinking skills, in particular problem identification and positive solutions to those problems. The aim of Future Problem Solving is to develop critical, creative and futuristic thinking skills. It challenges students to use their imagination and to design and promote positive solutions to some of the significant issues facing both the world of today, and the future.

Selected Years 5–6 students are invited to participate in two facets of the program; Scenario Writing and Scenario Performance. There are five different topics offered each year from which students select one to be their area of research. The researched content is set at least 20 years in the future, and students have approximately four months to produce their work.

In Scenario Writing, students write a scenario of no more than 1500 words. A scenario is a short story which projects into the future, a possible set of circumstances which are a logical outcome of actions or events, which might take place in the present. A scenario will have a science-driven premise, a well-constructed narrative and a strong, empathetic protagonist who will drive the narrative forward.

The emphasis of the story should be on how people are affected. The scenario idea is developed to point out positive social and cultural aspects, and the consequences of doing without them.

In Scenario Performance, students also develop a scenario but it is presented as an oral storytelling, which is submitted in one take, on a DVD. The story should be between four to five minutes in length and presented without the use of props or aids.

Students in Scenario Writing and Scenario Performance compete nationally each year, and first place winners are invited to represent Australia in June of the following year, at the International Future Problem Solving Conference in the USA.

Success in the Future Problem Solving Program Australia!

• 19 October 2022
• General , Senior , Academic , In the News

A team of four Year 9 students recently qualified for the 2022 Future Problem Solving Competition National Finals!

They have trained throughout the year and are excited to fly down to Melbourne to compete against 27 other teams in their division.

To reach this stage of the competition places them in the top 10% of participants from across Australia! This is an incredible achievement.

We wish Shirley, Elisha, Anika, and Bernice all the best for the finals!

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Future Problem Solving Program

Future Problem Solvers (FPS) is a HPGE (formerly GATS) initiative run by FPS Australia, a non-for profit educational organisation. FPS provides an opportunity for the students involved to develop critical, creative and futuristic thinking skills with an emphasis on co operative, small group learning and clear and concise communication of ideas.

Future Problem Solving challenges bright, motivated students to use their imagination in applying learned information and advanced thinking strategies.

The goals of the FPS program are to:

• Think more creatively by becoming involved in activities to increase the flexibility, fluency, originality and elaboration of their thinking.
• Develop research skills needed for the collection of data from past and contemporary sources.
• Relate effectively with others as members of a small, cohesive team.
• Improve oral and written communication skills for the better understanding of their ideas by others.
• Become interested in the future since this is where they will spend the rest of their lives.
• Solve problems by learning and using effectively a six step creative problem solving
 process.
• Think critically and analytically about significant societal issues.

More can be found about FPS here: https://www.fpsp.org.au/

Office hours are between 8:15am and 3:30pm.

Cherrybrook Technology High School 28-44 Purchase Rd Cherrybrook NSW 2126

Phone: 02 9484 2144

Email: [email protected]

Future Problem Solving Program

Ages: Elementary, Middle School, High School

Types: Submission, Tournament, Fair, Performance, Presentation

Scope: International

[email protected], [email protected]

Participate

Founded in 1974 by creativity pioneer, Dr. E. Paul Torrance, Future Problem Solving Program International (FPSPI) stimulates critical and creative thinking skills, encourages students to develop a vision for the future, and prepares students for leadership roles. FPSPI engages students in creative problem solving within the curriculum and provides competitive opportunities.  Future Problem Solving Program International involves thousands of students annually from Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States.

