Our websites may use cookies to personalize and enhance your experience. By continuing without changing your cookie settings, you agree to this collection. For more information, please see our University Websites Privacy Notice .
Renzulli Center for Creativity, Gifted Education, and Talent Development
The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented (1990-2013)
E. paul torrance: his life, accomplishments, and legacy.
Thomas P. Hébert Bonnie L. Cramond Garnet Millar Alice F. Silvian
E. P. Torrance: His Life, Accomplishments, and Legacy is a tribute to the renowned creativity researcher, university teacher, and mentor to numerous individuals throughout the world. This monograph is presented in three sections which include a discussion of Torrance’s life, followed by an overview of his accomplishments, including his creativity research, the Future Problem Solving Program, and the Incubation Model of Teaching. The monograph concludes with a discussion of his legacy and the Torrance Center for Creative Studies.
Conclusions
- Torrance’s life of eminence as a mentor, teacher, and scholar followed the recognition of his weaknesses and strengths. After his struggles with farm tasks as a young boy, he decided to capitalize on his academic strengths such as reading and writing.
- Torrance’s interest in creativity emerged from his struggles as a teacher with difficult students and his observation that many of the most difficult ones went on to become successful in politics, business, the military, education, the arts, science, and other fields.
- Although World War II interrupted Torrance’s teaching career, his work in the U.S. Army as a counselor for disabled veterans and research on survival laid the foundation for his lifelong pursuit in the development of creativity.
- Although Torrance’s primary interest was not the assessment of creative potential, he viewed the development of creativity tests as a means to discover and nurture qualities that allow individuals to express their creativity.
- The Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking have been used in over 2,000 studies and have been translated into more than 32 languages.
- Concerned about the overall decline of creativity in the American society, Torrance started to develop classroom activities that challenged students to think more creatively about the future. These activities grew into the Future Problem Solving Program, which today reaches approximately 250,000 students internationally.
Future Problem Solving Program of California
"The genius of the future will be the creative mind adapting itself to the shape of things to come."
— E. Paul Torrance, Creativity Pioneer and FPS Founder
Future Problem Solving of California is an Affiliate of Future Problem Solving Program International [ http://www.fpspi.org ], an educational nonprofit focusing on the development of critical, creative and futuristic thinking skills.
Although FPS enhances students’ awareness of current issues, the main goal is to develop higher order thinking skills. By challenging students to apply their minds to some of the most significant issues facing the world of today and in the future, we help equip them with the vision, skills and tools to design and promote positive outcomes for society at local, regional and global scales.
The History of FPS
In 1974, when Dr. E. Paul Torrance accepted an invitation to work with a group of gifted youngsters at Clarke High School in Athens, Georgia, he was unaware that the activities he had developed would grow into an international program reaching approximately 250,000 students globally each year.
The skills developed through participation in FPS will last a lifetime — not only academically but throughout students’ lives and careers.
Creativity.
Leadership.
Critical thinking.
Time management.
Social responsibility.
Friendly competition.
Research and analysis.
Academic achievement.
Effective Communication.
Competitive Divisions
Under the guidance of a teacher/coach, teams of four students use the FPS six-step process to explore challenges and propose action plans to solve complex societal problems.
There are three divisions for all components:
Junior - Grades 4 - 6
Middle - Grades 7 - 9
Senior - Grades 10 - 12
FPS Components
Global Issues Problem Solving (GIPS). Click here for more info. [link to GIPS description]
Community Problem Solving (CmPS). Click here for more info [link to CmPS description]
Scenario Writing. Click here for more info. [link to Scenario Writing description]
Scenario Performance. Click here for more info. [link to Scenario Performance description]
Action Based Problem Solving (AbPS) - noncompetitive classroom-based component. Click here for more info [link to description]
FPS Six-Step Problem-Solving Process
The FPS Process mirrors the linear approach of the scientific method, focused on; Understanding the Problem (via background research & asking multiple questions), Generating Ideas (hypothesis), and Planning for Action (developing conclusions/solutions & reporting results in writing).
Identify Challenges - Generate challenges or issues related to global research, Future Scenes, or a specific need area.
Select an Underlying Problem - Identify the key issue to be resolved.
Produce Solution Ideas - Brainstorm solutions to solve the underlying problem.
Generate & Select Criteria - Develop criteria to evaluate the merit of the best solution ideas.
Apply Criteria - Evaluate each solution using your selected criteria and assign a ranking order.
Develop an Action Plan - based on the highest scoring idea, develop an Action Plan explaining how the solution will be deployed and how it solves the underlying problem.
