Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology educators, misconceptions persist about the evolution. People who have been exposed to pop science nonsense often assume that biologists don't believe in evolution.
This rich website - companion to the PBS series offers teachers with resources that support evolution education and avoids the kinds of misconceptions that make it difficult to understand. It's laid out in a "bread crumb" format to facilitate navigation and orientation.
Definitions
Evolution is a complex and challenging subject to teach effectively. It is often misunderstood by non-scientists, and even scientists are guilty of using definitions that confuse the issue. This is particularly true when discussing the definition of the words.
It is essential to define terms that are used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website does this in an easy and helpful manner. It is a companion for the 2001 series, but also a resource of its own. The information is presented in a structured way that makes it easy to navigate and comprehend.
The site defines terms such as common ancestor, the gradual process, and adaptation. These terms help frame the nature of evolution and its relationship to evolution with other scientific concepts. The site gives a comprehensive overview of the manner the concept of evolution has been examined. This information can help dispel the myths created by creationists.
You can also access a glossary which includes terms used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation is the tendency of hereditary traits to become more suitable to their environment. This is the result of natural selection, which occurs when organisms that are better adapted characteristics are more likely to survive and reproduce than those with less adaptable traits.
Common ancestor (also known as common ancestor) The most recent ancestor that is shared by two or more species. The common ancestor can be identified by studying the DNA of the species.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid: A large biological molecular that holds the information required for cell replication. The information is contained in a sequence of nucleotides that are strung together to form long chains, also known as chromosomes. Mutations are responsible for the creation of new genetic information within cells.
Coevolution is a relationship between two species in which the evolution of one species are influenced by evolutionary changes of the other. Coevolution can be observed in the interactions between predator and prey, or parasite and hosts.
Origins
Species (groups which can interbreed), evolve by a series of natural variations in the traits of their offspring. The causes of these changes are many factors, such as natural selection, gene drift, and mixing of the gene pool. The development of new species can take thousands of years. Environmental conditions, like changes in the climate or competition for food resources and habitat, can slow or accelerate the process.
The Evolution site tracks through time the emergence of various groups of animals and plants, focusing on major transitions in each group's history. It also focuses on human evolution as a subject that is particularly important to students.
When Darwin wrote the Origin, only a handful of antediluvian human fossils had been discovered. The famous skullcap, along with the bones associated with it were discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto of Germany. click through the following post is now regarded as an early Homo neanderthalensis. It is highly unlikely that Darwin was aware of the skullcap, which was first published in 1858, a year after the first edition of The Origin.
While the site focuses on biology, it offers a lot of information about geology and paleontology. The Web site has a number of aspects that are quite impressive, such as a timeline of how climate and geological conditions have changed over time. It also features a map showing the distribution of fossil groups.
The site is a companion to a PBS TV series but it could be used as a resource for teachers and students. The site is well-organized and offers clear links between the introductory information in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more sophisticated elements of the museum Web site. These hyperlinks help users move from the cartoon-like style of the Understanding Evolution pages to the more sophisticated world of research science. There are links to John Endler's experiments with guppies that illustrate the importance ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life on Earth has led to a wide variety of animals, plants, and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures within their geological context and has many advantages over modern observational and experimental methods for analyzing evolutionary phenomena. Paleobiology focuses on not only the process and events that occur regularly or over time, but also the relative abundance and distribution of different groups of animals in space throughout the geological time.
The site is divided into a variety of paths to learning evolution that include "Evolution 101," which takes the user on a linear path through the nature of science and the evidence to support the theory of evolution. The path also examines myths regarding evolution, and the background of evolutionary thinking.
Each of the main sections on the Evolution website is equally well-developed, with materials that can be used to support a variety of educational levels and teaching styles. In click through the following post to general textual content, the site offers an array of interactive and multimedia resources including videos, animations, and virtual laboratories. The breadcrumb-like arrangement of the content aids in navigation and orientation on the massive website.
For example the page "Coral Reef Connections" provides a comprehensive overview of the relationships between corals and their interaction with other organisms, then narrows down to a single clam that can communicate with its neighbors and respond to changes in water conditions that take place at the reef level. This page, along with the other multidisciplinary multimedia and interactive pages, provides an excellent introduction to the many areas of evolutionary biology. The content includes a discussion on the significance of natural selectivity and the concept of phylogenetics analysis which is a crucial tool to understand evolutionary changes.
Evolutionary Theory
Evolution is an underlying thread that is found throughout all branches of biology. A wide range of resources supports teaching about evolution across the life sciences.
One resource, which is the companion to PBS's television show Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of an Web page that provides the depth and the wide range of educational resources. The site has a variety of interactive learning modules. It also features a "bread crumb structure" that allows students to move away from the cartoon-like style used in Understanding Evolution and onto elements on this site that are more closely related to the fields of research science. For instance an animation that introduces the concept of genetic inheritance links to a page that focuses on John Endler's experiments in artificial selection with guppies in native ponds of Trinidad.
The Evolution Library on this website is a vast multimedia library of materials that deal with evolution. The contents are organized into courses that are based on curriculum and follow the learning objectives outlined in the biology standards. It contains seven short videos that are designed for classroom use. These can be streamed or purchased as DVDs.
Evolutionary biology is still an area of study that poses many important questions, such as what causes evolution and the speed at which it happens. This is particularly relevant for the evolution of humans which was a challenge to reconcile religious beliefs that held that humanity has a special place in the creation and a soul with the notion that human beings have innate physical traits evolved from Apes.
There are a variety of other ways in which evolution can take place including natural selection, which is the most popular theory. However scientists also study other types of evolution such as mutation, genetic drift, and sexual selection, among other things.
While many scientific fields of inquiry have a conflict with literal interpretations of the Bible Evolutionary biology has been the subject of controversial debate and resistance from religious fundamentalists. While some religions have been able to reconcile their beliefs with the theories of evolution, others have not.