Dio Students Earn Place in Problem Solving Comp

Dio Students Earn Place in International Problem Solving Finals

Four gifted students from Diocesan School for Girls have been chosen to represent New Zealand and pit their future problem solving skills against more than 2000 students from 14 countries in the finals of an international competition in the United States this month.

As one of two top place getters in the Future Problem Solving (FPS) National Finals held last October, Diocesan’s four-girl team is eligible to compete in the International Future Problem Solving Finals being held at the University of Wisconsin from June 10 to 13.

The Diocesan team of Jules Armitage, Alex Beedie, Anna Percy and Stephanie Reid, who are now in Year 10 at the all-girls independent school, was one of 450 teams enrolled throughout New Zealand in the Future Problem Solving Programme and was among the top 30 teams that qualified for the National Finals

The Diocesan team and a combined boys’ and girls’ team from Tauranga High School were the top two teams in the middle division, made up of Year 9 and Year 10 students.

Diocesan’s director of the Centre for the Enhancement of Learning at Diocesan, said only three percent of students who take part in the Future Problem Solving Programme worldwide qualify for the international finals and the programme is recognised as one of the four best in the world for providing intellectual challenges for gifted students.

“So this is a remarkable achievement. The competition at these finals is extremely high.”

New Zealand teams have been highly successful at a number of previous international finals and overseas teachers often ask why they do so well, Mrs Buswell said.

“We focus not so much on content as on teaching important skills of critical and futuristic thinking. The Future Problem Solving Programme teaches students how to think, not what to think.”

Other countries competing in the finals are South Africa, the United States, Canada, Alaska, Korea, Japan, Australia, England, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, China and Mexico.

Diocesan currently offers the FPS programme as an extra-curricular option to around 50 gifted Year 7 to 13 students who learn creative, ethical and critical thinking skills within the framework of some of the world’s most significant issues such as Invasive Species, Green Living, Counterfeit Economy and Nanotechnology.

Teams competing in the international finals in La Crosse, Wisconsin, have two hours to come up with a six-step problem solving model for a global issue that will affect the world 20 to 30 years into the future.

Their model includes formulating possible challenges in the future, formulating solution “ideas”, coming up with criteria to evaluate those solution “ideas”, applying the criteria and developing an action plan.

“As well as developing students’ thinking and research skills, the programme aims to develop their interest in the future, to strengthen their oral and written communication skills and to teach them to work co-operatively in teams,” said Mrs Buswell.

ENDS

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