Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology teachers, there are still misconceptions regarding evolution. People who have taken in the nonsense of pop science often believe that biologists claim they don't believe in evolution.
This site, which is a companion to the PBS series - provides teachers with materials that support evolution education and avoid the kinds of myths that make it difficult to understand. It's organized in the "bread crumb" format to facilitate navigation and orientation.
Definitions
It's difficult to teach evolution well. weblink is often misunderstood even by non-scientists, and even some scientists have been guilty of using an interpretation that is confusing the issue. This is especially applicable to discussions on the definition of the word itself.
It is therefore crucial to define the terms that are used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website provides this in a simple and efficient way. The site is a companion site to the show which first aired in 2001, but it can also function as an independent resource. The content is presented in a nested fashion that aids navigation and orientation.
The site defines terms like common ancestor, the gradual process and adaptation. These terms help frame the nature of evolution and its relationship to evolution to other concepts in science. The site also provides an overview of how the concept of evolution has been tested and verified. This information can help dispel the myths created by creationists.
You can also access a glossary that contains terms used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation: The tendency of hereditary traits to become more suitable to a particular setting. This is a result of natural selection. Organisms that have better-adapted traits are more likely than those with less adaptable traits to survive and reproduce.
Common ancestor (also known as common ancestor) The most recent ancestor shared by two or more species. The common ancestor can be identified through analyzing the DNA of those species.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid: A huge biological molecular that contains the information required for cell replication. The information is contained in nucleotides arranged in sequences that are strung together into long chains, called chromosomes. Mutations are responsible for the creation of new genetic information within cells.
Coevolution is the relationship between two species where evolution of one species are influenced by evolutionary changes of the other. Examples of coevolution are the interactions between predator and prey, or parasite and host.
Origins
Species (groups of individuals that can interbreed) change through natural changes in the traits of their offspring. The causes of these changes are numerous factors, like natural selection, gene drift, and mixing of the gene pool. The development of new species can take thousands of years. Environmental conditions, such as climate change or competition for food or habitat can slow or speed up the process.
The Evolution site follows the emergence of various animal and plant groups and focuses on major changes in each group's history. It also focuses on human evolution, which is a topic that is particularly important for students.
When Darwin wrote the Origin in 1859, only a handful of antediluvian human fossils had been discovered. One of them was the infamous skullcap and associated bones found in 1856 at the Little Feldhofer Grotto in Germany, which is now known to be an early Homo neanderthalensis. It is highly unlikely that Darwin was aware of the skullcap when it was published in 1858, which was a year following the initial edition of The Origin.
While the site is focused on biology, it also contains a wealth of information on geology and paleontology. The Web site has several aspects that are quite impressive, such as a timeline of how geological and climate conditions have changed over time. It also features an interactive map that shows the location of fossil groups.
While the site is a companion to a PBS television series, it also stands on its own as an excellent source for teachers and students. The site is extremely well organized and provides clear links between the introductory content in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more specific elements of the museum Web site. These hyperlinks make it easier to transition from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution pages into the more sophisticated worlds of research science. There are links to John Endler's experiments with guppies, which demonstrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life has led to many species of plants, animals and insects. Paleobiology, the study of these creatures in their geological context offers many advantages over modern observational or experimental methods for exploring evolutionary phenomena. In addition to examining the processes and events that happen regularly or over a lengthy period of time, paleobiology is able to examine the relative abundance of different groups of organisms and their distribution throughout geological time.
The website is divided into a variety of pathways to understanding evolution which include "Evolution 101," which takes the viewer on a line through the science of nature and the evidence supporting the theory of evolution. The course also focuses on common misconceptions about evolution and the evolution of thought.
Each of the main sections of the Evolution website is equally well-developed, and includes materials that are suited to a variety of levels of curriculum and teaching methods. In addition to general textual content, the site also has an array of interactive and multimedia resources, such as videos, animations and virtual laboratories. The breadcrumb-like organization of the content assists with navigation and orientation on the massive website.
The page "Coral Reef Connections" For instance, the page "Coral Reef Connections" gives a brief overview of the relationships between corals and interactions with other organisms and zooms in on one clam that is able to communicate with its neighbours and respond to changes in the conditions of the water that occur at the reef level. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary multimedia and interactive pages, offers a great introduction to a variety of topics in evolutionary biology. The content also includes an explanation of the role of natural selectivity and the concept of phylogenetics analysis, an important tool to understand evolutionary change.
Evolutionary Theory
Evolution is an underlying thread that is found throughout all branches of biology. A rich collection supports teaching evolution across all disciplines of life science.
One resource, which is the companion to PBS's television show Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of a Web site that provides the depth and the wide range of educational resources. The site features a wide range of interactive learning modules. It also has a "bread crumb structure" that helps students move away from the cartoon-like style that is used in Understanding Evolution and onto elements on this large website more closely linked to the worlds of research science. For example an animation that explains the notion of genetic inheritance leads to a page that highlights John Endler's artificial selection experiments using guppies in the ponds of his native country of Trinidad.
original site is the Evolution Library on this site, which contains an extensive collection of multimedia assets related to evolution. The content is organized according to curriculum-based paths that parallel the learning objectives set out in biology standards. It contains seven videos designed for use in classrooms. These can be viewed online or purchased as DVDs.
A number of important questions remain at the core of evolutionary biology, such as the factors that trigger evolution and how fast it occurs. This is particularly applicable to human evolution where it has been difficult to reconcile the idea that the physical traits of humans derived from apes and religious beliefs that hold that humans are unique among living things and has a special place in creation with a soul.
Additionally there are a myriad of ways that evolution could be triggered, with natural selection being the most popular theory. Scientists also study other types such as genetic drift and sexual selection.
While many scientific fields of study are in conflict with literal interpretations in religious texts, the concept of evolution biology has been a subject of intense controversy and opposition from religious fundamentalists. Certain religions have embraced their beliefs with evolutionary biology, but others haven't.