The Big History Project is a free, publically accessible, interdisciplinary social studies curriculum designed to provide learners with a comprehensive understanding of the Universe, life, and world history.  Created by historian, David Christian and sponsored by philanthropist, Bill Gates, BHP offers public school teenagers an unprecedented opportunity: a chance to explore what it means to be human and think critically about the record and trajectory of our species. 

BHP collaborators describe the program as “a joint effort between teachers, scholars, scientists, and their supporters. It is a multi-disciplinary approach to knowledge for learners around the world. In addition to developing a full curriculum for high school students, this course is designed for curious members of the public who are seeking answers to big questions about the history of our Universe and the origin of our species” (https://www.bighistoryproject.com/about).

Building the critical thinking capacity of students, the course proposes interesting questions:

• Why do humans look at things from far and away and close up?
• How and why do individuals change their mind?
• How can looking at the same information from different perspectives pave the way for progress?
• How and why do theories become generally accepted?
• How are we still evolving?
• What makes humans different from other species?
• Was farming an improvement over foraging?
• What are the positive and negative impacts of interconnection?
• To what extent has the Modern Revolution been a positive or negative force?
• What’s the next threshold?

The course is sectioned into 10 chapters that cover 8 thresholds of increasing complexity which are defined by BHP as “moments in the history of the Universe when specific ingredients under the right "Goldilocks Conditions" come together to create something new and more complex. Recall the old tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Goldilocks finds mama and papa bears’ porridge to be too hot or cold and their furniture too hard or soft. Of course, baby bear’s items are “just right!” No wonder she finally falls asleep in baby bear’s bead. In BHP, thresholds of increasing complexity are turning points caused by a combination of “just right” conditions.

The 8 Thresholds of Increasing Complexity

Sample infographic for thresholds

David Christian (born 1946 in Brooklyn, NY) is the father of Big History who began his career as a Russian and Soviet historian in 1974 where he received his doctorate from Oxford University in England. The following year, he became a history professor at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. He soon published works on a variety of topics: the Mongol empire, vodka, Russian society, bread, salt, and Russia’s social and economic history and diet. His interests extended across many disciplines, and by 1989, he began teaching history on extremely large scales, from the Big Bang to modern day. He coined the term Big History to describe his approach. By 2008, Christian had a great deal of published works including a 48 Big History lecture series picked up by the Teaching Company’s Great Courses (http://www.thegreatcourses.com/professors/david-christian/). Bill Gates, creator of Microsoft, discovered Christian’s talents and invited him to speak at a TED talk in 2011 where Christian announced his plan to create the global, online BHP for high school students.

With the help of University of Michigan history professor, Bob Bain, and the financial backing of Bill Gates himself, the first pilot programs for BHP were launched in 2011 and 2012. Today, thousands of high school students all over the world are being exposed to this course.

BHP challenges departmentalized education by bringing together a variety of disciplines, including astronomy, physics, biology, history, sociology, anthropology, archaeology, geology, geography, chemistry, and the humanities.

In traditional history classes, teachers can spend a great deal of time lecturing to students about specific wars, treaties, and economic decisions. Some schools, including state-funded schools in Texas and other states, "use taxpayer money to cast doubt on basic science" and even teach creationism in the classroom (Kirk, 2014).

Although BHP offers a specialized course for a World History emphasis that covers topics including wars, treaties, economic decisions, world religions, and origin stories, its scope is much bigger. By giving students a big picture view of universal history, students are challenged to expand their perspective on patterns of agriculture, nationalism, globalization, and more. BHP teachers encourage students to look for solutions to problems, make predictions about the future, and work collaboratively and creatively. Additionally, students are taught how to make and test claims using logic, intuition, authority, and evidence.

BHP also addresses challenges related to literacy. By partnering with companies such as Newsela (https://newsela.com/), all reading material on the BHP website is available for free at varying lexiles. This means every article is offered at an array of reading levels, from the 6th grade to the 12th grade level.

Lastly, BHP is aligned to Common Core ELA and STEM standards. It aims to nurture reading and critical thinking skills while building a strong content-base in students.

