







































Georgian Geographical journal 2023, Vol.3 (2) 

 

Modern Approaches and Their Importance in the Teaching-

Learning Process of Geography 
Nana Kvirkvelia1 

Abstract 

The main goal of teaching geography is to form a multifaceted personality. One of the most important missions 

of teaching geography is to study the problem of the relationship between nature and society, to raise ecological 

awareness for each member of society and to create a caring attitude and personal responsibility towards nature. 

The mentioned direction contributes to the formation of students' economic thinking, which helps them understand 

and solve the socioeconomic problems of their own country. Additionally, geography has a communicative role 

to some extent, which involves obtaining, perceiving, and analysing different types of information. Therefore, the 

high involvement of students in the learning process is very important, as well as the use of modern approaches 

and strategies. In connection with the mentioned issues, research was conducted among students at the basic and 

secondary levels of Buckswood International School. The purpose of the research is to outline the effective 

methods of the teaching-learning process of geography, which will make it easier for students to study the subject 

and will help to apply the acquired knowledge in practice. Additionally, it will help to plan the educational 

curriculum correctly, interestingly, and effectively. The survey was conducted online using the Google Forms 

platform. Then, the resulting composition was analysed, and the highlights were created in diagrams. Additionally, 

the article presents information about the educational field activities already carried out by the students 

participating in the research and illustrative photo material. Approximately one hundred students participated in 

the survey. During the research, interesting trends were revealed, including which form of teaching they prefer, 

when learning is pleasant and effective for them, how they analyse the theoretical knowledge, and how they can 

use this experience. This is presented in detail in the article. In conclusion, to obtain quality and practical education 

and to form a full-fledged citizen, research on the abovementioned issues is important. It is necessary to change 

teaching-learning approaches with time and adapt to students. The learning process should be fun for them. This 

research will help the teachers of schools and higher education institutions plan and conduct the educational 

process correctly and interestingly. 

Keywords: Geography, Education, Modern Approaches to Teaching, Buckswood International School 

Introduction 

The teaching of geography in schools and universities forms the main framework that gives students 

an idea of the world. They have the opportunity to use the acquired knowledge in practical life. 

Therefore, geography teachers have a great mission. It is important to improve the quality of the 

teaching-learning process of geography, which will contribute to the education of a good person and 

citizen. 

The national curriculum is the main tool for achieving the goals of education reform. The document 

defines mandatory requirements for the school community in three directions: 1. orientation of the 

teaching-learning process on the student’s personal development; 2. Basing the educational process on 

constructivist educational principles; 3. Establishing a school culture focused on care and support [1]. 

 

Learning processes are complex. Many factors determine their successful implementation and 

perfection. A teacher should always consider the interests and abilities of each student. He should 

clearly determine which learning forms will help to achieve the goals so that students can easily absorb, 

understand, and remember new information. The educational process planned by the teacher should be 

consistent and serve information assimilation, processing and storage, and practical use. While planning 

the sequence of the learning process, important aspects (ideal learning conditions) should be taken into 

account [2]. 

The teacher should be able to arouse interest in the subject in students with constructivist teaching 

approaches, helping them to perceive the problem and solve it. Additionally, the teacher should provide 

the students with practical skills that will help them use the acquired knowledge. It is essential to guide 

aspects of student-centered learning and to select teaching methods that are focused on students' needs, 

abilities, interests, and learning styles. For a fun, interesting learning process, the teacher should use 

various teaching strategies and constructivist approaches [3, 4]. According to constructivism, the 

 
1 TSU Vakhushti Bagrationi Institute of Geography, Nana.kvirkvelia@tsu.ge 



Kvirkvelia. Georgian Geographical Journal 2023, Vol.3 (2) 

student is an active participant in the learning process and not a passive recipient of information. The 

constructivist teaching methodology is based on the principle according to which the acquisition of any 

kind of knowledge implies the construction of this knowledge. The methods should be adapted to the 

interests of students as much as possible; students should be encouraged to analyse and interpret facts, 

events, and concepts. Open questions are often used in this process; the learning process should be 

based and built on students’ previous knowledge and experience [5]. 

