@article{bee7439a6f844b5faeaaa4107ba8af6f,
title = "Big ideas in the geography curriculum: nature, awareness and need",
abstract = "Big ideas, sometimes referred to as key, core, fundamental or threshold concepts, are widely applicable concepts at the heart of disciplines that are or have been central and influential for their fields. Attention here is particularly directed to meta-concepts common to sister disciplines in the sciences. “Learning thresholds”, “powerful knowledge” and their meanings are singled out for discussion having become widely relevant to geography. Other empowering big ideas for geography are identified; collectively these can be close to the global concerns that new learners may have, giving them motivation for their learning. Developing global challenges, from coronavirus infections to climate change, are geographically varied in their reach and impacts. Student engagement can be enhanced as concepts are addressed and they embark on the methodological and factual knowledge and skills that give new value to HE learning. Fresh concepts can also be realized from students{\textquoteright} individual projects or enquiries. In these ways big ideas can provide motivational stimuli for progressing enterprising research through such learning.",
keywords = "Big ideas, concepts, learning progression, learning thresholds, powerful knowledge",
author = "Gregory, {Kenneth J.} and John Lewin",
note = "Funding Information: As the volume of knowledge increases major themes and concepts can provide a coherent focus within particular disciplines but it has been noted that “information overload, due to the enthusiasm of curriculum developers for covering everything, is a grave problem today” (Amin, ). One reaction has been to micro-focus or specialize even more at all educational levels, sometimes obscuring the existence of major issues, learning themes, frameworks, and intended purposes. This requires an understanding of the concepts that prevail in each discipline or sub-field; these provide a framework for appreciating the way in which specialized factual knowledge, methods and detailed applications are situated in the discipline. Thus, Harlen (, pp. 45–46), when noting that big ideas in science education are echoed by developments in many countries including France and the USA, commented that “the goal of science education is not knowledge of a body of facts and theories but a progression towards key ideas which enable understanding of events and phenomena of relevance to students{\textquoteright} lives”. Big ideas are selected from a range of concepts that may be extensive and some authorities recognize this. Thus, New Zealand Curriculum Guides () explain key concepts as the “big ideas and understandings” that “we hope will remain with our students long after they have left school”. Since 2017 the US National Science Foundation (NSF) has been building a corpus for big ideas through pioneering research and pilot activities, and the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) initiated a “big ideas pipeline” in May 2018 with characteristics elaborated to include articulating a vision and a “wow factor” to enthuse the public and Government alike. The “grand challenges” concept, which has become widely used, is seen as a return to big ideas in science, technology and innovation policy (Ulnicane, ). “Earthshot” prizes, as announced in October 2020, are to be awarded globally for “protecting and restoring nature, cleaning our air, reviving our oceans, building a waste-free world, and fixing our climate”. All these challenges have major geographical components. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.",
year = "2021",
month = sep,
day = "16",
doi = "10.1080/03098265.2021.1980867",
language = "English",
volume = "47",
pages = "9--28",
journal = "Journal of Geography in Higher Education",
issn = "0309-8265",
publisher = "Taylor & Francis",
number = "1",
}
