Syllabus information for leaders
Whole school considerations
Big History aims to develop students’ understanding of the history of the universe from the ‘big bang’ to the modern day and beyond, through an exploration of the themes and patterns that can help us better understand the world we live in. It uses a multidisciplinary approach to support students in their development of critical thinking skills.
It is a theoretical course with the potential for overlaps with science, history and a range of other subjects. The course is 200 hours and all topics are mandatory.
An awareness of the Controversial Issues in Schools policy and procedures is essential in planning for the teaching of various aspects of the Big History course.
The Big History project was co-founded by Bill Gates and David Christian. This course was initially developed by Macquarie University and has been adapted and implemented by schools across NSW.
Big History is a new department-approved elective course in 2022. The content is organised into ten modules which are all mandatory and should be taught in chronological order.
The teaching of Big History would be ideally shared between key learning areas, as the content is multidisciplinary.
The following support is available for schools:
- professional learning available in 2022
- Teaching and Learning 7-12 Statewide staffroom