There are different versions of BHP, and all of them are free. For parents or the general public, collaborators have put together a 4-6 hour course for lifelong learning. Learners can read, watch videos, study infographics, take quizzes, and earn badges at their own pace.

For classroom use, collaborators have assembled a few options including a year-long course, a World History emphasis course, a semester-long course, and an online course utilizing Kahn Academy. For each version, students can read, watch videos, study infographics, take quizzes, create writing pieces, work on projects, and more. Although the program works well when each student has access to a computer or tablet, the course can be taught without 1:1 technology as long as the teacher has flexible access to a printer, copy machine, and overhead device, such as a smartboard.

The site is user-friendly for teacher as well as student. For teachers, the homepage includes a console from which teachers can:

• Set up classes and add students using their email addresses or by giving students a “join class” code
• Check student scores and data 
• Assign tests and surveys
• Find course resources including various planning guides, course outlines, and posters
• Send student writing for scoring
• Access a comprehensive BHP teacher community through http://Yammer.com
• Read teacher blogs
• Follow BHP on Twitter or Facebook
• Ask for support from BHP

Screenshot of Teacher Console Section

Check out a complete teaching guide here: https://www.bighistoryproject.com/media/bhp-assets/BH-Course-Teaching-Guide-2014.pdf

Homepages for both teacher and student also include a visually appealing icon for clicking on units and a drop down menu for equally quick access to each unit. The 10 units are broken up into 2-5 lessons, each of which can be taught over short or longer period of time depending on the course option chosen by the school or teacher. Lessons include the following:

• Flexible sequence and outline
• Vocabulary list
• Course glossary access
• Videos
• Articles (at different reading levels)
• Activities (including investigations and some opening and closing activities)
• PBL (Project-based learning) opportunities
• Random facts
• Teaching tips (on the teacher version)
• Web links
• Other materials that pertain to the unit (with links)

Screenshot of Unit 1 Homepage

BHP and its Yammer community of teachers focuses intently on reaching a wide range of learners. For students who read below or above grade level, BHP offers all reading material in leveled formats. Teachers can print the appropriate version for each student or allow students to choose their own reading level (Lexile) on the screen. The media formats range widely as well. Students have access to videos, comic books, infographics, and a wide-range of activities to reinforce skill and content retention. BHP activities promote critical thinking, project-based learning, research skills, explanatory and persuasive writing skills, and reading standards for middle and high school grades.

Project-based and investigative learning are closely aligned with social and cognitive constructivist learning theories as developed by Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. Piaget (1896-1980) was a clinical psychologist from Switzerland who believed cognitive development occurs when learners are able to construct and interpret knowledge by adding or assimilating information to their existing mental structure (schema) or revising their schema to accommodate new information. Vygotsky (1896-1934), a Russian psychologist who coined the term “Zone of Proximal Development” believed learners construct knowledge through social interaction and input from others.

The Big History Project is constructivist in nature because it values the inquiry process, use scaffolding techniques to introduce content, allows students to piece together various components, relies on projects and collaboration, and encourages teachers to both take a “lead learner” approach and facilitate activities while leaving room for exploration.

For more on Vygotsky and his theories, visit the following links:

https://cgscholar.com/community/profiles/user-47461/publications/120868

http://newlearningonline.com/new-learning/chapter-6/vygotsky-on-language-and-thought

For more on Piaget, visit: https://cgscholar.com/community/profiles/user-8561/publications/120672

or http://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html

Although BHP is most easily incorporated into the work of a history or science teacher, the curriculum is available to any teacher who is interested in signing up and exploring the material. To register, teachers can fill out the form at the bottom of this link: https://school.bighistoryproject.com/bhplive

Once a teacher registers, he or she will receive an email to gain access to the teacher mode. From there, teachers can set up classes and register to be part of the free Yammer community. As a member of the Yammer BHP community, teachers can find answers to specific questions about each unit, program types, teaching strategies, and additional resources. In addition, teachers can join book clubs with other teachers, share files, and access shared files, including lesson plans, alternate worksheets, posters, and more.

