Effects of Group Training in Problem-Solving Style on Future Problem-Solving Performance

Seventy-five participants from one suburban high school formed 21 teams with 3-4 members each for the Future Problem Solving Program International (FPSPI). Students were selected to participate in either the regular FPSPI or an enhanced FPSPI, where multiple group training activities grounded in problem-solving style were incorporated into a 9-week treatment period. An ANCOVA procedure was used to examine the difference in team responses to a creative problem-solving scenario for members of each group, after accounting for initial differences in creative problem-solving performance, years of experience in FPSPI, and creative thinking related to fluency, flexibility, and originality. The ANCOVA resulted in a significant difference in problem-solving performance in favor of students in the treatment group (F(1, 57) = 8.21, p = .006, partial eta squared = .126, medium), while there were no significant differences in years of experience or creativity scores. This result led researchers to conclude that students in both groups had equivalent creative ability and that participation in the group activities emphasizing problem-solving style significantly contributed to creative performance.