Research as a practical component of school geography

The article considers a new kind of work on the formation of practical skills in geography - «research». Research is a new component in the geography curriculum, according to which a teacher develops pupils' research skills through systematic work. The research demands independent work of pupils, mainly during their extra-curricular time. It is preferable to do it in the form of mini-projects, presentations, essays, reports, route schemes, maps, abstracts, etc. The research should be assessed only if the work is properly performed. Various types of research introduced in the school courses of 6-9 forms, compiled according to the new 2012 geography curriculum, have been analyzed and compared. It has been determined that changes in the curriculum occur annually, which leads to constant changes in the content and structure of geography teaching at school. Research has been highlighted. Based on the analysis, we can determine the main methodological features for conducting and performing research, such as: novelty – research is a new form of educational work; individuality – research contains a significant potential for the development of individual abilities, independence, creative thinking among pupils; combination of the scientific and creative component of the educational process; versatility - different sources of information, methods and forms of research, a variety of work topics consolidate the positive emotional sphere for learning geography at school; differentiation of complexity. Each course is characterized by its own number of research which depends on their thematic load. This regulation of complexity ensures constant update of the studied material, its replenishment and better assimilation. The characteristics of different types of research have been given: creative, informational, search-research and practice-oriented. The results of the experimental and empirical questioning to identify the research features in the school geography courses teaching have been analyzed.