Tim’s Blog

Wang and Han discuss strategies to increase students’ classroom motivation. The strategies known as the “Six C’s” are: choice, challenge, control, collaboration, constructing meaning and consequences. These strategies can provide a solid framework when designing an e-learning task in the primary school classroom. Not only do these strategies allow the teacher to break the repetitive cycle of pen and paper learning and therefore break the students’ boredom it also gives the teacher (and students) an extremely flexible learning/teaching environment to work in.

Each “C” is a key component in an effective e-learning task. Wang and Han state that by providing choice to the students and providing them with explicit choices among alternatives can enhance motivation. By providing tasks that go beyond the students’ level of skill gives them a challenge and forces students out of their ‘comfort zone’ and motivates them to work harder. Students will be more responsible, independent and diligent if they are involved in the process of classroom control, the third “C” of motivation. Through collaboration students can share learning strategies and varying perspectives can be shared through social interaction. By setting a meaningful goal students have something worthwhile to work towards, this is a big part of the students constructing meaning. The final C, known as consequences is all about presenting students’ work and giving other people an opportunity to appreciate other people’s work. This C could easily be known as “Celebration” and really helps to build a student’s self-esteem and confidence as their work is there for all to admire.

The six C’s should be the foundation to any e-learning activity in the primary school classroom.