Methodological Foundations for Teaching Innovative Urban Development in School Geography Based on an Elective Course in Almaty

Urbanization, digitalization and sustainability challenges call for renewed approaches in school geography that move beyond static descriptions of cities. This study develops and evaluates a methodological framework for integrating innovative urban development—particularly smart and sustainable city concepts—into the secondary geography curriculum, using Almaty (Kazakhstan) as a case study. An elective course, Geography of Cities (Almaty), was designed around a content–structural model that combines key geographical concepts, regional case studies, authentic datasets, and digital tools, including the Bilim All mobile application. A qualitative and quasi-experimental design was implemented with ninth-grade students in one Almaty school. An experimental group participated in the elective over 34 hours, while a control group followed the standard curriculum. Data were collected through pre- and post-tests on urban geography concepts, learner questionnaires, and structured classroom observations. Baseline results indicated fragmented understanding of urban functions, functional zoning, and socio-economic impacts of urbanization despite familiarity with basic terminology. Following the intervention, the experimental group demonstrated higher levels of conceptual understanding, improved interpretation of local and global urbanization trends, and greater ability to apply knowledge to practice-oriented tasks than the control group. Persistent difficulties with functional zoning and complex socio-economic interactions highlighted the need for explicit modelling and place-based inquiry. The findings support the pedagogical value of a regionally contextualized, activity-based, and digitally supported approach to teaching innovative urban development. The proposed content–structural model offers a transferable framework for embedding smart and sustainable city perspectives into geography education and for fostering spatial thinking, critical urban literacies, and informed civic engagement among students.