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Teaching tools

A great many teaching tools exist for supplementing the textbook.
 
 
Student's presentations
 
- Students may be requested to present the required reading in class. Guidelines for doing so can be downloaded here.
 
- Students may be requested to present their final essays in-class. Guidelines for doing so will be made available soon.
 
 
Teacher’s presentations
 
- Explanations of elementary aspects of big history
In the second edition, a number of text boxes provide such information. But teachers may want to supplement them with images and videos. These are very easy to find on the Internet, but change very quickly. A few suggestions:
The Particle Adventure: good web site on elementary particles.
Cosmic Evolution: excellent web site with a great many clear explanations.
The Sciences: An Integrated Approach (2012) by James Trefil and Robert Hazen. This book is an excellent and very accessible source of information.
 
- History of discoveries
The ‘further reading’ section in the textbook at the end of each chapter provides suggestions for such information. On the How to use the book page on this web site, a selection of such links is available.
 
- Videos
There are a great many such videos on the Internet. A few suggestions are mentioned on the  How to use the book page.
 

In-class assignments
 
Because big history is based on empirical observations and scholarly interpretations, it proves very useful to request students to participate in such activities.
 
It may be a good idea to use the college and its environment as a unit of observation for all aspects of big history, all the way from astronomical to cultural anthropological and sociological observations. This will allow students to understand their own environment from a big history perspective, while becoming acquainted with the possibilities and limitations of making empirical observations and interpreting them.
 
A great variety of such activities is possible, far more than what can be realized within one single course. A list of such assignments is currently in preparation and will be made available as soon as possible.
 

 
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International Big History Association
Un. of Amsterdam big history
Cosmic Evolution
Big History Project
Chronozoom
Book: Teaching Big History
Bill Bryson: Short History of Nearly Everything
Other useful stuff on the web
Other big history
resources
Feedback
How to use the book
Course models
Learning goals and objectives
Teaching tools
Assignments (little big histories)
Answers to FAQs by students
Questions by students and teachers that go beyond the book
Examination models
Teaching big history