Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology educators, misinformation about evolution remain. Pop science fiction has led a lot of people to believe that biologists don't believe evolution.
This site, which is a complement to the PBS program, provides teachers with materials that support the evolution of education while avoiding the types of misconceptions that can make it difficult to understand. visit this web-site 's organized in a nested "bread crumb" format for ease of navigation and orientation.
Definitions
It's not easy to effectively teach evolution. Non-scientists often misunderstand the subject, and some scientists even use a definition that confuses it. This is particularly true when discussing the meaning of the words themselves.
It is therefore important to define the terms that are used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website does this in an easy and helpful manner. The site serves as a companion for the 2001 series, but also a resource on its own. The material is presented in a way that aids navigation and orientation.
The site defines terms like common ancestor, gradual process, and adaptation. These terms help frame the nature of evolution as well as its relation to other concepts in science. The site provides an overview of the ways the concept of evolution has been examined. This information can help dispel myths created by creationists.
You can also access a glossary which contains terms that are used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation is the tendency of hereditary traits to become more suitable to their environment. This is a result of natural selection. Organisms with better-adapted characteristics are more likely than those with less adaptable traits to reproduce and survive.
Common ancestor (also called common ancestor) is the most recent ancestor shared by two or more species. The common ancestor can be identified through analyzing the DNA of these species.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid: A huge biological molecular containing the information required for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences, which are strung into long chains called chromosomes. Mutations are the basis for new genetic information in cells.
Coevolution is a relationship between two species in which evolutionary changes in one species are influenced by evolutionary changes in the other. Coevolution can be seen in the interactions between predator and prey, or parasites and hosts.
Origins
Species (groups which can interbreed), evolve by a series of natural variations in their offspring's traits. These changes are caused by a variety of causes such as natural selection, genetic drift and gene pool mixing. The evolution of new species could take thousands of years. Environmental circumstances, such as changes in the climate or competition for food and habitat can slow or speed up the process.
The Evolution site follows the evolution of various animal and plant groups, focusing on major transitions in each group's history. It also focuses on human evolution as a subject of particular importance to students.
When Darwin wrote the Origin, only a handful of antediluvian human fossils had been found. The famous skullcap, along with the associated bones, was discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto of Germany. It is now regarded as an early Homo neanderthalensis. While the skullcap wasn't published until 1858, one year after the first edition of the Origin was published, it's very unlikely that Darwin had ever heard of it.
While the site focuses on biology, it offers a lot of information about geology as well as paleontology. The site offers numerous features that are particularly impressive, including an overview of the way that climate and geological conditions have changed over the course of 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 however, it can stand on its own as a great source for teachers and students. The site is well organized and provides 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'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 also links to John Endler's experiments with guppies. They illustrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life has produced an array of animals, plants and insects. Paleobiology, the study of these creatures in their natural environment offers many advantages over modern observational or research methods for exploring evolutionary phenomena. In addition to examining processes and events that occur regularly or over a lengthy period of time, paleobiology is able to examine the diversity of species of organisms and their distribution across the geological time.
The website is divided into different routes that can be taken to gain knowledge about evolution. One of the paths, "Evolution 101," takes the viewer through the evolution of nature and the evidence of evolution. The path also explores misconceptions about evolution, and also the history of evolutionary thought.
Each of the other main sections of the Evolution site is equally well constructed, with materials that can support a variety of different pedagogical levels and curriculum levels. The site offers a wide array of interactive and multimedia resources, including video clips, animations and virtual labs as well as general textual content. The content is laid out in a nested bread crumb style that facilitates navigation and orientation on the web site.
For example, the page "Coral Reef Connections" gives a brief overview of the relationships between corals and their interactions with other organisms. Then, it narrows down to a single clam that can communicate with its neighbors and respond to changes in water conditions 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 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 method for understanding the evolution of change.
Evolutionary Theory
Evolution is a common thread that runs through all branches of biology. A wide range of resources can help teachers teach about evolution across the life sciences.
One resource, the companion to PBS's television series Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of a Web page that offers both the depth and the broadness in terms of educational resources. The site has a variety of interactive learning modules. It also has an encased "bread crumb" structure that helps students move from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this massive website that are closer to the world of research science. Animation that introduces the concept of genetics, which links to a page that highlights John Endler's artificial-selection experiments with Guppies living in ponds native to Trinidad.
The Evolution Library on this website is a vast multimedia library of resources that are associated to evolution. The content is organized according to the form of curriculum-based pathways that are in line with the learning goals set forth in the biology standards. It includes seven short videos designed specifically for use in the classroom, and can be streamed for no cost or purchased on DVD.
Evolutionary biology is still a field of study that has many important questions to answer, such as the causes of evolution and the speed at which it occurs. This is particularly true for human evolution, where it's been difficult to reconcile the notion that the innate physical characteristics of humans were derived from apes and religious beliefs that claim that humanity is unique in the universe and has an exclusive place in the creation with soul.
In addition, there are a number of ways that evolution could occur, with natural selection being the most widely accepted theory. Scientists also study other kinds such as genetic drift, and sexual selection.
Although many scientific fields of study have a conflict with the literal interpretations of religious texts, evolution biology has been a subject of intense debate and opposition from religious fundamentalists. While certain religions have managed to reconcile their beliefs with the theories of evolution, others aren't.