Developing 21st century skills through PISA-based assessment-learning tasks

Abstract

Relevance. Currently, the textbooks used in educational schools in Kazakhstan largely lack tasks that require decision-making under conditions of uncertainty. The relevance of this study lies in addressing a significant gap in the educational curriculum of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Purpose. The purpose of this study is to form and develop schoolchildren�s decision-making skills in conditions of uncertainty, and 21st century skills, by drawing up model assessment and learning tasks and assignments for them. Methodology. Diagnostic written work was carried out to identify the success of the developed method for constructing assessment and learning tasks, teaching schoolchildren to solve practice-oriented problems in the experimental (33 students) and control (32 students) classes. Results. Monitoring showed that out of 33 students from the experimental class 22% did not score points corresponding to the mandatory threshold level (13 out of 26 points), 72% achieved an average level of learning (from 14 to 21 points), 6% achieved a high level of learning (from 22 to 26 points). In the control class, 68% of schoolchildren did not reach the mandatory threshold level, 29% reached the average level, 3% reached a high level of development of practice-oriented knowledge. To establish the success of the developed methodology for constructing assessment and training tasks for practical problems, a survey was conducted among mathematics teachers (17 people). The survey results showed that this approach allowed all 17 teachers to successfully create assessment and teaching tasks for selected educational tasks from a mathematics textbook. Conclusions. Experimental studies confirm that teaching schoolchildren to solve practice-oriented problems and assessment tasks enhances their practice-oriented knowledge, including mathematical literacy, 21st-century thinking skills, and decision-making in uncertain conditions. Keywords: decision making; thinking skills; mathematical reasoning; exam