The Future Problem Solving Program involves four competitive challenges including: (1) Community Problem Solving, (2) Global Issues Problem Solving, (3) Scenario Writing, and (4) Scenario Performance.   Community Problem Solving challenges students to think systematically about problematic situations, to gather information to understand the situation, and to evaluate multiple solutions in order to best address the situation? Students involved in Community Problem Solving (CmPS) learn powerful lessons about creating change, about dealing with local authorities and organizations, and about making a positive impact. Community Problem Solving students create and submit a Project Report that is reviewed by expert problem solvers from FPSPI. The top Community Problem Solving projects are invited to the FPSP International Conference in June each year.   Global Issues Problem Solving (GIPS) is a competitive component of FPSPI which can be accomplished as a team (of 4) or individual activity in which participants research a series of global topics and learn a six-step creative problem solving process. Problem solvers apply their topic and creative problem solving knowledge to address a charge presented in an imagined situation, termed Future Scene. Trained evaluators score student work and return it with feedback including suggestions for improvement. The top scoring teams and individuals on the qualifying problem are invited to Affiliate FPS Competitions. The winners of each respective Affiliate FPS Competition advance to the FPSP International Conference in June. Four divisions are offered:Junior (grades 4-6), Middle (grades 7-9), Senior (grades 10-12), and Adult.   Scenario Writing  is a competition in which individuals (grades 4 – 12) develop short stories related to one of five FPS topics for the year. The story (1500 words or less) is set at least 20 years in the future and is an imagined, but logical, outcome of actions or events taking place in the world today. The first place winner in each Affiliate Program is invited to the FPSP International Conference. Each Affiliate Director may submit its top three scenarios to the International Scenario Writing Competition. The top 5 international winners in each division are invited to the International Conference in June. Three divisions are offered: Junior (grades 4-6), Middle (grades 7-9), and Senior (grades 10-12).   Scenario Performance (ScP) was designed by FPSP Australia to develop and sustain the oral tradition of storytelling. Essentially, ScP is for students who enjoy telling stories. This option is ideally suited to students who show thinking abilities in different ways - particularly for those whose cultural heritage and/or learning styles prefer oral communication. Scenario Performances are connected to the annual FPSPI Scenario Writing topics as participants develop futuristic stories to present in a creative and entertaining manner. The stories do not have to be written, rather they are performed! Students are challenged to create a story that is between 4-5 minute duration, set at least 20 years in the future, and arises from any one of the topics set for Scenario Writing in the FPS year. Submission will take the form of a video file of the student delivering an oral telling of their story, undertaken in one take without any edits. The use of any props or aids, beyond the use of their voice, is forbidden. The performer may reference 15 cue cards (4x6 inches).  

FPSPI - International 1st Place

Team Award. $1000.

This award counts toward these ICS Academic Badges. Click on a badge for further info.

This badge demonstrates expertise in conducting a logical analysis of situations around us and creating innovative solutions to complex problems.

FPSPI - International 2nd Place

Fpspi - participation.

Team Award. $0.

Any student who completed participation in an FPSPI competition.

FPSPI - International 3rd Place

Team Award. $500.

Website: http://www.fpspi.org/

Managing Organization: Future Problem Solving Program International, Inc.

Contact: [email protected], [email protected]

Eligibility: Each FPSPI Affiliate Program determines its own processes, fees, and due dates for registration and entries. Your Affiliate Director can provide you with registration and submission materials and may be able to put you in touch with experienced FPSPI Coaches. See the competition website for more details.

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Our site is BRAND NEW . Using our creative problem-solving skills we have repositioned ourselves. FPSPI is now using the Future Problem Solving name. A new cleaner look. More content. Easier navigation. More upgrades to come!

Global Issues

Community projects, creative writing, storytelling, problem-solving method, real world issues, future scenarios.

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Future-Ready

Discover our education programs, world finals​ june 5-9, 2024.

Join us at our International Conference to celebrate 50 years. At Indiana University Bloomington this year, our highest level competition brings together thousands of champion problem solvers.

Ready for work, life, and to create a better future

Our proven educational outcomes are life changing for students. We prepare young people to find solutions, take relevant action, and be a force for positive change. Our model ignites curiosity in real world issues and equips students with complex problem-solving skills. Once learned, these skills ensure students are ready to succeed in their classes today and in their work and life tomorrow. And in the age of AI, it’s more important than ever to make sure young people learn how to think and solve problems.

As our world and educators are confronted with a range of unprecedented challenges, Future Problem Solving helps students keep pace. Our standard-based and skill-based programs meaningfully engage young people in all the places and spaces they learn. With Future Problem Solving, students learn how to think, not what to think, and gain lifelong learning skills.

Our Competition Programs

Problem-solving skills stay for life, k-12 students each year, states within the u.s., countries around the world, years of equipping problem-solvers, our approach, building student agency.

Our proven 6-step process equips students with a problem-solving model to develop relevant action plans for any situation.

Our problem-solving situations highlight important challenges from business, civics, science, society, and technology.

Authentic Assessment

Our rubric-based evaluations provide learner-focused feedback to assess student learning and strengthen important skills.

Our future scenes are imagined storylines that present creative and futuristic problems to solve with current topic information.

Our interdisciplinary problem-solving process infuses important 21st Century Learning skills throughout all our programs.

Global Network

Our global community features passionate, dedicated, and successful students, educators, affiliates, alumni, supporters, and more.

Testimonials

The future we want.

Our Topic Center

Real issues engage and inspire learning.

Air Quality

How will the quality of air, a globally shared resource essential for human health and prosperity, impact us in the future?

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

How will the emerging uses of artificial intelligence (AI) impact how we work, live, play, and learn in the future?

How will emerging technologies and changing economies impact how the world uses currency in the future?

