Message from Professor Patrick Griffin
Director, Assessment Research Centre
The University of Melbourne
For the past eight years the University of Melbourne, through its Assessment Research Centre, has been collaborating with the NSDC to conduct the Creative Problem Solving Competition.
During that time we have studied the process of problem solving and shared a great deal of excitement as children from all over Australia have shown that they are clever, creative and competitive. The standard of work produced by the students has been of the highest standard and our studies have shown that the children's work is among the best in the world. So many of the students have been successful in many other ways as well, from gaining access to selective schools, winning scholarships and success in other competitive academic pursuits.
The University of Melbourne is looking forward to the next phase of the Creative Problem Solving competition in which we will be presenting the materials via the computer and then via the Internet. These are exciting developments and will place the NSDC competition at the forefront of the world's problem solving assessment strategies. The staff of the university working on the project will continue to include the world's leaders in this field of research and development and we can confidently expect that NSDC will retain its place in the leadership of such approaches to assessment.
More important however is the motive behind the NSDC involvement. The incentive for the company to remain involved is their aim to celebrate excellence and to encourage high-level performances. In this way the NSDC is making a serious contribution to the pursuit of excellence in Australia and the University's Assessment Research Centre is proud to be associated with the work. Thank you for the opportunities the project has given to Australia's children.
Professor Patrick Griffin
Director, Assessment Research Centre
The University of Melbourne