Entrepreneurship with a Purpose Winter 2013 “Big Ideas” Framework for Economics Theme
Framing new (complex) concepts
A. What are the Big Ideas (Essential to know, The overarching ideas)? A big idea is typically a: Concept Theme Ongoing debate and point of view Paradox Theory Underlying assumption Recurring question Understanding or principle Big ideas serve as umbrella concepts, and may be a word, a phrase, a sentence, or even a question. They are at the “core” of the subject (here, economics). They are not “basic” ideas (definitions, rules of thumb, building-block skills). Ideas at the core of the subject are ideas that are results of inquiry in the field.
Big ideas are the current understanding of that field. A big idea is central to connections in a field of study and a conceptual anchor for making facts more understandable and useful. In other words, it connects and organizes many facts, skills, and experiences. Big ideas represent the heart of understanding of a subject like economics. They summarize what scholars have learned – they give meaning to much that has been learned. Some questions about a topic that help get at the big ideas: If the unit on economics is a story, what’s the “moral of the story”? How is ___ used and applied in the larger world? What is a “real-world” insight about ___? What is the value of studying ___? Some examples: In cooking, minimize waste and increase taste by using scraps for stocks When swimming, push water directly backward to ensure top speed and efficiency When reading to comprehend, practice “reading between the lines” instead of merely decoding In life, develop self-sufficiency for various life skills (e.g., budgeting) In team sports, create space to spread the defense and create offensive opportunities In science and mathematics, understand the concept of error in observation and measurement
Entrepreneurship with a Purpose Winter 2013 “Big Ideas” Framework for Economics Theme B. Based on the Big Ideas, identify what is important to know & do (context issues): This is where you indicate critical facts, formulas, and information that either led up to big idea or is generated by a big idea. This is also where you indicate key terms and explanations for why the “big idea” is so important. Guidelines, rules-of-thumb, and evidence are included here. For example, what evidence is provided to support the big idea that helps us make sense of it, and how to apply it? In our example above about cooking (in cooking, minimize waste and increase taste by using scraps for stocks), in this section we might note what is important to know and do to cook the scraps for stock: the ratio of water to scraps is roughly x:y; you start with cold water and bring the water to a boil to release nutrients and gain the best flavor, and; the cabbage family (turnips, rutabagas, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.) does not do well in stock as these typically turn bitter as they steep. C. What else is useful to be familiar with? This is where you indicate information that can be referenced, such as key figures who contributed to the development of a field of inquiry like economics and all nonessential terminology, data, tables, etc. that can be looked up (and sometimes should be to ensure it is upto-date information). In our cooking example above, the things to be familiar with might include measurements (how many teaspoons in a tablespoon, how many cups in a pint, how many pints in a quart, how many quarts in a gallon) as well as substation tables (how to substitute honey for recipes calling for sugar, vegan substitutes for eggs as a binder in cooking).
