I work in research now and ..the
FPS experience really influences
my approach. I never rule things
out straight away and I take my
time to brain storm ideas before I
put anything to paper.
Elisabeth Kramer
National Finalist 1995, Class of 1999
Jenna, Madeleine, Philippa, Frances
working on a problem in 2004
STEP 1:
CHALLENGES
About a Challenge from the Scenario:
A challenge is a description of an event that may happen if the Future Scene were to occur. In
order for it to count, it must have a high probability of occurring within the Future Scene. It may
express a possible cause of something mentioned or an effect of a fact in the Future Scene.
What makes Step 1 challenging?
Step 1 is evaluated in terms of fluency, flexibility, and clarity. Many students find it difficult to
write sixteen substantially different ideas, which means their flexibility score is low. Another
difficulty is that some students write about the topic rather than the Future Scene. Others don’t
go far enough in explaining the consequences of particular issues. The best booklets will contain
research which is used to justify students’ ideas and many students have difficulty choosing
relevant research.
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