The study in action, conducted by history teachers, is based on determining the impact of assessing the relevance of the research method by students on the development of the skill of independent exploratory research during the lessons of the elective course "Local History of the Zhambyl Region".

The problem with action research at this level is the failure of students to conduct independent exploratory research.

This study answers the question: How do group conversation and students' assessment of the relevance of the research method contribute to the development of their independent exploratory research?

The goal is to determine the impact of assessing the relevance of the research method on the development of students' independent search skills.

In modern times, students of the school are genuinely interested in research activities allowing them to learn, understand and master new concepts, express their own thoughts, make decisions, invent, and discover the unknown. The concept of “research skills and abilities” is interpreted differently by different authors. An analysis of various definitions and classifications made it possible to identify several approaches to the definition of "research skills and abilities". Let's consider the most important approaches for our research.

Under the development of research abilities in students, A. I. Savenkov (2018) explains the acquisition of special knowledge, skills and abilities of exploratory research. He includes the following: see problems, raise questions, put forward hypotheses, define concepts, classify, observe, conduct experiments, draw conclusions and conclusions, structure the material, prepare the texts of reports, explain, prove and defend ideas. According to P. V. Seredenko (2014), “research skills and abilities are the possibility and its implementation of performing a set of operations for the implementation of intellectual and empirical actions that make up research activities and lead to new knowledge.”

In the scientific literature today there are a large number of attempts to classify research skills and abilities. K.P. Kortnev and N.N. Shusharina (2006) argue that the following research skills can be developed to: cover the whole problem as a whole; correctly set the research task; evaluate methods for solving the problem; plan research activities;  search for the optimal solution to the problem, and implement the chosen research methodology.

Thus, when students organize and conduct their own research, it is assumed that, when providing requirements for the design of a research project, they will independently learn how to do this in the process of research. Practice shows the inconsistency of this approach, which becomes obvious as soon as students undertake an elective course.

The practice of teaching during the elective course has shown that students will not be able to conduct effective research without special training. 

The study was conducted during the lessons of the elective course "Local history of the Zhambyl region" in two groups: control - 9 students; experimental - 10. The timing of the study is the 2020–2021 academic year. Individual interviews, an observation sheet, a method for diagnosing personal creativity Tunik E.E. were used as research tools. The study involved 19 students aged 12–16 years The elective course has been conducted on the basis of the NIS FMN in Taraz since 2015. Students choose an elective course at will and study for 2 years. The lessons are practical. A feature of this course is the development of research skills in students based on the regional component of the Zhambyl region. In the course of training, students worked on scientific projects, which in turn contributed to the development of their independent exploratory research skills. When planning the study, it was expected that the developed tools would help students improve their independent research skills. To identify the level of development of the skill of independent exploratory research among students, the method of diagnosing personal creativity by Tunik E.E. was used. (Fetiskin N.P., 2002) In order to develop students' independent exploratory research skills, methods such as collective conversation and assessment of the relevance of the research method of the results obtained were used. To achieve the goal of the study, the following tasks were set: - studying the already accumulated experience of developing the skill of independent exploratory research; - determining the level of formation of research skills among students; - determining the impact of assessing the relevance of the research method on the development of students' skills of independent search; - developing tools for developing students' skills of independent exploratory research; Guided by the recommendations of Savenkov A.I. (2004) that the diagnosis of research skills “can be successfully carried out in the course of observations”, an observation sheet was developed for students in situations requiring research behavior, where they focused on the manifestation of the following skills: see problems; ask questions; put forward hypotheses; define concepts; classify; observe; conducting an experiment; draw conclusions and conclusions; structure the material explain, prove and defend their ideas.

The results of the study led to the conclusion that with the use of these methods, the coefficient of effectiveness of independent exploratory research for students increased when conducting research during training in an elective course. The results of the research can be applied in elective classes in order to develop students' research skills, as well as in the classroom in order to determine by students methods for assessing the achievement of learning goals. The application of the assessment of the relevance of the research method in the course of the study led to the following conclusions: - the coefficient of effectiveness of independent exploratory research of students during the research has increased; - the data collected during the diagnostics of focus groups showed that the use of collective conversation methods and the assessment of the relevance of the research method contributes to the development of students' independent exploratory research skills when conducting research; Strategies have been established to increase the effectiveness of developing students' independent research skills during research: - Mastering the methodology of applying the assessment of the relevance of the research method; - Use the method as a system at each stage of the lesson; - To test the method of evaluating the relevance of research in the development of skills: goal-setting, forecasting, correction, self-regulation. Students experienced the following difficulties in assessing the relevance of a research method: relying entirely on teacher assessment; perceiving the assessment uncritically (even in the case of a clear underestimation); not perceiving the argumentation of the assessment; not assessing their capabilities in relation to the solution of the task.

Avanesov V. S. (2002) Composition of test tasks. - M.: Testing Center, - 238 p. Baiborodova, L. V., Chernyavskaya A. P. (2019) Methodology and methods of scientific research: textbook for undergraduate and graduate students 2nd ed., corrected. and additional - Moscow: Yurayt Publishing House, - 221 p. — (Bachelor and Master. Academic course). - ISBN 978-5-534-06257-1. — Text: electronic // EBS Yurayt [website]. — URL: https://urait.ru/bcode/437120 (date of access: 06/21/2021). Kortnev, K.P. Shusharina (October 9-14, 2006) Modern methods of physical and mathematical sciences: Proceedings of the international. conf.: Sat.st. Eagle, Rev. ed. A. G. Meshkov, V. D. Selyutin. Eagle: OSU. - T. 3. Leontovich I. V. (2003). On the basic concepts of the concept of development of research and project activities of students. Research work of schoolchildren. No. 4, pp. 12–17. Poddyakov A.N. (1999) Children as explorers. Master. No. 1. - 105 p. Savenkov A.I. (2004) Methods of research education for schoolchildren - Samara: Educational Literature Publishing House, 80 p. Savenkov A. I. (2018) Pedagogy. Research approach in 2 hours. Part 1: textbook and workshop for academic undergraduate studies 2nd ed., Spanish. and additional - Moscow: Yurayt Publishing House, 232 p. Text: electronic, EBS Yurayt [website]. —URL: https://urait.ru/bcode/416973 (date of access: 06/20/2021). Seredenko P. V. (2014) Development of research skills and abilities of younger schoolchildren in the context of the transition to the educational standards of a new generation: monograph Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk: publishing house Sakh. GU, - 208 p. Fetiskin N.P., Kozlov V.V., Manuilov G.M. (2002) Diagnostics of personal creativity E.E. Tunik. Socio-psychological diagnostics of personality development and small groups. - M., C.59-64.