The teacher should not provide the material to the student in a ready-to-use form but only help them 

build knowledge, contribute to their knowledge construction, create motivation for studying, explain 

the purpose of learning, work on household-type tasks related to reality, create a favourable 

environment for learning and diverse resources and encourage them deservedly so that they do not lose 

the incentive. According to earlier educational experiences, the students were completely subordinated 

to the teacher [6], but today, the teacher expects from them active action, independent thinking, doubting 

recognized opinions, expressing assumptions, calling for ideas, and creativity. 

In the teaching-learning process, it is necessary to provide and analyse world events and processes, 

lead a discussion, and focus on problems. Therefore, it is important to use a variety of strategies in 

teaching geography that will help teachers conduct interactive lessons, arouse students' interest, 

motivate them, and develop critical and creative thinking. These strategies will help teachers to create 

interesting and complex tasks and help students complete them with interest. Such kinds of strategies 

are discussion, debate, problem-based learning (PBL), cooperative learning (cooperative), case study, 

brainstorming, role-playing and situational games, mini-lectures, demonstration methods, and others. 

Discussion is one of the frequently used methods of interactive teaching, the purpose of which is to 

discuss different approaches, ideas, or problems in a group. If during the lecture the teacher provides 

ready-made information to the students, during the discussion, on the contrary, the students become 

active and the teacher receives information from them. The more intense the discussion, the more 

effective it is. During the discussion, students develop various skills, such as argumentative reasoning, 

active listening, respect for different opinions, and others. Discussion can be a good motivator for 

students. They will try to independently find information on certain topics so that they can have 

appropriate arguments during the discussion. 

Debate is a form of discussion and is based on preplanned speeches of the participants. The presenters 

are chosen from the group. The debate begins with the speech of one representative of each of the two 

opposing sides. After that, the tribune is given to other participants from each side for questions and 

comments. The teacher should set a certain time for each speaker. 

Problem-based learning (PBL) – a learning method that uses a problem as the initial stage of the 

process of acquiring and integrating new knowledge. 

Cooperative learning (cooperative) – According to this teaching strategy, each member of the group 

is obliged not only to learn by himself but also to help his teammate learn the subject better. Each 

member of the group works on the problem until all of them have studied the issue. 

Case study – The teacher discusses specific cases with the students in the lesson and together with 

them studies the issue in every way and thoroughly. For example, the essence of natural events in 

physical geography, the causes of their occurrence, the risks of spreading, and the ways to avoid them. 

From a geopolitical point of view, in the geography of conflicts, it can be an analysis of a specific 

conflict, etc. 

Case analysis has several definitions: a case is a description of a real situation, a snapshot of reality, 

or a photograph of existence. In addition, it is a unified information complex that allows us to get to 

know the situation. A real case is that we can transform the status of a ‘life situation’ into a task and 

solve it with reflection and using the resources necessary for a solution. The method case study is a tool 

that allows us to apply theoretical knowledge to practical tasks. Thanks to this method, students have 

the opportunity to reveal and develop analytical and evaluation skills, learn group work, and find 

rational ways to solve problems. 

Brainstorming – This method involves the formation and expression of as many radically different 

opinions and ideas about a specific issue/problem as possible within a specific topic. This method helps 

to develop a creative approach to the problem. 

Role-playing and situational games – Scenario-based role-playing allows students to look at an issue 

from different perspectives, helping them to develop an alternative point of view. Like discussion, role-



Kvirkvelia. Georgian Geographical Journal 2023, Vol.3 (2) 

playing also develops the ability of students to express their position independently and defend it in an 

argument. 

A mini-lecture is a small lecture, the purpose of which is to convey certain information to the 

audience. By means of a mini-lecture, important and necessary information will be given to students in 

a short period of time. During the mini-lecture, the teacher is more active, while the students are 

relatively passive. The teacher should prepare theoretical and visual materials, graphs, and photographs 

in advance to make the lecture interesting, especially for those students who have better-developed 

visual memory. 

