author
Takhtamysheva Gulnur Chingizovna,
leading n/A CPR, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Distinguished academic of the Republic of Tatarstan

Mirza Ismailovich Makhmutov, academician of the Russian Academy of Education and the Academy of Sciences of Tatarstan, Professor, Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tatarstan, laureate of the State Prize of the Republic of Tatarstan in the field of science, laureate of the N.K. Krupskaya Prize, Honorary Citizen of Kazan, is rightfully considered the founder of the theory of problem-developing learning.

His works “Modern Lesson”, “Theory and practice of problem-based learning” and others have become a reference book of the teaching staff of the Republic of Tatarstan. For many years, under the leadership of M.I. Makhmutov, the system of problem-based learning has been successfully implemented in the practice of schools in the Republic.
Mirza Ismailovich headed the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Tatarstan for 19 years. Mintemir Shaimiev noted this fact of his biography in particular, saying that “only a man, undoubtedly respected by all, possessing great authority, scientific, pedagogical and organizational talent, outstanding not in form, but in his deepest inner content, could lead such a republic, such a ministry, and even during such a time.” During the years of his work, hundreds of schools were built in cities and districts of the republic, the material base of schools, vocational schools, technical schools, boarding schools was strengthened. Tatarstan was the first in the USSR to open schools with in-depth study of various academic subjects.

At the initiative of Mirza Ismailovich, in the 60s and 70s, an intensive system of pedagogical and managerial general education was introduced for heads of public education bodies, including heads who did not have pedagogical education. For Mirza Ismailovich, the issues of the development of innovations in the public education system were filled with special meaning. He was convinced that the most effective innovations are those that are developed in the community of scientists and practitioners, as the experience of such a community is the key to the success of innovative processes in education that take into account the regional characteristics of Russia. As the Minister of Education of the TASSR, he headed such an alliance and demonstrated the development of the theory of problem-based learning and the successful implementation of this theory into the practice of teachers. And the main factor was the TIUU Methodist squad. They were intended to become a transfer link between theory and practice of learning. According to the old reports of the institute, one can judge the close work of Mirza Ismailovich with a team of methodologists, led by his rector Islamshin R.A. His words are: “a methodologist is a specialist who makes the scientific syllable of theory accessible to a teacher – this is his main purpose.”

In 1970, the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of the USSR, supporting the idea of problem-based learning, opened in Kazan a didactic laboratory of the Research Institute of General Pedagogy of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences, which was headed on a voluntary basis by M.I.Makhmutov. The laboratory has become a scientific and methodological center for teachers in Tatarstan working on issues of modern teaching and the introduction of problem-based learning into practice. The result of research, discussions at scientific and practical conferences, seminars was the release of a series of methodological manuals “Problem education in schools in Tatarstan” edited by M.I.Makhmutov. Followers of M.I. Makhmutov and his students continue to develop his ideas.

In recent years, Mirza Ismailovich has directed all his knowledge, strength and experience to the creation of the book “The World of Islam”, dedicated to summarizing social, economic, cultural and educational trends in the development of the countries of the Arab East and Southeast Asia, and identifying the causes of the confrontation between Western and Eastern traditions in the modern world. And I would like to note that M.I. predicted the introduction of amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the introduction of a course on the basics of religious cultures and secular ethics to the school. He was truly a great strategist in foreseeing new directions in politics, pedagogical science and practice.