Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology educators, misconceptions persist about evolution. People who have been exposed to the nonsense of pop science often believe that biologists claim they do not believe in evolution.
This site, which is a companion to the PBS series - provides teachers with materials that support evolution education and avoids the kinds of myths that undermine it. It's laid out in a nested "bread crumb" format to facilitate navigation and orientation.
Definitions
It's not easy to properly teach evolution. Many non-scientists are unable to grasp the concept, and some scientists even use a definition which confuses it. This is especially true when it comes to discussions on the nature of the word.
It is therefore important to define the terms used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website provides this in an easy and helpful manner. It is an accompanying site for the 2001 series, and also a resource of its own. The content is presented in a way that assists in navigation and orientation.
The site defines terms such as common ancestor (or common ancestor), gradual process, and adaptation. These terms help to define the nature of evolution and its relationship to evolution to other scientific concepts. The site also provides an overview of how the concept of evolution has been vetted and validated. This information can be used to dispel the myths that have been created by creationists.
You can also access a glossary that contains terms used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation: The tendency for heritable characteristics to become more suitable to a particular setting. This is a result of natural selection. It occurs when organisms with better-adapted traits are more likely to survive and reproduce than those with less adaptable characteristics.
Common ancestor: The latest common ancestor of two or more distinct species. The common ancestor can be identified through analyzing the DNA of those species.
Deoxyribonucleic acid: A large biological molecule that holds the information required for cell replication. The information is stored in sequences of nucleotides that are strung together into long chains, also known as chromosomes. Mutations are the basis for new genetic information in cells.
Coevolution: A relationship between two species where evolutionary changes in one species are influenced by evolutionary changes in the other. Examples of coevolution include the interactions between predator and prey, or host and parasite.
Origins
Species (groups of individuals that can interbreed) develop through an array of natural changes in the traits of their offspring. The changes can be triggered by a variety of factors, including natural selection, genetic drift, and mixing of genes. The evolution of a new species may take thousands of years and the process could be slowed down or speeded up by environmental conditions such as climate change or the competition for food or habitat.
The Evolution site tracks through time the evolution of different animal and plant groups and focuses on major changes within each group's past. It also explores human evolution as a subject of particular importance to students.
When Darwin wrote the Origin in 1859, only a handful of antediluvian human fossils had been discovered. The skullcap that is famous, along with the bones associated with it, was discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto of Germany. It is now known as an early Homo neanderthalensis. It is unlikely that Darwin was aware of the skullcap when it was published in 1858, which was a year after the first edition of The Origin.
While the site is focused on biology, it also includes a good deal of information about geology as well as paleontology. One of the most appealing features on the site are a series of timelines which show how climatic and geological conditions have changed over time, as well as an interactive map of the distribution of some of the fossil groups featured on the site.
While the site is a companion to the PBS television series however, it can stand on its own as an excellent resource for teachers and students. The site is very well-organized and has clear links between the introduction material in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more specific elements of the museum's web site. These links make it easier to transition from the cartoon-style Understanding Evolution pages into the more sophisticated worlds of research science. Particularly, there are links to John Endler's research with Guppies, which demonstrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life on Earth has produced a diversity of plants, animals, and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures in their geological context and has many advantages over modern observational and experimental methods of examining 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 in space over the course of geological time.
The site is divided into a variety of ways to learn about evolution, including "Evolution 101," which takes the viewer on a liner path through the scientific process and the evidence that supports the theory of evolution. The course also focuses on misconceptions about evolution and the background of evolutionary thought.
Each of the main sections on the Evolution website is equally well-developed, with materials that can be used to support a variety of levels of curriculum and teaching methods. The site offers a wide array of multimedia and interactive resources that include animations, video clips and virtual laboratories in addition to general textual content. The content is organized in a nested, bread crumb-like fashion that helps with navigation and orientation on the web site.
무료에볼루션 For instance, the page "Coral Reef Connections" provides a comprehensive overview of coral relationships and interactions with other organisms and zooms in to a single clam, which can communicate with its neighbors and react to changes in conditions of the water at the reef level. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary interactive and multimedia pages, gives a good introduction to many topics in evolutionary biology. The material includes an overview of the significance of natural selectivity and the concept of phylogenetics as a key tool for understanding evolutionary changes.
Evolutionary Theory
For biology students evolution is a crucial thread that weaves together all branches of the field. A vast collection of resources supports teaching about evolution across the life sciences.
One resource, which is a companion to the PBS television series Understanding Evolution, is an excellent example of a Web site that provides depth and breadth in its educational resources. The site features a wealth of interactive learning modules. It also has a "bread crumb structure" that helps students move away from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution and onto elements on this site that are more closely related to the worlds of research science. Animation that introduces the concept of genetics links to a page about John Endler's experiments in artificial selection using Guppies living in ponds native to Trinidad.
Another helpful resource is the Evolution Library on this site, which contains an extensive library of multimedia resources connected to evolution. The content is organized according to curriculum-based paths that parallel the learning goals established in biology standards. It contains seven videos specifically designed for use in classrooms. They can be streamed or purchased as DVDs.
A variety of crucial questions remain at the heart of evolutionary biology, including what causes evolution to occur and the speed at which it occurs. This is particularly relevant for the evolution of humans where it was a challenge to reconcile religious beliefs that held that humanity has a unique position in the universe and a soul with the idea that innate physical traits evolved from the apes.
There are also a number of other ways in which evolution can occur including natural selection, which is the most well-known theory. Scientists also study other types such as mutation, genetic drift and sexual selection.
Although many scientific fields of study conflict with the literal interpretations of religious texts, evolution biology has been a source of intense controversy and opposition from religious fundamentalists. While some religions have been able to reconcile their beliefs with the theories of evolution, others have not.