future problem solving categories 2023

Each FPS season provides students the opportunity to research and engage in 5 topics, representing themes and concepts from the strands of Business & Economics, Social & Political, and Science & Technology. Topics serve as the thematic basis for the Global Issues Problem Solving, Scenario Performance, and Scenario Writing competitions.

Current Topics

As competitive seasons vary around the globe, please check the link specific to your geographic area for the most current information. Northern Hemisphere – updated July 1 each year – 2023-24 topics (Click Here) Southern Hemisphere – updated January 1 each year – 2024 topics (Click Here)

International Conference Topics

– updated March 1 each year – 2018 / 2019 / 2020 / 2021 / 2022 / 2023 / 2024

Topic Submission

(Click Here) Have an idea you are interested in exploring as an FPS topic? Topic idea submissions remain open year round. From the time of initial idea submission, it typically takes several years for the topic to reach students to allow for review and resource development.

(Click Here) Did you know STUDENTS help determine FPS topics? It’s true and we want your input on future topics!

Topic History

(Click Here)

Future Topics

Global Issues

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

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5Cs of Learning

• Youth Protection
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Future-Ready

Discover our education programs, attend our world finals​.

Each year our highest level competition brings together over 2,000 champion problem solvers and supporters from around the world. Our 2024 International Conference also celebrated the milestone of turning 50 (1974-2024).

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.

In a world where educators and students are confronted with a range of unprecedented challenges, Future Problem Solving helps students keep pace. Our standards-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 generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) impact how we work, live, play, and learn?

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.

What's up at VAFPs in the Month ahead?

Future Problem Solving of Virginia

FPS CATEGORY LIST

Arts & Aesthetics

Basic Needs

Business & Commerce

Communication

Environment

Ethics & Religion

Government & Politics

Law & Justice

Miscellaneous

Physical Health

Psychological Health

Social Relationships

Transportation

2022-2023 Topics

August 22, 2021

Topics and Suggested Readings for the 2022-2023 Competition Season are now available!

any questions? Ask!

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The FPS Topics are selected for the year through the FPSPI.org Topics Committee.  Each year the Committee reviews the topic descriptors submitted by coaches, participants, futurists, affiliate directors, and other FPS key people at the international level.  After a rigorous review of the descriptors, the topics are available to be voted on for upcoming year's.  Check out the fpspi.org Topics Vote webpage if you want to cast a vote the approved topic descriptors for the upcoming years.

2024-25 FPS Topic Descriptors

Topic Resources from FPS International Office

See Component Events for Key Dates