Future Problem Solving
- Living reference work entry
- First Online: 03 August 2022
- Cite this living reference work entry
- Connie Phelps 2
41 Accesses
Future Problem Solving (FPS) engages students in futuristic thinking through annual academic competitions at local, state, regional, and international levels. Hosted through Future Problem Solving Program International (FPSPI), its mission develops the ability of young people globally to design and achieve positive futures through problem solving using critical and creative thinking. Founded by E. Paul Torrance in 1974, the education program uses a six-step Problem Solving Model based on the Osborne-Parnes Creative Problem Solving Model. E. Paul Torrance promoted positive futures through the construct of creative problem solving. Organized geographically as local FPSPI affiliates, participants select one of four competition components that include Global Issues Problem Solving, Community Problem Solving, Scenario Writing, and Scenario Performance. Students prepare annual topics throughout the school year with qualifying competitions leading to the next level. At the end of the school year, a four-day International Conference (IC) hosts champions during a culminating competition organized as Junior (grades 4–6), Middle (grades 7–9), and Senior (grades 10–12) divisions. Participants address a Future Scene as a hypothetical situation set 20–30 years in the future such as Antibiotic Resistance (2022) and Neurotechnology (2021), and participants receive constructive feedback from trained evaluators. The Global Issues Problem Solving (GIPS) component challenges participants to design positive futures, apply the six-step Problem Solving Model, and create a detailed Action Plan. Possible futures emerge as participants (1) Identify Challenges, (2) Select an Underlying Problem, (3) Produce Solution Ideas, (4) Generate and Select Criteria, (5) Apply Criteria, and (6) Develop an Action Plan.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Institutional subscriptions
Center for Applied Imagination. (n.d.). History. https://bit.ly/3fZHcyw
Creative Education Foundation. (2014). Creative problem solving resource guide. https://bit.ly/3FXEW64
Firestien, R. (2017). CPS timeline . https://bit.ly/3K2zUqE
FPSPI. (n.d.). Future problem solving program international . https://www.fpspi.org/
Glăveanu, V. P. (2018). The possible as a field of inquiry. Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 14 (3), 519–530. https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v14i3.1725 .
Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
Guilford, J. P. (1950). Creativity. American Psychologist, 5 , 444–454.
Article Google Scholar
Hébert, T. P., Cramond, B., Neumeister Speirs, K. L., Millar, G., & Silvian, A. F. (2002). E. Paul Torrance: His life, accomplishments, and legacy (ED480289). ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED480289
Marland, S. P. (1971). Education of the gifted and talented – Volume I: Report to the congress of the United States by the U. S. Commissioner of Education. (ED056243). ERIC. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED056243.pdf
Osborn, A. F. (1953). Applied imagination: Principles and procedures of creative thinking . Scribner.
Google Scholar
Torrance, E. P. (1974). Ways gifted children can study the future. Gifted Child Quarterly, 18 (2), 65–71. https://doi.org/10.1177/001698627401800201 .
Torrance, E. P. (1979). The search for Satori and creativity. Creative Education Foundation.
Treffinger, D. J. (2009). Guest editorial. Gifted Child Quarterly, 55 (4), 229–232. https://doi.org/10.1177/0016986209346950 .
Download references
Author information
Authors and affiliations.
Emporia State University, Emporia, KS, USA
Connie Phelps
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
Corresponding author
Correspondence to Connie Phelps .
Section Editor information
Department of Psychology, Universidad Alberto Hurtado, Santiago, Chile
Gabriel Fortes Ph.D
Rights and permissions
Reprints and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry.
Phelps, C. (2022). Future Problem Solving. In: The Palgrave Encyclopedia of the Possible. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98390-5_262-1
Download citation
DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98390-5_262-1
Received : 28 February 2022
Accepted : 02 March 2022
Published : 03 August 2022
Publisher Name : Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN : 978-3-319-98390-5
Online ISBN : 978-3-319-98390-5
eBook Packages : Springer Reference Behavioral Science and Psychology Reference Module Humanities and Social Sciences Reference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences
- Publish with us
Policies and ethics
- Find a journal
- Track your research
Our Founder and What We Do
Future Problem Solving Program (FPS) celebrates our founder Dr. E. Paul Torrance’s life and accomplishments every day as students around the world participate in activities he and his beloved wife Pansy introduced which helped to create the Future Problem Solving Program back in 1974. His presence is missed, but his spirit and love lives on in the hearts of thousands.
FPS teaches students in and out of the classroom a problem solving process to help them positively make a difference in their global and local communities. The skills taught by FPS coaches and teachers align with today’s Common Core ELA and STEM standards.
#problemsolved
Read More About What FPS Is Here
COMMENTS
problem solving and creativity - Download as a PDF or view online for free. ... EDWARD PAUL TORRANCE The "Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking" helped shatter the theory that IQ tests alone were sufficient to gauge real intelligence. The tests solidified what heretofore was only conceptual - namely that creative levels can be scaled and then ...
thinking, teaching, problem-solving, creative, devel- opment, and other processes-even the personality processes. The Process Focus in Tradition I contend that Spearman (1930) had a process focus. He viewed creative thinking basically as the process of seeing or creating relations, with both conscious and subconscious processes operating.
The Future Problem Solving Program 22 The Incubation Model of Teaching 25 E. Paul Torrance: His Legacy 28 The Torrance Center for Creative Studies 28 Torrance's Legacy Continues Through his Students 29 Walter Allen 31 Robert Alan Black 31 Bonnie Cramond 31 Dorothy Funk-Werblo 32 Kathy Goff 32 Joe Khatena 32 Felice Kaufmann 33
An Interview with E. Paul Torrance: About Creativity E. Paul Torrance: Michael F. Shaughnessy1-2 E. Paul Torrance is distinguished professor emeritus of the University ... He is the founder of the Future Problem Solving Program and has received many awards for his seminal work in creativity. His most recent book (co-authored with Dorothy Sisk ...
