James,
Wow, the big bang theory is pretty advanced and most students will only have heard the word. A lot of them will be asking, "how do scientist know the universe started with a bang?" and "what does the theory have to do with me?" I think the trick is getting them to think about it in a novel way. Did you lay down any background on the topic before you gave them the survey? Because the Big Bang is the most popular, none of the student probably have heard of any opposing theories. Maybe you could introduce them to some of these. I just did a quick search and found a pretty simplistic site that gives some basic info about some of the other theories. The site is http://www.big-bang-theory.com/ Check it out and see if there is anything in there that you could use to get a discussion going about the opposing theories. One of the quotes I like from the site is found in the section titled "Big Bang Theory - The Only Plausible Theory?"
One scientist writes:
Is the standard Big Bang theory the only model consistent with these evidences? No, it's just the most popular one. Internationally renown Astrophysicist George F. R. Ellis explains: "People need to be aware that there is a range of models that could explain the observations….For instance, I can construct you a spherically symmetrical universe with Earth at its center, and you cannot disprove it based on observations….You can only exclude it on philosophical grounds. In my view there is absolutely nothing wrong in that. What I want to bring into the open is the fact that we are using philosophical criteria in choosing our models. A lot of cosmology tries to hide that."4
I think this sums up what you are trying to teach your students: to think critically about what they hear, not just blindly accept it. Perhaps an activity where one half of the class researches the Big Bang theory and the other half researches the opposition, followed by a debate might be interesting. You could engaged the students by offering a prize to whichever side won a vote at the end. I don't know how much time you have planned for this activity, but it sounds like it would be fun. Good luck!
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Deb,
Thanks for the resources. This approach seems to offer a reason for students to dig deeply into the Big Bang theory. I would see this as a way to have them look at the evidence and evaluate the credibility they think it has while also beginning what I would hope is a lifetime of critically evaluating information so that they themselves can begin to discern the nuances of science (nature of science) while also seeing themselves as capable scientifically literate citizens that are need entirely dependent on scientists to make community decisions involving science.
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