In the process of teaching and learning, it is important to check knowledge in different ways. The 

teacher should offer variety to the students. Summary works can be complex assignments, presentations, 

projects, etc., within the framework of which students have the opportunity to demonstrate their 

abilities, both academic skills and critical thinking or creativity. 

Demonstration method – This method involves a visual representation of information. It is effective 

in terms of achieving results. In many cases, it is better to provide the material to the students 

simultaneously in audio and visual form. The material to be studied can be demonstrated by both the 

teacher and the student. This method helps teachers to make visible the different stages of learning 

material perception. It should be specified what the students will have to do independently. At the same 

time, this strategy visualizes the essence of the issue/problem. Demonstration may be simple or 

complex, such as conducting a multistep science experiment [7, 8]. 

In addition to the given teaching strategies, there are other strategies that the teacher can choose 

depending on the specific learning task. During teaching and learning, it is necessary to use different 

forms of work, for example, collaborative, individual, and pair work [9-11]. 

Objective assessment is important for students' motivation. Student assessment is one of the main 

and important activities of a teacher. According to researchers, one-third of a teacher's time is spent on 

evaluation [12]. Student assessment allows us to understand how students have mastered the learning 

material and what their strengths and weaknesses are. By means of evaluation, it is possible to plan the 

learning process correctly and to draw up learning activities taking into account the progress or 

regression of the students. 

Today, two types of assessment are used in general education schools – determinative and formative. 

Formative assessment determines a student's level of achievement in relation to subject-specific 

curriculum outcomes. The student is evaluated using a ten-point system. Formative assessment 

determines the dynamics of each student's development and is aimed at improving the quality of 

learning. To promote the improvement of the quality of learning, priority should be given to formative 

assessment, which evaluates the student in relation to his previous results, measures his individual 

progress, and allows him to gradually construct knowledge. It is important that the student himself is 

involved in the formative assessment. Assessment of the learning process will develop the student's 

independent learning skills, will help in mastering learning strategies, and will allow him/her to 

consciously contribute to his own progress and success. The main purpose of inclusion in assessment 

is to familiarize the student with learning processes, which will teach him/her to manage these processes 

intelligently and independently [7, 9, 11]. 

Methods and Materials 

In connection with the mentioned issues, a study was conducted among the students of the 7th, 8th, 

9th, and 11th grades of the basic and secondary levels of Buckswood International School. More than 

100 students participated in the survey. The survey was conducted online using the Google Forms 

platform. The questionnaire included ten questions. The obtained results were analysed, and 

visualizations were created in the diagrams. 

In addition, various studies were developed around the studied issue, which were analysed and 

presented in the introductory part of the article. 

In addition, both international and local research was considered the issue under study. There is 

international experience in researching the mentioned issues [4, 5], which was analysed and presented 

in the introductory part of the article. 

Results 



Kvirkvelia. Georgian Geographical Journal 2023, Vol.3 (2) 

To determine the effective methods of the teaching-learning process of geography, interesting and 

necessary trends were identified in the mentioned research. This will contribute to the correct planning 

of the educational curriculum and will make it easier for the students to study the subject. In addition, 

students will be able to apply the acquired knowledge in practice. 

A total of 52.5% of the participants in the survey were female, and 47.5% were male. Among them, 

34.7% were 11-13 years old, 60.4% were 14-16 years old, and 5% were over 16 years old. 

As a result of the research, the majority of students prefer various approaches and methods in the 

teaching-learning process. The survey results are presented in the pie charts. Forty-seven percent of 

students believe that they learn new material more cheerfully and easily when studying geography with 

a lesson game. However, they are also helped by lessons, seminars, and conferences to learn new 

material. Twenty-five percent of respondents believe that all of the listed approaches are important in 

the teaching-learning process, depending on the need to study the topic (Fig. 1a). 

 

       

Figure 1.a- Forms of Teaching Geography; b- Materials for Teaching Geography (Students’ Choices (%)) 

Since all students are individuals and have different abilities and perceptual abilities, it is important 

for teachers to use different types of resources. Research confirms this. Thirty-six percent of students 

preferred different types of visual material, including text, map, photo, video, graphics, and others. 

