Big ideas in geography for learners in education.pptx

geography for learner

1. Teaching with BIG IDEAs Ms. Nkosi

2. At the end of this lecture, you should be able to: Articulate your understanding of a ‘Big idea’ in teaching Select Big ideas for a lesson presentation Justify the selected big ideas Discuss the benefits of big ideas for teaching and learning in Geography

3. Big idea The concept of ‘Big idea’ was introduced by Introduced by Grant Wiggins (1998) Big idea simply refers to th e main point ‘bigger picture’ of the unit/topic of the content It embraces the essentials of that particular topic/unit and emphasize understanding The content that is important to know and do . Represent the concepts that students are expected to build and understand as a result of their learning experiences

4. “Offers conceptual framework allowing the learner to explore answers to the essential questions involving a unit of a study” Grant Wiggins (1998) Looks at how and why something happens Main questions; “ Why exactly are we teaching..? What couldn’t people do if they didn’t understand…?What do we want students to understand and be able to do 5 years from now?” A Big idea is characterized by the following: It is timeless, specific, broad, universal, transferable .

5. Big idea analogy

6. Big idea is not a…. question piece of knowledge A narrow concept An expectation of students An activity A skill A big idea may be…. Concept…Geography “Push and pull factors” Theme…Think global act local Debate…coal fired power stations vs. nuclear stations. Theory…Co2 and global warming An assumption…water is renewable and will never run out.

7. Big ideas in geography Any topic in Geography can be explored by applying a conceptual framework that embraces Geography’s four key organising concepts. Place Spatial processes Spatial distribution patterns Human and environment interaction Moving from a topic in Geography to a big idea worth teaching… Is it the topic that is important? Or is it something more fundamental and dynamic about the topic that my students should really understand? How can the big idea be made relevant to kids’ interests and lives?

8. Importance of a Big Ideas Provides students with insights of what is important Represent a light bulb moment Deepen students understanding Help students to construct conceptual framework Foundation for deeper understanding in the Future Big ideas from different discipline can be grouped together for disciplinary learning Student engagement increases Curriculum ties to other courses and life Authentic tasks Students know the reason why they are doing each lesson as it fits into the big picture of the Deeper understanding allows students to transfer knowledge and skills to meet new challenges.

9. Selecting big ideas Through focusing themes Represent a big idea having enduring value beyond the classroom. Reside at the heart of the discipline (involve’ ’doing’’ the subject) Offer students 'Enduring’’ understanding On-going debates and issues Overarching principles Provocative questions Problems/challenges Processes- problem solving Insightful perspectives

10. Big idea checklist Does one have to dig deep to understand its meaning or implications? Is it prone to disagreement? Might it change over time? Is it historically important yet, still alive in the field for debate? Is it transferable to new in the future? Is it abstract, not obvious? Is it prone to misconception? Does it allow students to ask and re-ask questions to clarify and uncover the idea as they go through the course?

11. Teaching big ideas

12. What is wrong with the big idea above?