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Finding Power in the Big Rocks of your Course
Transform Your Teaching and Student Learning by Focusing on What Truly Matters

by Dr. Tracy Gross

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Introduction to Big Rocks
As university faculty, you're tasked with a crucial challenge: identifying the fundamental concepts that will truly matter in your students' future careers and lives. These "Big Rocks" are more than just important topics - they're the global concepts, transferable skills, and enduring understandings that transcend individual lessons. Whether you're teaching biology, business, or art history, learning to identify and prioritize these core elements will transform how your students engage with and retain course material.
What are Big Rocks?

1

Global Concepts
Big Rocks are fundamental principles that shape your entire course - like "systems thinking" in environmental science or "ethical reasoning" in philosophy. They're the concepts students will remember years after the course ends.

2

Generalizable Skills
These are powerful capabilities that transcend individual assignments, such as critical analysis, evidence-based argumentation, or effective collaboration. Students will apply these skills across their academic and professional lives.

3

Enduring Understandings
These are the transformative insights that change how students view your field - whether it's understanding how scientific methods drive discovery, how social systems influence behavior, or how creative expression shapes culture.
Big Rocks are Priorities
Big Rocks often refer to the most important aspects of life. The use of this term was made popular by Dr. Stephen Covey, who promoted focusing on the things that matter the most and will provide the biggest impact. Watch this video to see the concept in action. Video (4:01 minutes).
Big Rocks are 'Big Ideas'
In education, Big Rocks align with what Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe (2005) call 'Big Ideas' - the core concepts that form the foundation of deep understanding in any discipline. Their influential work "Understanding by Design" revolutionized how educators think about curriculum planning by emphasizing these essential concepts.
Big Ideas are transformative and transferable, permanently changing how students view the subject matter while providing tools for lifelong learning across different contexts. When students grasp these fundamental concepts, they can apply them to new situations and make connections to different areas of study.
Understanding Big Ideas allows students to organize their knowledge around powerful principles rather than memorizing disconnected facts. This deeper conceptual understanding leads to better retention and more meaningful learning experiences.
Why Identify Big Rocks?
When you structure your course around big rocks (ideas), you help students develop what cognitive scientists call "expert-like mental models" of your subject matter.
Like physical big rocks that anchor a landscape, big ideas provide the essential framework that supports all other learning. Research in cognitive science strongly supports this approach - Bransford et al. (2000) demonstrate in "How People Learn" that experts organize their knowledge around fundamental principles or "big ideas" that guide their thinking. This finding is further supported by the National Research Council (2000), which found that experts connect and organize their knowledge around key concepts.

Providing the Big Picture

Seeing How Pieces Fit Together Students grasp how individual concepts interconnect to form a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter. Developing Expert Mental Models Learners build sophisticated frameworks for organizing and connecting course concepts. Achieving Deeper Learning A holistic understanding leads to more meaningful and lasting learning outcomes.

Examples of Big Rocks
Each of these 'Big Rocks' is a concept that translates across multiple domains, disciplines, colleges, and life experiences. Students likely enter your course with some background knowledge associated with a Big Rock, which allows them to start with something they know while building or constructing new knowledge.
Advocacy
Promoting and defending causes through strategic action and compelling communication
Systems
Understanding complex, interconnected structures and how components influence each other
Evidence
Evaluating information critically and drawing well-supported conclusions from data
Relationships
Analyzing interpersonal dynamics and building meaningful connections
Examples of Big Rocks in Discipline-Specific Contexts
Mathematics: Patterns
Beyond mathematical sequences, pattern recognition is fundamental to scientific discovery, economic forecasting, and even musical composition. In daily life, we use pattern recognition to make better decisions, from predicting market trends to understanding social dynamics and personal behavior patterns.
Science: Balance
Balance extends far beyond chemical equations and ecosystems. It's crucial in economics (supply and demand), psychology (emotional well-being), engineering (structural stability), and personal life (work-life integration). Understanding balance helps us create sustainable systems at every scale.
Literature: Change
Change transcends character arcs in stories - it's central to understanding historical movements, technological innovation, and personal growth. This concept helps us navigate organizational transformation, adapt to new technologies, and embrace personal development in our own lives.
More Examples
History: Power
Power is not only a theme in historical events and the rise and fall of civilizations, but it also shapes political systems, social hierarchies, and individual relationships. Understanding power dynamics allows us to analyze historical events with a critical lens, examine the distribution of power in society, and advocate for change towards a more equitable future.
Economics: Scarcity
Scarcity goes beyond the idea of limited resources in the field of economics. It plays a crucial role in decision-making processes, resource allocation, and influencing market dynamics. By understanding the concept of scarcity, we can assess trade-offs, evaluate opportunity costs, and develop strategies to make efficient use of our finite resources.
Psychology: Perception
Perception affects how we interpret the world around us and influences our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. It plays a crucial role in various aspects of life, such as forming relationships, making judgments, and understanding mental health. By studying perception, we can gain insights into human cognition

What are the 4-6 Big Rocks of your Course?

