WAYS TO DEVELOP PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ COGNITIVE INDEPENDENCE IN MATHEMATICS LESSONS
Abstract. The study is devoted to exploring ways of developing primary school students’ thinking and creative abilities in contemporary mathematics lessons, as well as to forming their knowledge, skills, and habits. Cognitive independence encompasses such qualities as acquiring knowledge independently, achieving the analysis and solution of problems, drawing logical conclusions, mastering content through active cognitive activity, and substantiating the results obtained. The article investigates the development of primary school students’ cognitive independence and its pedagogical foundations; it considers the pedagogical conditions that influence the development of cognitive independence in mathematics lessons, the teacher’s guiding role, and issues related to the application of instructional methods. The essence of cognitive independence is clarified, and the necessity of fostering it at the primary education stage is substantiated. The article also analyzes the creation of problem situations, the use of question–an swer and research-oriented tasks, and the implementation of active and interactive teaching methods as key means of developing cognitive independence. The article is of practical and theoretical significance for primary school teachers and educational researchers.
Keywords: primary school students, mathematics, active learning methods, cognitive independence, task, observation, comparison.
