While teaching a big history course, inevitably a great many questions will be raised by students to which the book does not offer good answers.

 

Because big history is about everything that has ever happened, it is obviously impossible to raise all questions, and answer them, in one single book.

 

From a traditional teacher’s point of view, all of this may be seen as a risk, because it would show the limitations of the teacher’s knowledge.

 

Yet all of us who have been teaching big history --even after 20 years or more-– know that it is impossible to know answers to all student’s questions.

 

I have learned that this situation actually offers exciting opportunities to engage in in-class research and learning, from which both students and teachers will profit.

 

While teaching big history, dealing with such questions should therefore not be seen as a risk but rather as an opportunity to jointly explore new themes, and as a way of rewarding student’s intuition for posing great questions and their willingness to look for good answers.

 

There are at least two basic strategies for trying to find good answers. In class, the quickest way is to ask students and have them explore the Internet, including their assessments of how reliable the information is that they come up with. It may also be a good idea to consult experts, or ask students to do so, and discuss their answers in a subsequent session.

 

In doing so, seeking to find answers to questions that go beyond the book offers a most stimulating exercise in real-time science and academic scholarship. If explored in a stimulating way, it may well greatly energize all participants and lead to a most exciting and enjoyable class experience.