Big Idea

In Understanding by Design (Wiggins & McTighe, 20015), the core concepts, principles, theories, and processes that should serve as the focal point of curricula, instruction, and assessment. By definition, big ideas are important and enduring. Big ideas are transferable beyond the scope of a particular unit (e.g., adaptation, allegory, the American Dream, significant figures). Big ideas are the building material of understandings. They can be thought of as the meaningful patterns that enable one to connect the dots of otherwise fragmented knowledge. Such ideas go beyond discrete facts or skills to focus on larger concepts, principles, or processes. These are applicable to new situations within or beyond the subject. For example, students study the enactment of the Magna Carta as a specific historical event because of its significance to a larger idea, the rule of law, whereby written laws specify the limits of a government’s power and the rights of individuals, such as due process. This big idea transcends its roots in 13th-century England and is a cornerstone of modern democratic societies.

A big idea can also be described as a “linchpin” idea. The linchpin is the pin that keeps the wheel in place on an axle. Thus, a linchpin idea is one that is essential for understanding, without which the student cannot go anywhere. For instance, without grasping the distinction between the letter and the spirit of the law, students cannot understand the American constitutional and legal system—even if they are highly knowledgeable and articulate about facts of history. Without a focus on linchpin ideas with lasting value, students may be left with easily forgotten fragments of knowledge.

Source:

Wiggins, Grant; McTighe, Jay (2005-03-22). Understanding by Design, Expanded 2nd Edition (Page 338). Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.