High school coursesBig History is a great course for high school students, because it encourages them to make connections between several disciplines, and it makes them think about their own place in space and time from this unusually broad historical perspective.
Over the past few years, it has become easier to teach the course in a Dutch high school setting. In 2011, The Big History Project, which is supported by Bill Gates, started to offer a free online curriculum for high school students inspired by the work of David Christian and other big historians. Based on this curriculum, in 2012 pioneers Constance van Hall and Joris Burmeister started teaching the first big history high school course in the Netherlands at the A. Roland Holst College in Hilversum. Since then, the course has spread throughout the Netherlands, Joris and Constance have become the big history teacher leaders and Constance even appeared in De Wereld Draait Door to talk about the course. In 2016, The Big History Project started to formally supports Dutch big history teachers through an alliance with the UvA, where Charlotte Meijer can help with things ranging from providing information, arranging classroom visits, and connecting teachers to each others and UvA professors. Over 50 people in the Netherlands are teaching big history right now. There are also lively communities on Yammer and Schoology, where teachers can exchange materials and experiences. Interested? You can use the contact form below to request more information, plan a classroom visit or join the growing big history teacher community. |
VideosDavid Christian explain what big history is in a 2011 TED talk organised by Bill Gates
Bill Gates on big history
LinksBoom Uitgeverij about their Dutch big history textbook
Big History NL Facebook page Big History NL Youtube page Big History NL Twitter page |
