LEVEL OF ACHIEVEMENT OF LEARNING OBJECTIVES IN NATURAL NUMBERS TEACHING IN THE 4TH GRADE OF PRIMARY SCHOOL

Abstract

This paper presents the results of the research on the level of achievement of course objectives in natural numbers teaching in the 4th grade of primary school using the taxonomic model designed for this research purposes. The taxonomic model consists of five levels: recognition, reproduction, comprehension, generalization and application, problem solving. It was aligned with Bloom’s taxonomy in the cognitive domain, and also with the requirements related to the assessment of students’ knowledge presented in the Primary School Mathematics curriculum. A descriptive method in its analytical and classification form was used, whereupon data were obtained on the degree of operationality and classification of learning objectives in terms of concretization, realization and possibility of verifying whether the objectives can be achieved. The survey was conducted on a sample of 315 students of the 4th grade. The obtained results indicate that as the level of complexity based on the taxonomic model increases, the level of achievement of learning objectives regarding natural numbers in the 4th grade of the primary school decreases. Moreover, in the case of two learning objectives, students achieved all levels of complexity, while in the case of three learning objectives students reached the level of comprehension. When it comes to the remaining four learning objectives, they reached the level of reproduction, that is, they acquired only the basic knowledge that each student is supposed to gain at the end of the learning process. The obtained results can contribute to changes in the approaches to teaching contents in the following way: changes and innovation to the mathematics curriculum, identification and formulation of learning goals, evaluation of the level of achievement of learning objectives, more efficient individualization of the learning process, identification of criteria and standards for assessing students’ knowledge, acquiring a more permanent and better-quality knowledge, etc.