Author(s): E. Paul Torrance Reviewed work(s): Source: Daedalus, Vol. 94, No. 3, Creativity and Learning (Summer, 1965), pp. 663-681 ... between creative thinking and problem-solving. Generally, creative thinking has been treated as one special kind of problem-solving. Newell, Shaw, and Simon state that problem-solving may be called ...
1. Creative Problem Solving. "Necessity is the mother of invention" sa ys the proverb, and indeed this may well. apply to the invention of a new kind of a rule. The invention of a new kind of ...
Built on J.P. Guilford's work and created by Ellis Paul Torrance, the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking, a test of creativity, originally involved simple tests of divergent thinking and other problem-solving skills, which were scored on four scales: Fluency. The total number of interpretable, meaningful, and relevant ideas generated in ...
Paul Torrance: His life, accomplishments, and legacy (RM02152). Storrs: University of Connecticut, The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented. ... The Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking have been used in over 2,000 studies and have been translated into more than 32 languages. ... These activities grew into the Future Problem ...
As intelligent beings learn and remember, they integrate their experiences to form new thoughts, new solutions to problems, and new creations. This chapter deals with these integrative functions—thinking, problem solving and creativity—as they relate to age. Often these integrative functions are difficult to differentiate from the abilities ...
An Interview with E. Paul Torrance: About Creativity. Published: December 1998; Volume 10, pages 441-452, (1998) Cite this article; Download PDF ... Creative problem solving through role playing, Benedic Books, Pretoria. Google Scholar Torrance, E. P. (1996). Mentoring in ...
This article illustrates how E. Paul Torrance was an upstander (Grantham in Roeper Rev 33:263-272, 2011) who confronted the crisis of under-identified talent among Black students which was, in part, due to narrow race- and class-based conceptions of intelligence. ... Offer open-ended creativity and problem solving programs and methods with ...
— E. Paul Torrance, Creativity Pioneer and FPS Founder . Future Problem Solving of California is an Affiliate of Future Problem Solving Program International ... when Dr. E. Paul Torrance accepted an invitation to work with a group of gifted youngsters at Clarke High School in Athens, Georgia, he was unaware that the activities he had ...
That defi ning moment between father and son ended years of desperate and unsuccessful attempts to master some of the more diffi cult tasks of farming and indicated to Paul that his father accepted him as he was and it would be up to Paul to fi nd his way in life. Paul Torrance did just that as he became the father of modern creativity ...
The document discusses problem solving and creativity. It defines problem solving as seeking a goal from a present condition. Creativity is described as a distinguishing human characteristic. Creative problem solving involves independently creating solutions rather than learning them. The four criteria of creativity according to Torrance are fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration ...
Creativity is a distinguishing characteristic of human excellence in every area of behavior. Learning Outcomes: Explain the four Criteria of creativity by Torrance; Practice creative thinking; Apply problem solving skills; EDWARD PAUL TORRANCE. Known as the ''Father of Creativity" for his nearly 60 years of research that became the ...
Presents an obituary for Ellis Paul Torrance, who passed away on July, 12, 2003, after almost 60 years of research in creativity. Known as the "Father of Creativity," Paul legitimized its study with his development of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT). This battery of standardized tests, now translated into 32 languages, provided evidence that creative potential could be ...
Thus, its relevance in the development of creativity can be understood. Creative teachers must have essential characteristics that allow them to transform the educational environment through their ...
E. P. Torrance: His Life, Accomplishments, and Legacy is a tribute to the renowned creativity researcher, university teacher, and mentor to numerous individuals throughout the world. This monograph is presented in three sections which include a discussion of Torrance's life, followed by an overview of his accomplishments, including his creativity research, the Future Problem Solving Program ...
An interview with E. Paul Torrance reviews research into creativity in the second half of the 20th century and his own research centering on the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking as an indicator of creativity. Trends in current research identified include cross-cultural aspects of creativity, multiple ways of creative thinking, and the systems approach to creativity.
Sandwiched in the Zeitgeist between the Marland Report and 1982 Myths milestones in Gifted Education, E. Paul Torrance (1915-2003) founded Future Problem Solving in 1974 to address complex real-world issues during academic competitions for students in grades 4 through 12.
Future Problem Solving Program (FPS) celebrates our founder Dr. E. Paul Torrance's life and accomplishments every day as students around the world participate in activities he and his beloved wife Pansy introduced which helped to create the Future Problem Solving Program back in 1974. His presence is missed, but his spirit and love lives on in the hearts of thousands. FPS teaches students in ...
Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like Edward Paul Torrance, Torrance of Creative Thinking, Fluency Flexibility Elaboration Originality and more. ... Creative Problem Solving. is an intentional process for solving problems and discovering opportunities.
The objective was to systematize evidence of the development of creative thinking and its potentialities with a view from the educational field, highlighting the aspects of creativity in teachers. A … Expand