Which of the following is an objective related to skill development in…

Concept: In the teaching of mathematics, instructional objectives are grouped by the kind of change they seek in the learner — knowledge objectives (recall of facts, terms and symbols), understanding objectives (grasp of relationships and reasons), application objectives (use of learning in a new situation), skill objectives (performing an operation with speed and accuracy: computation, handling instruments, constructing figures, working with graphs and tables), and attitude, interest and appreciation objectives (what the learner comes to feel and value). The test for a skill objective is therefore simple — it names a practisable action the learner performs, one that becomes faster and more accurate with repetition.

Application: Read each listed objective and ask whether it names such a practisable action. Drawing a graph from a table of values, reading a quantity off a plotted graph, and interpreting the entries of a statistical table are all actions the learner carries out with instruments and data, and each improves with practice. So the objective related to skill development here is "Developing skill in drawing, reading, and interpreting graphs and statistical tables".

Contrast — how the other three objectives are classified:

• "Developing a love for mathematics" names what the learner comes to feel about the subject, so it belongs to the attitude and interest group of objectives.

• "Preparing for higher education in sciences" points to the usefulness of mathematics in later study of the sciences — the utilitarian, application-oriented aim of teaching the subject, stated at the level of its purpose rather than as a learner action.

• "Understanding the development of mathematics over the centuries" names historical insight into how the subject grew, so it sits with knowledge, understanding and appreciation objectives.

Result: among the four objectives listed, the skill objective is developing skill in drawing, reading and interpreting graphs and statistical tables, because it alone is stated as an operation the learner performs and practises, while the other three are stated as a feeling, a general aim, and a historical insight.