Visual resources help to analyse and understand the issue (Figure 1b). Summarizing the studied material 

is important because it allows the student to analyse and present the acquired knowledge in the form of 

various products (complex tasks, tests, projects, presentations, abstracts). 

The majority of students (41%) preferred the presentation. It seems that when working on a 

presentation, students have an opportunity to better demonstrate their acquired knowledge and creative 

skills. In addition, 2% of respondents believe that summative work can be performed as a complex 

assignment, as well as in the form of a report, project, or test (Figure 2a). 

Figure 2a-. Forms of the Task Performance; b- Forms of the Task Performance (Students’ Choice (%)) 

Thirty-eight percent of students believe that group work makes their learning process easier. During 

group work, everyone demonstrates their abilities, and they cope with common work better. 

Additionally, the research showed that 29% of respondents preferred to work individually, and 33% 

preferred to work in pairs. For some students to improve/develop their communication skills, it is 

important to involve them in group work (Figure 2b). 

For students to analyse what they did well or what they failed to do in the learning process, both 

determinative (23%) and formative (24%) assessments are important. Formative assessment helps 



Kvirkvelia. Georgian Geographical Journal 2023, Vol.3 (2) 

students reflect. As a result of the research, according to 58% of students, both determinative and 

formative assessments are significant (Fig. 3a). 

    

Figure 3a- Forms of Assessment Students’ Choice (%); b-Participation in Extracurricular Activities Number of Students in 

Percentages 

Nonformal education is important in the teaching-learning process of geography. During nonformal 

activities, students are given the opportunity to better understand and perceive the practicality of 

theoretical issues. This requires many outdoor activities and the active involvement of students in these 

activities. Fifty-eight percent of students participate in extracurricular activities provided by the school. 

Nineteen percent of respondents did not participate in such an activity, and 23% did not remember 

whether they were involved in an outdoor activity or not (Fig. 3b). Unfortunately, some students do not 

take advantage of this opportunity. Why, this is another subject of separate research. 

 

Figure 4. How does the graphic organizer (charts) help the students perceive and understand the issue? 

Forty-four percent of students believe that a graphic organizer (charts) helps in understanding the 

issue, so it is important for the teacher to use visuals when explaining the lesson because some students 

have a visual memory. Nineteen percent of respondents never thought about this issue (Fig. 4). 

Discussion 

Research has shown that it is important to consider the interests and abilities of students when 

planning the curriculum. 

Since all students are individuals and have different abilities and perceptual skills, it is important for 

teachers to use different types of resources. To achieve effective results, the teaching-learning process 

should be guided by student-oriented approaches. Use a variety of resources, for example, text, maps, 

photos, videos, graphics, etc. 

During summative work, students should be given the opportunity to demonstrate the acquired 

knowledge in various forms, be it a presentation, a project, a complex task, a test, or something else. To 

develop communication skills, it is important to involve students in group work. 

For the student to understand how he mastered the study material, where he made mistakes, and what 

the strengths and weaknesses of his completed task were, he/she should be assessed as both formative 

and deterministic. Formative assessment helps students reflect. 

Nonformal education is important in the teaching-learning process of geography. During nonformal 

activities, students are given the opportunity to better understand and perceive the practicality of 



Kvirkvelia. Georgian Geographical Journal 2023, Vol.3 (2) 

theoretical issues. This requires many outdoor activities and the active involvement of students in these 

activities. 

Conclusion 

In conclusion, to obtain quality and practical education and to form a full-fledged citizen, research 

on the abovementioned issues is important. It is necessary to change teaching-learning approaches with 

time and adapt to students. The learning process should be fun for them. 

Research has shown that it is important to consider the interests and abilities of students when 

planning the curriculum. To achieve effective results, the teaching and learning process should be 

conducted with student-oriented approaches, and a variety of resources should be used. Students should 

have an opportunity to create different products during the summary assignment. They should be 

assessed as both formative and determinative assignments. Participation in outdoor activities is 

extremely significant. 

This research will help the teachers of schools and higher education institutions plan and conduct the 

educational process correctly and interestingly. 

Competing interests 

The authors declare that they have no competing interests. 

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