Get empowered by C.R.E.A.M.

Maria Zaheer¹ & Amina Shaik²

¹ Prince Sultan University, Saudi Arabia

Marszaheer@hotmail.com

² Qassim University, Saudi Arabia

gulamina@gmail.com

Abstract

No matter whatever manner you learn it is possible to develop your study skills. Cottrell (2003, p. 55) in this regard recommends the C-R-E-A-M strategy and she was the one who first coined the acronym C.R.E.A.M. She recommends five strategies  which seek to empower students with essential learning skills: C-Creative: Have the confidence to use individual strategies and styles, by applying imagination to learning. R-Reflective: Be able to sit with one’s own experience, analyze and evaluate one’s own performance, and draw lessons from it. E-Effective: Organize space, time, priorities, state of mind and resources (including Information Technology, IT), to the maximum benefit. A-Active: Be personally involved and by doing things, physically and mentally, in order to make sense of what you learn. M-Motivated: Be aware of one’s own desired outcomes; keep oneself on track using short and long-term goals.  Cottrell (2003) further explains that each individual strategy in the C.R.E.A.M. framework is in a dependent relationship with each other. For instance, being active fosters learning motivation and interest. Being interested and motivated requires reflection and making sense of your experience. I as an ESL instructor have attempted an action research to motivate my students’ learning in the Reading/ Writing and Reading Circle 010 courses through the employment of Cottrell’s CREAM framework. For the enhancement of teaching and learning, it is implied that teachers can make use of the C.R.E.A.M. strategy by designing meaningful activities to motivate their students to learn. 

Key words: study skills, learning strategise, C.R.E.A.M., motivation, reflective learning

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