PROBLEM SOLVING MISSION
Posted by Tony Thomas
RCCMS gets a surprise visitor
RC Central Melbourne-Sunrise had a surprise visitor at its October 21 meeting – April Dennis, from RC Melbourne Beach, Florida. April is Program Director of the non-profit Future Problem Solving Program International (FPSPI). She participated in the program as a coach during her 17 years as an educator.April was in Melbourne for the 25th annual finals of the Future Problem Solving competition involving hundreds of Australian students. The competition was held at St Leonard’s College, East Brighton on 17-19 October. Students competed on the topic of land transportation and/or brought forth a Community Problem Solving project where they implemented a change in their community. Champions from this event are invited to the International Conference in Ames, Iowa in June of 2015.
She noticed the club’s meeting on the Rotary Club Locator app on her mobile. Her father David Armstrong is also a Rotarian in Florida, but with a different club, RC Melbourne, Florida. He inspired her to attend RYLA and other Rotary events over the years. April says, “I really enjoyed your club’s guest speaker Russell Rolls, the engineer who spoke on Australia’s energy options. His topic mirrors discussions among students in the FPS program. The meeting was delightful.”
FPSPI has been operating for 40 years and now runs in 12 countries from USA to Turkey. It fosters students’ critical and creative thinking, and leadership. Individuals or four-member teams research up to five futuristic topics annually.
One technique is to encourage students to create scenarios about problems 20 years in the future -- anything from science fiction (such as brain to brain communications) to practical issues like growth of government surveillance systems, social media impacts, and propaganda. Students also have to gain team skills in presenting solutions persuasively.
An example is future land transport. Students explore issues based on a brief covering rising fuel prices, stricter emissions, public transports pros and cons, and competition among bus/train/air modes, she says.