Throwaway Society

How will “throw-away” consumerism impact the environment, businesses, and consumers in the future?

Future Problem Solving Students – A Five Year Study

A comparison of reading and mathematics performance between students participating in a future problem solving program and nonparticipants.

Data from the The Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA) was collected by Grandview Middle School and provided to Scholastic Testing Service, Inc. for statistical analysis.

Findings reported by Scholastic Testing Service, Inc. Performance data on the MCA was collected from 2010-2014 for students in grade 6 at Grandview Middle School in Mound, MN (Westonka Public School District). Students were identified as either FPS: students participating in a Future Problem Solving program, or Non-FPS: students not participating in the program. Summary statistics using Reading and Mathematics Scaled Scores were developed for each group of students by year and across years. To determine if the mean scores across the years were significantly different, t-tests were used. A Cohen’s d test was then performed to measure the effect of the size of the found differences.

In all cases, students participating in the Future Problem Solving Program performed significantly higher on the MCA in both areas of Mathematics and Reading.

Effects of Group Training in Problem-Solving Style on Future Problem-Solving Performance

The journal of creative behavior (jcb) of the creative education foundation.

Seventy-five participants from one suburban high school formed 21 teams with 3–4 members each for Future Problem Solving (FPS). Students were selected to participate in either the regular FPS or an enhanced FPS, where multiple group training activities grounded in problem-solving style were incorporated into a 9-week treatment period.

An ANCOVA procedure was used to examine the difference in team responses to a creative problem-solving scenario for members of each group, after accounting for initial differences in creative problem-solving performance, years of experience in FPS, and creative thinking related to fluency, flexibility, and originality. The ANCOVA resulted in a significant difference in problem-solving performance in favor of students in the treatment group (F(1, 57) = 8.21, p = .006, partial eta squared = .126, medium), while there were no significant differences in years of experience or creativity scores. This result led researchers to conclude that students in both groups had equivalent creative ability and that participation in the group activities emphasizing problem-solving style significantly contributed to creative performance.

In the comparison group, a total of 47% had scores that qualified for entry to the state competition. In contrast, 89% of the students in the treatment group had scores that qualified them for the state bowl. None of the teams from the comparison group qualified for the international competition, while two teams from the treatment group were selected, with one earning sixth place.

The results of this study suggest that problem-solving performance by team members can be improved through direct instruction in problem-solving style, particularly when there is a focus on group dynamics.

The Journal of Creative Behavior, Vol. 0, Iss. 0, pp. 1–12 © 2017 by the Creative Education Foundation, Inc. DOI: 10.1002/jocb.176

Future Problem Solving Program International—Second Generation Study

“how important was future problem solving in the development of your following skill sets”.

In 2011, a team of researchers from the University of Virginia submitted a report titled “Future Problem Solving Program International—Second Generation Study.” (Callahan, Alimin, & Uguz, 2012). The study, based on a survey, collected data from over 150 Future Problem Solving alumni to understand the impact of their participation in Future Problem Solving as students or volunteers.

Percentage of Alumni Rating Important and Extremely Important in Developing Skill Sets

• 96% Look at the “Big Picture”
• 93% Critical Thinking
• 93% Teamwork and Collaboration
• 93% Identify and Solve Problems
• 93% Time Management
• 90% Researching
• 90% Evaluation and Decision Making
• 86% Creativity and Innovation
• 86% Written Communication

The report captured alumni’s positive experiences as students in Future Problem Solving and documented that the alumni continued to utilize the FPS-structured approach to solving problems in their adult lives.

Executive Director

A seasoned educator, April Michele has served as the Executive Director since 2018 and been with Future Problem Solving more than a decade. Her background in advanced curriculum strategies and highly engaging learning techniques translates well in the development of materials, publications, training, and marketing for the organization and its global network. April’s expertise includes pedagogy and strategies for critical and creative thinking and providing quality educational services for students and adults worldwide.

Prior to joining Future Problem Solving, April taught elementary and middle grades, spending most of her classroom career in gifted education. She earned the National Board certification (NBPTS) as a Middle Childhood/Generalist and later served as a National Board assessor for the certification of others. In addition, April facilitated the Theory and Development of Creativity course for the state of Florida’s certification of teachers. She has also collaborated on a variety of special projects through the Department of Education. Beyond her U.S. education credentials, she has been trained for the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP) in Humanities.

A graduate of the University of Central Florida with a bachelor’s in Elementary Education and the University of South Florida with a master’s in Gifted Education, April’s passion is providing a challenging curriculum for 21st century students so they are equipped with the problem-solving and ethical leadership skills they need to thrive in the future. As a board member in her local Rotary Club, she facilitates problem solving in leadership at the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA). She is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) from the Project Management Institute and earned her certificate in Nonprofit Management from the Edyth Bush Institute at Rollins College.

