Contemporary Geographical Education: Challenges, Opportunities, Solutions Forum held at KFU
Among the participants were KFU representatives:
Vice-Rector for Earth Sciences Danis Nurgaliev;
Deputy Director of IGPT for Academic Affairs Andrey Teryokhin;
Chair of the Department of Geography and Cartography Elena Pudovik;
Chair of the Department of the Theory and Methodology of Geographical and Environmental Education Ruslan Ulengov;
Professor Ilgizar Gaisin, and others.
The ranks of invitees also included other KFU employees, students, local geography teachers, and the Chairman of the Interregional Association of Geography Teachers of Russia, Chair of the Department of Economic and Social Geography of Moscow Pedagogical State University Alexander Lobzhanidze.
During his speech, Dr Nurgaliev emphasized the important role of geography and reminded us that we live in the largest country in the world, rich in natural resources.
“We will strive to pay more attention to the geological education of geography teachers. I believe that a distinctive feature of Tatarstani geographers should be their strong geological background,” noted the Vice-Rector. “With the support of the Rais of the Republic of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, the Republican Open Field Olympiad for Young Geologists is held annually. Geological education for students is very important. For example, we could create geological collections in schools. It’s entirely possible that we could teach geology to schoolchildren in the future. Why not initiate such a pilot project?”
He then gave a letter of appreciation fom the Rector of KFU to Alexander Lobzhanidze and presented him with several books.
Congratulating the forum participants, Chairman of the Tatarstan Branch of the Russian Geographical Society Dmitry Schiller emphasized that knowledge of geography and the ability to navigate maps in certain situations saves lives.
“I want to emphasize the importance of teaching schoolchildren how to work with maps today,” he told the school teachers. “I invite you to participate in the projects of the Russian Geographical Society. Believe me, they are very interesting and multifaceted!”
Head of the General Education and Graduation Exams Unit of the Ministry of Education and Science of Tatarstan Lilia Saubanova thanked KFU for organizing the forum and the geography teachers for their efforts.
“We are all pleased that geography has become a gold standard of teaching in grades 10 and 11. Thank you for putting your heart and soul into teaching this subject,” she said.
Alexander Lobzhanidze announced that the Interregional Association of Geography Teachers of Russia celebrated its 30th anniversary this year and noted the outstanding work of the Association’s regional branch in Tatarstan and its chairman, Ilgizar Gaisin. He also expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Education and Science of Tatarstan and KFU for organizing the forum.
“In his speech at the 17th Congress of the Russian Geographical Society, Vladimir Putin proposed declaring 2027 the Year of Geography in Russia. I would very much like this to contribute to significant changes in attitudes toward the school subject of geography,'” Lobzhanidze emphasized.
His presentation focused on the challenges of geography education and ways to address them. These include inadequate textbooks, a shortage of qualified personnel, and the insufficient digitization of the educational process.
“Tatarstan is always among the leading regions in terms of both the implementation of new technologies and the introduction of new teaching methods,” he noted after the forum. “Furthermore, we consistently see many prize winners and winners of school geography competitions, which attests to the high level of education in the province.”
He added that he would like the forum to be larger and more interactive, with its work organized into several sections. Then, teachers will have more opportunities to share their experiences and present their best practices.
Among those who shared their experiences was Galina Zakharova, a geography teacher at Kazan’s Gymnasium No. 102. Her presentation was titled “Methodological Recommendations for Preparing Students to Complete Extended-Response Assignments on the Unified State Exam in Geography in the 2025-2026 Academic Year.”
“I have been an expert on the subject committee for reviewing the Basic State Exam (BSE) and the Unified State Exam (USE) for quite some time,” she noted. “In my presentation, I reported on the results of the Unified State Exam in geography and explained what students should pay special attention to in order to avoid common mistakes. Passing the geography exam may seem easy at first glance, but when students begin preparing for it, they discover they must recall all the topics they studied from grades 5 through 11. Furthermore, the Unified State Exam includes tasks that require applying existing knowledge to new situations. Very often, examinees lose points when completing such tasks.”
Dr Pudovik’s presentation, which focused on modern trends in geography and cartography, generated considerable interest among forum participants.
