The possessive Phrases: 39 How to express happiness or enthusiasm

4 Do you think creativity is an important skill for employees to have in general? Explain your answer.

b Work with a classmate. Discuss your answers from the previous exercise and decide on a

common response. Indicate whether you initially had different opinions and what these were. Explain how you arrived at your fi nal common answers.

Preparing for the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Educationalist and inspirational speaker Sir Ken Robinson is of the opinion that creativity is as important in education as literacy. He has defi ned creativity as the application of imagination. Using our imagination, we step outside our current place and time, in short, think outside the box. The creative process allows us to test and build up ideas, thus developing imagination into reality.

Risk-taking and critical thinking should also be associated with creativity, and this can apply to many areas of study and work. A report from a multinational computer technology company suggests that 65% of future jobs have not been invented yet. With the rise of robotics and digitalisation in the workplace, creativity will have a growing value in our lives.

This may seem obvious, but it took some time to be acknowledged. Back in 2006, Sir Ken's fi rst Ted talk, titled 'Do schools kill creativity?', was made to a small audience in California. In the 1990s he had written a huge government report on the same subject. In his report, he contested the hierarchy of subjects in education, with maths and languages at the top and the arts at the bottom. He pointed out that public education is based on academic ability, with the result that many brilliant people think they are not because they are judged against this view of the mind.

For the most part, this report had been ignored, certainly shelved by a UK government whose focus was on testing in schools. However, his short, jokefi lled Ted talk some years later went viral and was soon the most-watched Ted talk of all time. With the current focus on 'core subjects', teaching is missing out on the opportunity to use the interdisciplinary methodologies that are most effective for positive learning outcomes.

Moreover, he proposed that if you are not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with anything original. Yet we now run a national education system where mistakes are the worst thing you can make. His description was light-hearted but relevant. Generally speaking, he said, students are told that there is one answer, it is at the back of the book, but you must not look because that is cheating. Not only that, but you must not copy from or confer with fellow students. His belief is that tomorrow's world will need individuals who can think for themselves, and far from not copying, they should welcome collaboration and the sharing of ideas.

In fact, his argument for change has become more relevant in the years since that famous Ted talk. Schools are producing exam robots, not creative thinkers. In the fi nal analysis, awareness of the imagination and creativity needed to approach any problem – technological or scientifi c – leads to fl exible thinking. And that is what our future will need.

Writing a summary

STRATEGY

• Skim the text (see Strategy: Skimming texts in Training session Reading). Ask

yourself the question: What type of text is this?

• If there are no subheadings, divide the text into sections yourself. • Ask yourself the question: Why am I reading this text? This can help you identify

relevant information.

• Read the text while highlighting the key words and phrases. • Write down the main points of each section in your own words. • Write down important supporting points or arguments for each main point, but

leave out examples and minor details.

• Read your summary to check whether all the information you wrote down is

relevant to your reading goal, and make sure that you have used your own words.

• Finally, check if your summary is coherent and fluent.

2 Writing a summary

Use Strategy: Writing a summary and Preparing for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

a Answer the questions in your own words. 1 What is the main idea of the text?

48

2 What are the supporting arguments? Write down three, using one sentence per argument.

3 What is the main problem, according to the author?

4 What is the author's main source?

5 What is the Fourth Industrial Revolution mentioned in the title? Support your answer with a quote from the text.

b Use Phrases: How to summarise. Write your summary. • Only include information that will help you answer the following research question: 'Is it the role of schools to stimulate creativity in their students, and if so, how?' • Use your notes from the previous exercise. • Use 100-150 words.

3 Commenting on a text

34

Use:

• Preparing for the Fourth Industrial Revolution; • your summary from the previous exercise; • your answers to the questions from exercise Get started.

Write a comment to go with your summary.

•In your comment, answer this question: Do the ideas in Preparing for the Fourth Industrial

Revolution correspond with the opinion you had about the role of creativity in schools and the workplace? Or has the text changed your mind about the topic? • Explain your answer and use three quotes from the text to support it.

4 Writing a short report

You are going to write a short report that will answer the following research question: 'Is it the role of schools to stimulate creativity in their students, and if so, how?' Use your summary and your comment from the previous exercises.

a Write the introduction of your report. • Give a short, simple description of your research topic. This background information should lead naturally to your main research question – which is what you end the introduction with. • Use 50-75 words.

b Write the body of your report. Use your summary as the basis. If necessary, rewrite it so it

matches the following criteria.

•Divide the body of the report into logical paragraphs. • Check if the information is presented in a logical order. Rearrange the paragraphs if necessary. • Use 100-150 words.

c Write the conclusion of your report. In the conclusion, you answer the research question,

supported by evidence from the reading text.

•Use your comment as the basis. If necessary, rewrite it so it contains a clear answer to the research question. • Your conclusion should still reflect if and how the information in the text has changed your opinion on the topic and contain an explanation of your answer. • If you believe it is the role of schools to stimulate creativity in their students, then give two or three practical recommendations to help schools achieve this. Think about methods your school might use already. • Use 125-175 words.

Complete your mission

Use Mission briefi ng and Strategy: Preparing a report or presentation and Strategy: Creative thinking techniques in Training session Reading. Follow the steps to complete your mission.

□ Think of any topic that interests you and that you want to know more about.

□ Write down what you already know about the topic.

□ Use the Wh-questions to formulate your main research question and some subquestions.

□ Find information about your topic. Find fi ve sources online. Use the best three.

□ Write summaries of these three sources and synthesise the information.

□ Keep track of any adjustments you have made to your research plan. Explain why you had to make those changes.

□ Comment on the collected information and how it has helped shape or change your opinion.

□ Use your summaries and comment to write your report. Use 400-500 words.

□ List your sources: provide URLs of the websites you used.

Mission debriefi ng

Go to New Interface online for the Model answer. Compare your report to the model and fi ll in the rubric. Alternatively, you could ask a classmate to read the report and fi ll in the rubric for you. Mission accomplished ...?

1 Choosing a topic. 2 Formulating a research question and some subquestions. 3 Conducting research and collecting information.

Needs improving OK Excellent

4 Writing a summary of the information collected. 5 Justifying changes to the original research plan. ◯ ◯ ◯ 6 Commenting on the information collected. ◯ ◯ ◯ 7 Writing a short report. ◯ ◯ ◯ 8 Use of vocabulary, grammar and phrases. ◯ ◯ ◯

If you have indicated 'Needs improving' in any category, please give tips here.

WORDS

WORLDS

New Interface tweede fase prepares you for life. Not just any life; YOUR life. Using the English language, we aim to broaden your knowledge and teach you valuable and practical skills that help you shape your life, now and in the future.

How? By practising English in real-life situations, by doing assignments that prepare you for the choices you will be faced with and by using the English language as a means to an end, as opposed to a goal in itself.

Whether you travel the world or stay close to home, New Interface helps you to open new worlds. CAN OPEN