Because every school is different and BHP is interdisciplinary in nature, teachers should do careful planning to make sure their course plan aligns with the school’s needs. This may require truncating or extending the course or specific units. Although the technology is intuitive and the lessons almost look scripted, new BHP teachers should plan carefully for each activity and classroom discussion. There are many details and questions that can arise, so teachers should be familiar with the content before diving in. For teachers who still need to pitch the idea to their school, BHP offers a PowerPoint presentation for that exact purpose: https://www.bighistoryproject.com/media/bhp-assets/BHP-Introduction-2014.pptx

While teaching the course, BHP collaborators expect teachers and students to contribute feedback through specific surveys that are imbedded into certain units. Teachers can find the introduction survey in the console.

BHP is not intended to be a self-taught course for students, but the Kahn Academy version as well as the regular BHP website can be great tools to help, for instance, an absent student who has access to a computer at home or library. To access the Kahn Academy version, click here: https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/big-history-project

During the 2014/2015 school year, Big History Project and the University of Michigan conducted the first comrehensive study on the overall effectiveness of the BHP program. By regularly surveying students and teachers who use the curriculum, BHP and the University of Michigan collected data to analyze the program and make improvements. They reported findings in the following four areas:

1. Student improvement in writing
2. Student content retention
3. Student and teacher attitudes toward BHP courses
4. Possible impact on students in subsequent years

Details on each of these four areas are summarized below:

1. Student improvement in writing reflect the most dramatic results as seen below. Using a task-based approach (TBA) through writing prompts and a writing rubric based on ELA standards (similar to this rubric used in the classroom: https://school.bighistoryproject.com/media/khan/KU4.1.6_Evaluation_Writing_Rubric.pdf), writing proficiency increased from 15% to 55% in a single school year.

Writing Results

2. Content retention results were favorable as well. Comparing scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP: http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/about/) of students who took the Big History course and those who took regular science and history courses, researchers found BHP students scored 15-20% higher on specific questions, though not all. These results have helped BHP collaborators to widen the scope of the curriculum to include more content for future students.

3. Student and teacher attitudes toward the BHP course were also recorded. Based on student and teacher surveys, reports on overall course satisfaction were favorable. Over 85% of teachers reported being satisfied with the materials, support, and technology. Although student satisfaction was not as high, 66% of students reported being satisfied with the course by the end of the school year. 40% of students reported they enjoyed BHP more than other courses.

4. Curious about possible impact on students in subsequent years, BHP also conducted case studies around students and teachers who have taken or taught the BHP course up to three years prior to the study. By hiring an independent researcher to visit a set of four demographically diverse U.S. schools and interview former and current BHP students, teachers, and administrators, BHP found that both students and teachers were able to recall specific content and had reported using the skills and concepts both in and outside of school. The case studies produced the following findings as reported by BHP:

• BHP students report increased engagement with history and science, which suggests changes in their academic trajectories.
• BHP students have a high level of knowledge recall and retention.
• BHP teachers and students reported they used ideas, concepts, and skills learned in BHP in and out of school, suggesting transfer.
• BHP teachers assuming role of lead learner had a positive impact on student engagement.
• Students reported greater interest in and use of BHP skills and concepts in classrooms that employed the BHP conceptual frameworks

For more on the specifics of these studies and the ones mentioned earlier, check out the full report here: https://www.bighistoryproject.com/media/bhp-assets/Summary-of-BHP-Research.pdf  Below is an example of feedback from the report provided by a BHP student:

I feel that Big History has helped me expand my overall view of the creation of the universe and how each large event was dependent upon many other circumstances. For sure, it has given [me] an incredible new ability to analyze others speech and writing!!!! I know key turning points in time and have developed a new sense of looking at all of my academic subjects. It has opened my mind to a way of thinking that will [a]ffect me for the rest of my life, I am pretty sure no other course has that special ability. It is almost as if this class “turned-on” another part of my brain that was previously untouched. I can better comprehend the reasoning and importance of an event in time, and therefore have a more intricate method of thinking. I can logically make a decision based on evidence and logic to why something in history has occurred. Studies today are all about memorizing things to better improve your education, this class doesn’t prepare me so much for those, but this class is so brilliant it has given me a new enthusiasm and appreciation to the Universe and the knowledge it has to offer.

