Teams of four students in grades 4-12 learn the FPS process and work on two practice problems during the year. All teams will complete the qualifying problem in two hours without their coach's assistance. Teams which receive the highest evaluation will be invited to the State Bowl in March.

The three grade level divisions are:

• Junior Division: Grades 4-6
• Middle Division: Grades 7-9
• Senior Division: Grades 10-12

The team competition component of the program is open to students in grades 4-12. Teams of four students learn a six-step problem solving process which they then apply, along with their research on specific topics, to solve social and scientific problems.

A "future scene (see Practice Problem 1) prompts students to 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 solutions, and develop an action plan. Students develop brainstorming and focusing skills while working cooperatively and collaboratively in groups.

In Massachusetts, teams have the option of working with paper and pencil or on the Internet.

In October and December, teams mail/email their work to evaluators, who review the booklets and return them with suggestions for improvement.

In January, students complete a Qualifying Problem (QP) in one two-hour time period without assistance from their coach. The top teams in the state -- based on responses to the QP -- are invited to the State Bowl in March, where they compete for the opportunity to represent Massachusetts at the International FPS Conference.

Fee
$160 per team

Deadline for registering for first practice problem: October 20, 2009

Final registration deadline: December 15, 2009