Retiring the old Big History??

To add some context, Big History is used as a substitute for World History credit in my district. The new Big History does not address World History, thus my concern I could lose this class if it no longer becomes available publicly.

I'm not sure what you are looking at, but the current Big History includes World History. Units 4-6 are all part of what would traditionally be the "World History" curriculum. Note that Big History is interdisciplinary by design, with a great deal of overlap with different sciences, not just history; the way we tend to segregate different disciplines in our schools has long been the biggest problem with BHP in practical terms. If you want a more on-the-nose history course then perhaps one of the various World History Projects would fit your needs better.

Fit me better? That's a bit of an unnecessary comment.. I've built Big History from the ground up at my school. It is my passion. If you were to look at the old structure of it, it included a lot more about Revolutions, the World Wars, Cold War, among other topics. The class was billed as "zooming in," so the closer we got to modernity, the more specific the content became. My district requires me to hit these things during the second semester. I do, in fact, pull a lot from the World History Project courses.

My point last summer was that it was a bit disheartening that they seemed to get rid of some the rigor of the class by doing away with things like Investigations, the Little Big History Project, and other thought-provoking assignments. What they made is nice, and I like it. But it's billed as a middle school course now. I just don't want to see the class aiming lower than what it started as. I suggested, since they have four World History courses, what was wrong with having a middle school and high school version of Big History? Admin seemed to take my concern seriously. But now they're getting rid of it. When it's a class I have to fight for year in, year out, I worry about the optics from outsiders when they look up Big History curriculum. They will only be able to find the middle school version.  

You made it very clear that the new BHP doesn't fit your needs, and then you got offended when I pointed out the other (currently updated) resources that are actually intended for high school world history. You already still have access to the other materials. The old website is still the first thing that comes up when you Google "Big History Project". All of the curricular materials are still there.

They are deleting that website on July 28th. That's what I don't want to happen. I didn't get offended. You just aren't understanding the point I am trying to make. I have all the materials. I'm good with that. I was talking about the future public perception of the course, and the way admin is changing course in how it is being marketed. 

Hi Geoffrey,

Thanks for the note and the follow-up. I can absolutely understand your concern, but I can promise you we still feel very strongly about the value and importance of Big History, although the look of the course has certainly evolved. 

When Big History was first created it was intended to be an interdisciplinary course that could be taught in the early years of high school as a way to set up students for success in world history. As the course evolved, additional world history resources were added to the course, and many schools (and it sounds like yours may be one) chose to adopt the curriculum as their world history requirement. 

Once we began creating world history courses, we wanted to get back to the original focus of the Big History course which was providing student with a framework for all knowledge and the requisite skills needed to be successful in the remainder of their social studies courses. As we reviewed state standards, we saw that not only would Big History fit as a wonderful 9/10th grade course, but it would be even more amazing if middle school students had the opportunity to take on this learning as well. 

As part of that “return to the roots” we removed some of the additions that made sense when Big History was the only course we offered--namely the science materials and the more in-depth world history content that can be found in our other courses. 

My suggestion would be to show your administration the new site, including the streamlined lesson structure, the continued emphasis on skills (literacy, causation, claim testing, geography), and an interdisciplinary approach that still addresses all of the major threshold moments.

From there, you are also able (as of July 28) to look at the unit page and scroll to the bottom in the Teacher Resource section and see a document that links the most used and loved materials from the legacy course now aligned to the new unit structure. When you click on the link you will open up the document as it appears today on the site. It will look like the same experience as before.

While there are certainly some differences, the foundational underpinning of the course remains the same, as does our belief in Big History. 

I hope that helps some. If you'd like to set up a time to chat with someone on the team about how to talk about the changes with people in your district, please don't hesitate to reach out to team@oerproject.com and we'll be happy to schedule something. 

Best,

Chelsea Katzenberg
OER Project Academic Lead (and former Big History teacher )

Thank you for the very thoughtful and thorough response. I get it. It’s all very personal to me. As of this point, everything is status quo in my district. I tend to just become protective and worry about things that may or may not happen down the line.

The WH credit is very important, I feel. Without it, it becomes an elective and reaches much fewer kids. That’s where my concerns ultimately stem from. 

And thank you for being such a Big History supporter and advocate! Your passion for the course and your classroom is very clear. Do reach out to us if you'd like any additional support. And enjoy your summer!