-9th grade BHP student

Although each strength below is substantial and weighs heavier than any of the weaknesses listed, pointing out the challenges is important because it can help identify and alleviate concerns and thus enhance the effectiveness of this profound program.

Definite Strengths of BHP

• Covers many disciplines in one course
• Various course designs & formats that can be tailored to the school’s needs
• Shows respect for various origin stories from around the world (not just the modern scientific origin story)
• Encourages critical thinking skills
• Is completely free and accessible for schools, teachers, and students
• Is aligned with Common Core and ELA standards

For positive press that mentions or highlights BHP, visit the following links:

A Better Way to Teach History, Christine Gross Loh, The Atlantic, February 8, 2016: http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/02/harvard-history-class/460314/

We Are Living in the Era of Big Art History, Tess Thackera, Artsy editorial, Feb 26, 2016: https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-we-are-living-in-the-era-of-big-art-history

ASU Announces Partnership with Big History Project, Arizona State University, April 18, 2016: https://asunow.asu.edu/20160418-asu-announces-partnership-big-history

Possible Weaknesses of BHP

• Challenges the status quo of traditional schools with departmentalized programs and make it difficult for schools to distribute required credit hours due to the interdisciplinary nature of BHP
• Can make creationists, nationalists, climate change skeptics, and Bill Gates bashers uncomfortable at times*
• Lesson documents and tests are in .pdf file format which can make it difficult for teachers to alter the documents as they might in Microsoft Word
• Some of the lessons have typos that teachers may need to alter by hand
• Unless one uses the Kahn Academy version, there are quizzes for many lessons, but not all.
• Marketing for the program could be improved as many principals still have never heard of the program.

* Much of the early press on BHP was cautionary to unfavorable especially if one takes into consideration readers' fearful comments on various articles and blogs.

For negative and/or speculative press on BHP, visit the following links:

Did You Know that Bill Gates is Funding His Own History Program?, Diane Ravitch, September 7, 2014: https://dianeravitch.net/2014/09/07/did-you-know-that-bill-gates-is-funding-his-own-history-curriculum/comment-page-1/#respond

Why the Big History Funded by Bill Gates is Alarming, Katherine Edwards, The Guardian, Sept. 10, 2014: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/10/big-history-bill-gates-uk-state-schools-education

So Bill Gates Has This Idea for a History Class, Andrew Ross Sorkin, New York Times, Sept. 14, 2014: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/07/magazine/so-bill-gates-has-this-idea-for-a-history-class.html

To remedy the above challenges, BHP collaborators and teachers might help in the following ways:

• Petition for interdisciplinary teaching in schools
• Challenge states with stringent departmentalized credit earning options by encouraging them to count credits in smaller increments such as quarter-hours
• Publicize the successes of BHP and its creators
• Educate principals and superintendents about the value of interdisciplinary teaching and the concept of Big History
• Incentivize the teacher community to share more documents (i.e. abbreviated tests, worksheets, etc.) with other teachers so that teachers are not forced to “reinvent the wheel” just because their class covered less content than what was suggested
• Create a submission location to report typos
• Add quizzes to every lesson

For the past two summers, BHP has held in-person teacher trainings for new and experienced teachers of the project. This year, they launched an online teacher training tool and expanded many of the website’s features.

The potential for Big History in schools is considerable. Although the program is still in its early stages, BHP teachers in Chicago, New York, Seattle, Melbourne, AUS and elsewhere have already found ways to incorporate BHP themes and lessons into their humanities and literature courses. In other words, BHP has the potential to transform entire departments by connecting them through common content and skill focus. BHP can even be a bridge for schools seeking an overall philosophy or framework from which to lead.