Future Problem Solving Program (FPSP) needed to move from their existing web platform Adobe Business Catalyst due to the announcement of the end of life coming up in early 2021. The main problem FPSP was facing was finding a web platform that would fit their bespoke requirements. After a demo of the Udo web platform, FPSP soon found it was the perfect match due to the standard available modules making it an affordable and logical decision. During the design process, we were able to identify certain areas in their internal process where they could become more efficient by creating a fully integrated eCommerce solution. Automation of their Program registrations including a complex single and team finals online registration plus gathering important data like accommodation information, flights and bus transfers, clothing options and dietary information was also an important part and time-saving improvement. All these modules are standard features and part of the Udo web builder Platform.

Digital Agency & Web Design & Web App Dev , Company in Melbourne &  Brisbane

Business Catalyst Alternative  | 10 step BC Migration Plan | Artist Website Portfolio

While most organisations set out to solve problems,

We focus our attention on creating them..

Why would we do that? Well, to put it simply, we do it because the future depends on it.

Every day we create challenges for students to practise on, so they’ll be prepared for a future full of real-world problems. Problems that’ll require ingenuity, creativity, and determination to solve.

In a rapidly changing world, we simply don’t know what the problems of the future will be yet, but we do know there are going to be lots of them. So it’s important that we develop the capacity of our students across Australia to reach their full potential when it comes to solving them. Problem solving is a life skill and by developing this skill, students can create more choices for themselves and their future.

Our vision is to develop a nation of creative problem solvers, and we believe maths is the most effective way to get students there. Maths isn’t just about times tables and formulae. It’s about the process of finding creative solutions to problems. Maths develops resilience, persistence, confidence, and creative thinking in students.

At AMT we’re passionate about empowering students to become better problem solvers in school, so they can be creative solution finders in the future.

Align to the Australian Curriculum

Because our problems are classified according to the content strands and topics of the Australian Curriculum, we make it easier for you to align your lesson content to the curriculum.

Empower students

Using Problemo helps you to empower your students, showing them they already have problem solving skills they can apply.

You can give them the freedom to solve maths problem solving using the strategies they already know or guide them to use new strategies.

Plan, teach and differentiate

You can search for maths problems that relate to your content area. Plus, it’s easy to use Problemo to teach live in the classroom or teach remotely. And you can differentiate to the range of abilities in the classroom.

AMT competitions

At the AMT, everything we do is aimed at getting children excited about maths and keeping them engaged so they become better problem solvers in school and creative solution finders in life. And we believe that enjoying the challenge of maths is the most effective way to get them there.

Our competitions and programs are the key way for you to help us achieve this mission.

Find out more about our competitions and programs here .

Questions and answers

Need extra support.

If your question is not answered here, please contact us

Subscriptions

Problemo is available to all Australian and New Zealand primary and secondary teachers from government, private, Catholic, independent schools.

Registered home schools and approved coaching clinics are also welcome to subscribe.

Parents and students can access the Student Portal  without registration.

Problemo is a teaching resource and subscriptions are only available to Australian and New Zealand primary and secondary school teachers, registered home schools and approved coaching clinics. If you think teachers at your child’s school or coaching clinic may be interested in using Problemo, let us know here  or direct them to this website ( problemo.edu.au ).

A great resource for parents and students is Problemo Student , a free problem-solving platform that allows students to test their skills in mathematics and informatics. No login needed, it’s packed with problems covering a range of topics and year levels. Parents and students can jump in anytime and try one question or work their way through a series based on a topic.

First up, try searching for your school or coaching clinic and leave the suburb dropdown field blank. If you still can’t find your school or coaching clinic, please email us at [email protected] and we will add you to the list.

Problemo is go-to maths problem solving resource for teachers from the Australian Maths Trust (AMT).

The platform contains a library of maths problems for years 3-10 prepared by the same mathematicians and teachers that design the highly regarded Australian Mathematics Competition.

Each problem is classified for ease of searching, aligned to the Australian Curriculum, and complete with enabling and extending prompts, and solutions. Problemo gives teachers AMT official Lesson Cards and allows them to create their own. Teachers can easily download PDFs of problems, display them digitally for classroom use, and create online quizzes for students, with results displaying in the teacher platform.

The Australian Maths Trust (AMT) creates the maths problems in Problemo. They are prepared by the same mathematicians and teachers that design the highly regarded annual Australian Mathematics Competition: these problems may have featured in past competitions.

