A Structural Equation Model Examining the Relationship among Remembering, Understanding, Applying and Students’ Achievement in Mathematics

Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives has been used by educators as a useful model of learning concepts and ideas. While every Mathematics teacher would dream of his/her students reaching the highest level of Bloom’s taxonomy, the reality in Nigeria and other developing countries is far from this. This study investigated the relationship between three dimensions of the cognitive domain namely: remembering, understanding and applying and mathematics achievement among secondary students in Nigeria. A measure of the three levels of the cognitive domain was used for data collection from 250 respondents. Multivariate statistical techniques via Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) revealed that the observed variables’ measuring the latent constructs: remembering, understanding and applying measured it. Significant covariance relationships among the latent constructs were established. The three dimensions of the cognitive domain directly and positively influenced academic achievement of mathematics students. Lastly, the overall model fit the data. Suggestions are offered on the effective utilization of the three dimensions of the cognitive domain in mathematics instructional contents delivery.