Ø What
are ‘Big Ideas’?
A big idea is an understanding or generalization
about a concept, theme, or an issue. These
understandings are generalizations or principles
that endure over time and over cultures. Big
ideas help students develop meaningful
connections to discrete facts and skills,
therefore serving as a way to organize new
learning. It is important to note that
understandings are not facts. However, facts
are the foundational stepping stones needed for
students to construct ‘big ideas’ or
understandings.
Ø Why
are ‘Big Ideas’ important in a thinking-centered
curriculum?
By asking students to discover ‘big ideas’ we
are requiring them to move beyond memorization
and the literal interpretation of facts and
truly…
-
Think
about connections that can be made to
key ideas within the content area and to
other content areas.
-
Think about
questions
they and others have about the content and
what they think they do and don’t
understand.
-
Think about
multiple perspectives
on a topic in
order to develop depth vs. breadth of
knowledge.
-
Think about
inferences
they make that lead them to understandings
and how to confirm that their inferences are
logical.
-
Think about
conclusions
they can make and how they can support their
conclusions with facts, evidence, and
reasoning.
-
Think about how
to rethink
their
conclusions if they are determined to be
illogical.
If schools are committed to schooling minds, our
curricula and instructional strategies must
consistently address ‘big ideas’.
Ø What
are the characteristics of instruction that
addresses ‘Big Ideas’?
Students are asked consistently to...
-
Determine the
‘big idea’ and support it with evidence
-
Explain their
understandings or misunderstandings about
the content being studied
-
Discover or
uncover content area generalizations as part
of the learning experience rather than being
told what they are
-
Rethink their
understandings when their understandings are
not fully developed
-
Respectfully
question or analyze errors in their own and
others’ thinking
-
Demonstrate
their understanding through a range of
performance assessments that focus on
supporting big ideas with facts, evidence,
and reasoning.
Ø
If you would like
more information…
Literature and Research Base:
Gregory, G.H. (2002). Differentiated
Instructional Strategies, One Size Does Not Fit
All. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press
Tomlinson, C.A. (2003). Fulfilling the
Promise of the Differentiated Classroom. Alexandra,
VA: ASCD
