2.2.1 Research on Big ideas Abroad and at Home
2.2.1.1 Research on Big ideas Abroad
In the field of education,big ideas can be traced back to the research of J.S.Bruner.He believes that teaching should pay attention to maintaining the essence,integrity,and consistency of knowledge so that students can truly understand andmaster the structure of knowledge.The curriculum achieves a more abstract andstructured understanding of the key concepts of the subject through a continuous cycleof learning.
From the perspective of cognitive development,Olson(2008)proposes that bigideas refer to core concepts that can be retained for a long time after forgettingspecific experiences and facts,that is,information that can be taken home.Headvocated that teachers should focus on big ideas rather than small topics,selectteaching experiences and organize them in an orderly way,and develop students’cognition so that they can reach a profound conceptual grasp of knowledge rather thanbe entangled in its details so that students can better see the forest through the trees.
Chapter Three Theoretical Foundation ........................... 22
3.1 Whole Language Teaching ......................... 22
3.2 Gestalt Psychology ................................ 22
3.3 Constructivism Learning Theory .......................... 23
Chapter Four Research Methodology .............................. 25
4.1 Research Questions ............................ 25
4.2 Research Subjects ............................... 25
4.3 Research Instruments ............................. 27
Chapter Five Results and Discussion ............................ 49
5.1 Analysis and Discussion of the Application Status of Unit Integrity TeachingBased on Big Ideas .............. 49
5.1.1 Analysis and Discussion of Teachers’ Questionnaire ................ 50
5.1.2 Analysis and Discussion of Teachers’ Interview ........................ 55
Chapter Five Results and Discussion
5.1 Analysis and Discussion of the Application Status of UnitIntegrity Teaching Based on Big Ideas
Unit integrity teaching based on big ideas is a new teaching mode under thebackground of the new curriculum standard of senior high school English.It is basedon the development of students,the guidance of teachers as the premise,the textbookas the basis,the learning activities as the center,the course content is systematicallyintegrated to form a unit teaching program with disciplinary characteristics,so as toachieve an effective breakthrough in knowledge points.In the process ofimplementing this teaching mode,teachers,as the designer and organizer of teaching,have an impact on teaching quality through teaching design and teachingimplementation,and directly or indirectly affect the development of students.Thestudent,as the protagonist in the class,plays the main role in the class.Therefore,before the experiment,it is necessary to understand the current views of teachers andstudents on unit integrity teaching based on big ideas.
Chapter Six Conclusion
6.1 Major Findings
After a semester of teaching experiments on the three research questions,thisthesis has the following findings:
First of all,the situation is not optimistic in the application status of unit integrityteaching based on big ideas.According to the results of teacher questionnaire andteacher interview as well as student questionnaire and student interview,in terms ofunderstanding，the majority of teachers think that the unit integrity teaching based onbig ideas is necessary.However,many teachers have only grasped the concept of it,but do not know its principles and concrete steps of implementation.In terms ofimplementation,more than half of the teachers have tried to use it in practice,butthere are many difficulties in the implementation process because of the teachers’ownability and external environment.That is to say,although teachers affirm the teachingeffect of unit integrity teaching based on big ideas,they think it requires them tospend