How to Find Big Rocks

Reflect Think about what matters most in your course. What do you want students to remember years later? Focus on key skills, important ideas, and life lessons. Brainstorm Write down your main ideas. Look at your course goals. Talk to other teachers. Think about what your field values most. Look for ideas that connect different topics and that most people can understand. Prioritize Pick the ideas that best fit your goals. Choose concepts students will use often and that will help them succeed. Focus on ideas they can use in other classes and in life. Refine Make your Big Rocks easy to understand and remember. Each one should guide your teaching but be broad enough to cover many lessons. Ask others if your ideas make sense.

Teaching with Big Rocks
Teachers who incorporate big ideas into their instruction help students see the big picture and understand how individual concepts fit together. By developing expert mental models, learners can build more sophisticated frameworks for organizing and connecting course concepts. This approach to teaching promotes deeper learning and leads to more meaningful and lasting learning outcomes.
Facilitate Activation of Prior Knowledge
Research shows that activating students' prior knowledge is a critical strategy for enhancing comprehension and retention (Marzano, 2004). Big Rocks organize complex subjects around essential concepts that students are likely already familiar with, helping them build on their existing mental models and make learning more approachable through meaningful connections (Priniski, Hecht, & Harackiewicz, 2018).
By tapping into what students already know about the Big Rocks, teachers can open the door to new learning and prepare students to integrate novel information with their established knowledge frameworks. This activation of prior knowledge not only makes the content more accessible, but also increases engagement and motivation as students see the relevance of the material to their own experiences.
Support Students' Knowledge Construction
When students focus on core principles rather than isolated facts, they remember the essential ideas long after the details fade. By developing strong mental frameworks around the Big Rocks, the Big Rocks approach supports lifelong learning and continued growth.
Promote Real-World and Relevant Applications
Research demonstrates that connecting academic learning to real-world applications helps students see the relevance and value of their education (Lombardi, 2007). The Big Rocks approach naturally links core concepts to practical challenges, empowering students to apply their knowledge with confidence.
Build Transferrable Knowledge & Skills
Cognitive science research shows that mastering fundamental concepts enables students to develop versatile tools they can apply across multiple subjects, disciplines, and real-world situations (Perkins & Salomon, 1988). By focusing on the Big Rocks, learners discover valuable relationships throughout their education journey (Bransford et al., 2000).
Adding Big Rocks to Your Course
Plan Your Syllabus
  • List Big Rocks in your course goals and weekly topics
  • Show students how each lesson connects to these key ideas
Learn by Doing
Use real examples and hands-on projects to practice Big Rocks. Let students solve real problems to see why these ideas matter.
Write and Discuss
Ask students to keep learning diaries and join discussions. Have them draw maps to connect new lessons to Big Rocks.
Ask Good Questions
Ask students what they already know about Big Rocks. Use their answers to connect familiar ideas to new topics. This helps them learn better and stay interested.
References & Resources
Articles and Books
  • Ambrose, S. A., Bridges, M. W., DiPietro, M., Lovett, M. C., & Norman, M. K. (2010). How learning works: Seven research-based principles for smart teaching.
  • Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L. & Cocking, R.R. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
  • Marzano, R. J. (2004). Building background knowledge for academic achievement: Research on what works in schools. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
  • National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2001. Early Childhood Development and Learning: New Knowledge for Policy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/10067.
  • Perkins & Solomen, (1988). Teaching for transfer. Educational Leadership.
  • Priniski SJ, Hecht CA, Harackiewicz JM. Making Learning Personally Meaningful: A New Framework for Relevance Research. J Exp Educ. 2018;86(1):11-29. doi: 10.1080/00220973.2017.1380589. Epub 2017 Oct 18. PMID: 30344338; PMCID: PMC6191053.
  • Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). "Understanding by Design: Prioritizing Essential Concepts." ASCD Publications.
  • Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (2001). "A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom's Taxonomy." Pearson Education.
Notes: This presentation was created with AI assistance through Gamma and all images were generated with assistance from ChatGPT or Gamma.
For additional materials and support, contact Missouri State University's Faculty Center for Teaching & Learning (FCTL)