PRACTICE-ORIENTED LEARNING IN GEOGRAPHY AND NATURAL SCIENCE LESSONS AS A MEANS OF SOCIALIZATION FOR STUDENTS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES

Abstract

The article explores practice-oriented learning as a distinctive feature of geography and natural science education that facilitates the socialization of students with intellectual disabilities. It examines the potential of curricular content in both subjects to foster natural science competence among learners with intellectual developmental disorders. Particular attention is devoted to the practical components of geography and natural science education, which not only support the correction of cognitive and behavioral development but also promote the social integration of this group of students into the wider community upon completing school.Practical assignments and educational excursions in both subjects broaden the horizons of adolescents with intellectual disabilities, contribute to their vocational guidance, and foster teamwork skills through collaborative activities such as creating geographical models and mock-ups, conducting phenological and weather observations, preparing weather calendars, and producing displays and albums about the nature and culture of their native region. Especially valuable for developing social adaptation skills are natural science activities involving work on the school plot, caring for animals in the school’s “living corner,” tending plants within the educational institution, and learning to provide basic first aid to oneself and others. Both subjects thus play a crucial role in shaping essential life skills among school graduates with intellectual disabilities.