Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology teachers, misinformation about evolution persist. Pop science nonsense has led people to believe that biologists aren't believers in evolution.
This rich Web site, which is a complement to the PBS program, provides teachers with materials that promote evolution education while avoiding the types of misconceptions that can undermine it. It's laid out in a nested "bread crumb" format to facilitate navigation and orientation.
Definitions
It's difficult to teach evolution well. Many non-scientists are unable to grasp the concept, and some scientists even use a definition which confuses it. This is especially relevant when discussing the nature of the words themselves.
It is therefore crucial to define the terms used in evolutionary biology. The website for the PBS show, Understanding Evolution, does this in a clear and useful way. The site is a companion site to the series that first aired in 2001, but can also function as an independent resource. The content is organized in a manner that makes it simpler to navigate and comprehend.
The site defines terms such as common ancestor and the gradual process. These terms help to define the nature of evolution as well as its relationship to other concepts in science. The website provides a summary of the ways that evolution has been examined. This information can be used to dispel the myths that have been engendered by creationists.
You can also access a glossary that contains terms that are used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation is the tendency of hereditary traits to become more suited to the environment. This is the result of natural selection. Organisms that have better-adapted traits are more likely than those with less adapted traits to reproduce and survive.
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 determine the common ancestor.
Deoxyribonucleic acid: A huge biological molecule that contains information required for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences that are strung into long chains called chromosomes. Mutations are the source of new genetic information in cells.
Coevolution: A relationship between two species in which evolutionary changes in one species are affected by changes in evolutionary processes in the other. Coevolution can be observed in the interactions between predator and prey, or parasites and hosts.
Origins
Species (groups that can interbreed), evolve through a series natural changes in their offspring's traits. These changes can be caused by various factors, including natural selection, gene drift and mixing of the gene pool. The development of a new species can take thousands of years and the process may be slowed down or accelerated by environmental conditions such as climate change or the competition for food or habitat.
The Evolution site tracks through time the emergence of various groups of animals and plants and focuses on major changes within each group's past. It also focuses on human evolution as a subject that is particularly important to students.
Darwin's Origin was published in 1859, when just a handful of antediluvian fossils of human beings had been discovered. The most famous among them was the skullcap and bones that were discovered in 1856 at the Little Feldhofer Grotto in Germany that is now thought as an early Homo neanderthalensis. Although the skullcap was not published until 1858, which was one year before the first edition of the Origin appeared, it is extremely unlikely that Darwin had ever heard of it.
The site is primarily an online biology resource however, it also has a lot of information on paleontology and geology. The Web site has a number of features that are particularly impressive, such as a timeline of the way that climate and geological conditions have changed over the course of time. It also includes maps that show the locations of fossil groups.
The site is a companion for the PBS television series, but it could be used as a 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 specialized elements of the museum Web site. 에볼루션 바카라 체험 facilitate the transition from the engaging cartoon style of the Understanding Evolution pages to the more sophisticated world of research science. In particular, there are links to John Endler's experiments using guppies that illustrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life on Earth has resulted in a variety 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 exploring processes and events that occur frequently or over a long period of time, paleobiology is able to analyze the relative abundance of different kinds of organisms as well as their distribution across the course of geological time.
The website is divided into different paths that can be chosen to learn about evolution. One of these paths, "Evolution 101," guides the user through the nature and evidence of evolution. The course also focuses on misconceptions regarding evolution, as well as the history of evolutionary thought.
Each of the other main sections of the Evolution site is equally well developed, with materials that can support a variety of different pedagogical levels and curriculum levels. The site includes a variety of interactive and multimedia content which include video clips, animations and virtual laboratories as well as general textual content. The content is organized in a nested, bread crumb style that facilitates navigation and orientation within the vast web site.
For example the page "Coral Reef Connections" provides an overview of coral relationships and their interaction with other organisms. It then zooms in on a single clam that is able to communicate with its neighbours and respond to changes in water conditions at the level of the reef. This page, along with the other multidisciplinary interactive and multimedia pages gives a good introduction to a variety of topics in evolutionary biology. The content also includes an overview of the importance of natural selection as well as the concept of phylogenetic analysis which is an important method to understand evolutionary change.
Evolutionary Theory
Evolution is a common thread that is found throughout all branches of biology. A vast collection of resources supports teaching about evolution across the life sciences.
One resource, the companion to PBS's television show Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of a Web page that offers both depth as well as breadth in terms of its educational resources. The site features a wealth of interactive learning modules. It also features an "bread crumb structure" that assists students in moving away from the cartoon style used in Understanding Evolution and onto elements on this large website more closely linked to the realms of research science. An animation that introduces the concept of genetics, which links to a page about John Endler's artificial-selection experiments with Guppies in native ponds in Trinidad.
The Evolution Library on this website contains a large multimedia library of materials that deal 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 for classroom use. They 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 the speed at which it occurs. This is particularly relevant for humans' evolution 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.
In addition there are a myriad of ways in which evolution could be triggered, with natural selection being the most popular theory. However, scientists also study other types of evolution such as mutation, genetic drift and sexual selection, among others.
Although many scientific fields of study have a conflict with literal interpretations in religious texts, evolution biology has been the subject of intense controversy and opposition from religious fundamentalists. Certain religions have embraced their beliefs to evolution while others haven't.