Our vision is to develop a nation of creative problem solvers, and we believe maths is the most effective way to get students there.

Here at the Australian Maths Trust, we have been developing world-class maths problems for more than 40 years. We are best known for the internationally recognised Australian Mathematics Competition that we run each year.

We are a not-for-profit, with headquarters in Canberra, Australia. Our teams of volunteer mathematicians and teachers (from across Australia and the region) work together to create rich mathematical and algorithmic thinking problems for our competitions and programs each year.

Find out more about us.

A team of maths teachers analyses each problem selected for Problemo and classifies each by the Australian Curriculum content strands for mathematics: Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry, Statistics and Probability. We also use our own classification for the Computation and Algorithms strand. Many problems naturally sit across multiple content strands, which highlights the interconnectedness of the curriculum and the rich variety of strategies available to problem solvers.

You may notice that a problem for years 5-6 is linked to ACARA codes for years 3-4 or 7-8. This recognises that the curriculum is cumulative, students within the same year group are often working at a variety of different levels, and additional strategies for the same problem become available as students gain exposure to more sophisticated mathematical tools.

ACARA codes are not intended to be a list of prerequisite skills or an exhaustive list of related concepts—your judgement as a teacher about how and when to engage with a problem is equally important.

Problemo is suitable for both. And with detailed workings for each problem, it gives maths confidence to all teachers from years 3 through to 10.

Not all teachers feel confident teaching maths problem solving. We also know that in secondary schools, many teachers are working out-of-field and may have had limited training in maths. Our AMT official Lesson Cards give you a step-by-step guide to a scaffolded approach to problem solving, and there are fully worked solutions for all our problems. Problemo is about giving you the confidence to have fun and learn with your students.

Problemo has powerful search and filter tools that allow you to quickly find maths problems that relate to the content you’re teaching. When planning learning experiences, you can use Problemo to identify suitable maths problems for engaging your students. You can organise problems using your My Favourite Problems list or by adding them to My Sets & Quizzes, ready for teaching.

Problemo Plus users can set up student classes/groups and assign quizzes to these students to allow for tracking performance over time.

You can also use Problemo live in your classroom. The Display Problem feature allows you to show problems to students using a SMART board or projector. This is ideal when working with a whole class or in small groups.

You can also print problems in a student-friendly format (PDF). Problemo allows you to select the information you would like to include in your printout. For example, you might want to include enabling prompts, but exclude the multiple-choice answers. Students could then work directly on the printouts in the classroom, either individually or in small groups.

If your students have access to a device, whether in class or at home, use the My Sets & Quizzes feature to turn your problem set into an interactive experience!

Our official Lesson Cards are planned around a particular problem and include scaffolded content to engage students at all levels. 

Problemo’s online quiz feature gives you real-time feedback as your students work through the problems. Use Practice mode for formative assessment or Quiz mode for a summative assessment of students’ progress.

Problemo Student is a great maths problem-solving resource for parents and students. It’s a free problem-solving platform that allows students to test their skills in mathematics and informatics. No login needed, it’s packed with problems covering a range of topics and year levels. Parents and students can jump in anytime and try one question or work their way through a series based on a topic.

Other initiatives of the Australian Math Trust

Australian mathematics competition.

An engaging 30-problem competition that demonstrates the importance and relevance of maths in students’ everyday lives. It is open to students in years 3-12.

Australian Informatics Olympiad

An open national computer programming competition where students write short computer programs to solve six problems that vary in difficulty.

Maths Challenge

A school-based problem-solving program that’s designed to stimulate mathematically interested students in years 3-10.

Programs  >  Key Dates

All dates are for receipt of work, via email, prior to or on the day it is due.

All dates are for receipt of work, via email prior to or on the day it is due.

All dates are for receipt of work, via email/mp4 file prior to or on the day it is due.

National Finals are held in the second week-end of Victoria's Term 4 (October) each year in different states of Australia. Based on their performance in their respective programs, the top 10 - 15% of Junior, Middle and Senior Australian teams or individuals, registered in the program, qualify to participate in the National Finals.

The planned date for the 2024 National Finals is October 18th - 20th in Melbourne

The top teams and individuals from the National Finals are issued invitations to attend the FPSPI International Conference, which is held at a US University in June the following year. 

2024 International Conference 5th - 9th June 2024 Indiana University Bloomington Indiana, USA

2022 National Finals (Globe Photography)

  " Future Problem Solving teaches students a process driven approach to creative problem solving and helps them develop essential life-long skills. "  

Future Problem Solving Australia acknowledges the traditional owners of this land. We recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to Elders past and present.