Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts by biology teachers, there are still misconceptions regarding evolution. People who have taken in popular science myths often assume that biologists are saying they do not believe in evolution.
This rich Web site - companion to the PBS series - provides teachers with materials that promote evolution education and help avoid the kinds of myths that undermine it. It's laid out in a nested "bread crumb" format for ease of navigation and orientation.
Definitions
Evolution is a complicated and difficult subject matter to teach well. It is often misunderstood by non-scientists and even scientists are guilty of using a definition that confuses the issue. This is particularly relevant when it comes to the meaning of the words themselves.
Therefore, it is crucial to define the terms that are used in evolutionary biology. The website for the PBS show, Understanding Evolution, does this in a clear and useful manner. It is an accompanying site for the 2001 series, and also a resource on its own. The information is presented in a structured manner that makes it simpler to navigate and understand.
The site defines terms such as common ancestor and the gradual process. These terms help frame the nature of evolution and its relationship to evolution with other scientific concepts. The site provides an overview of the manner the concept of evolution has been examined. This information can be used to dispel the myths that have been propagated by creationists.
It is also possible to find the glossary of terms used in evolutionary biology. Recommended Website include:
Adaptation is the process of changing heritable traits to be more suitable to their environment. This is the result of natural selection, which happens when organisms with more adaptable characteristics are more likely to survive and reproduce than those with less adaptable characteristics.
Common ancestor (also known as common ancestor) The most recent ancestral ancestor shared by two or more species. By analyzing DNA from these species it is possible to identify the common ancestor.
Deoxyribonucleic acid: A large biological molecule that holds the information needed for cell replication. The information is contained in sequences of nucleotides that are strung together to form long chains, also known as chromosomes. Mutations are responsible for the creation of new genetic information inside cells.
Coevolution is a relation between two species where evolutionary changes of one species are influenced evolutionary changes of the other. Coevolution can be seen in the interactions between predator and prey, or parasite and hosts.
Origins
Species (groups of individuals that are able to interbreed) develop through natural changes in the characteristics of their offspring. The changes can be triggered by a variety of factors such as natural selection, genetic drift, and mixing of genes. The evolution of new species can take thousands of years. Environmental circumstances, such as climate change or competition for food or habitat, can slow or accelerate the process.
The Evolution site tracks the development of various species of plants and animals over time and focuses on the most significant shifts that occurred throughout each group's history. It also focuses on human evolution as a subject of particular importance to students.
Darwin's Origin was published in 1859, when only a handful of antediluvian fossils of human beings had been discovered. The famous skullcap, with the bones that accompanied it were discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto of Germany. weblink is now regarded as an early Homo neanderthalensis. It is unlikely that Darwin was aware of the skullcap, which was published in 1858, which was a year after the publication of the first edition of The Origin. Origin.
While the site focuses on biology, it contains a wealth of information about geology and paleontology. Among the best features of the website are a series of timelines that show how geological and climatic conditions have changed over time, as well as an interactive map of the distribution of a few fossil groups listed on the site.
The site is a companion for a PBS television series, but it can also be used as an educational source for teachers and students. The site is very well-organized and has clear links between the introduction information in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more specific components of the museum's Web site. These hyperlinks make it easy to move from the cartoon-style Understanding Evolution pages into the more sophisticated worlds of research science. There are links to John Endler’s experiments with guppies. They 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 in their geological context is a superior method of study over modern observational or research methods for exploring evolutionary processes. In addition to exploring processes and events that take place frequently or over a long period of time, paleobiology can be used to study the relative abundance of various groups of organisms and their distribution across the course of geological time.
The site is divided into several routes that can be taken to learn about evolution. One of the paths, "Evolution 101," guides the user through the nature and evidence of evolution. The course also focuses on misconceptions about evolution, and also the history of evolutionary thinking.
Each of the other major sections of the Evolution site is similarly created, with resources that can support a variety of educational levels and pedagogical styles. The site offers a wide array of interactive and multimedia resources, including animations, video clips and virtual laboratories, in addition to its general textual content. The content is organized in a nested, bread crumb fashion that aids navigation and orientation within the large web site.
For instance, the page "Coral Reef Connections" gives a brief overview of the relationships between corals and their interactions 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 level of the reef. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary, multimedia and interactive pages on the site, provide an excellent introduction to a wide spectrum of topics in evolutionary biology. The information also includes a discussion of the role of natural selection and the concept of phylogenetic analysis which is a crucial method to understand evolutionary changes.
Evolutionary Theory
Evolution is an underlying thread that runs through all branches of biology. A vast collection of books helps in teaching evolution across all disciplines of life sciences.
One resource, which is a companion to the PBS television series Understanding Evolution, is an exceptional example of an Web site that offers both the depth and breadth of its educational resources. The site offers a variety of interactive learning modules. It also has an embedded "bread crumb" structure that allows students to transition from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this huge site that are closer to the field of research science. For example an animation that introduces the notion of genetic inheritance leads to a page that highlights John Endler's artificial selection experiments with guppies from the native ponds of Trinidad.
The Evolution Library on this website contains a large multimedia library of assets related with evolution. The content is organized according to curricula-based paths that correspond to the learning objectives outlined in the standards for biology. It contains seven short videos intended for use in the classroom. These can be viewed online or purchased as DVDs.
Evolutionary biology remains a field of study that has many important questions, such as what causes evolution and how fast it happens. This is particularly true for human evolution, where it has been difficult to reconcile that the innate physical characteristics of humans evolved from apes, and the religious beliefs that hold that humanity is unique among living things and holds a an enviable place in creation. It is soul.
There are a myriad of other ways evolution can take place, with natural selection as the most well-known theory. Scientists also study different types such as mutation, genetic drift, and sexual selection.
While many fields of scientific inquiry conflict with literal interpretations of the Bible, evolutionary biology has been the subject of intense controversy and resistance from religious fundamentalists. Some religions have reconciled their beliefs with evolutionary biology, but others haven't.