Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology educators, there are still a lot of misconceptions regarding evolution. People who have absorbed pop science nonsense often assume that biologists do not believe in evolution.
This rich website - companion to the PBS series offers teachers with resources that support evolution education and avoids the kinds of misconceptions that hinder it. It's arranged in a nested "bread crumb" format to facilitate navigation and orientation.
Definitions
It's difficult to effectively teach evolution. It is often misunderstood by non-scientists, and even scientists are guilty of using an interpretation that is confusing the issue. This is especially true when it comes to discussions on the nature of the word.
It is therefore crucial to define the terms used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website does this in an easy and helpful manner. The site serves as an accompaniment to the 2001 series, but it is also a resource on its own. The material is presented in a structured manner that makes it simpler to navigate and understand.
The site defines terms such as common ancestor, gradual process, and adaptation. These terms help frame the nature of evolution as well as its relation to other scientific concepts. The website then provides an overview of how the concept of evolution has been vetted and confirmed. This information can be used to dispel misconceptions that have been propagated by creationists.
You can also consult a glossary that includes terms used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
The process of adaptation is the tendency of heritable traits to be more suitable to their environment. This is the result of natural selection. Organisms with better-adapted traits are more likely than those with less adapted traits to survive and reproduce.
Common ancestor: The latest common ancestor of two or more distinct species. The common ancestor can be identified by analyzing the DNA of these species.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid: A massive biological molecular that holds the information needed for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences that are strung into long chains, referred to as chromosomes. Mutations are the reason behind the creation of new genetic information within cells.
Coevolution is a relation between two species in which the evolutionary changes of one species are influenced evolutionary changes in the other. Coevolution is evident through the interaction between predator and prey, or parasite and hosts.
Origins
Species (groups that can interbreed) develop through a series natural changes in the traits of their offspring. The changes can be triggered by a variety of causes that include natural selection, genetic drift and mixing of genes. The evolution of a new species could take thousands of years, and the process could be slowed or increased due to environmental conditions, such as climate change or competition for food or habitat.
The Evolution site tracks the evolution of a number of different groups of animals and plants over time, focusing on the major transitions that occurred in the evolution of each group's history. It also explores human evolution, which is a topic that is of particular interest for students.
Darwin's Origin was published in 1859, when just a handful of antediluvian fossils of humans were discovered. Read Even more , along with the bones that accompanied it, was discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto of Germany. It is now recognized as an early Homo neanderthalensis. It is highly unlikely that Darwin knew about the skullcap, which was first published in 1858, which was a year after the publication of the first edition of The Origin. Origin.
The site is primarily a biology site however it also includes many details on paleontology and geology. The Web site has numerous aspects that are quite impressive, such as an overview of how geological and climate conditions have changed over the course of time. It also includes an interactive map that shows the location of fossil groups.
The site is a companion to a PBS television series, but it could be used as a source for teachers and students. The site is well-organized and offers easy links to the introductory material of Understanding Evolution (developed under the National Science Foundation's assistance) and the more specialized features of the museum website. These links 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 that demonstrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life has produced many species of plants, animals and insects. Paleobiology, the study of these creatures within their geological context is a superior method of study over modern observational or experimental methods for exploring evolutionary processes. Paleobiology is able to study not only processes and events that take place frequently or over time, but also the distribution and frequency of various animal groups in space throughout geological time.
The website is divided into different paths that can be chosen to learn about evolution. One of these paths, "Evolution 101," takes the viewer through the evolution of nature and the evidence of evolution. The path also explores misconceptions about evolution as well as the history of evolutionary thinking.
Each of the main sections on the Evolution website is equally well-developed, and includes materials that are suited to a variety of educational levels and teaching styles. In addition to general textual content, the site features an array of interactive and multimedia resources, such as videos, animations, and virtual laboratories. The breadcrumb-like structure of the content assists with navigation and orientation on the large web site.
The page "Coral Reef Connections", for example, provides a comprehensive overview of coral relationships and interactions with other organisms and zooms in on one clam that can communicate with its neighbors and respond to changes in the conditions of the water at the reef level. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary interactive and multimedia pages, offers a great introduction to many topics in evolutionary biology. The content also includes an explanation of the significance of natural selectivity and the concept of phylogenetics as a key method for understanding the evolution of changes.
Evolutionary Theory
Evolution is an underlying thread that connects all branches of biology. A rich collection of resources supports teaching about evolution across all life sciences.
One resource, the companion to PBS's TV series Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of a Web page that offers both depth and wide range of educational resources. The site features a wide range of interactive learning modules. It also features an embedded "bread crumb" structure that allows students to transition from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this large Web site more closely linked to the world of research science. An animation that introduces the concept of genetics is linked to a page that highlights John Endler's experiments with artificial selection using guppies on native ponds in Trinidad.
The Evolution Library on this website is a vast multimedia library of resources that are associated with evolution. The content is organized into courses that are based on curriculum and follow the learning goals established in the standards for biology. It includes seven short videos specifically designed for use in classrooms, and can be streamed for no cost or purchased on DVD.
Evolutionary biology remains a field of study that has many important questions, such as what causes evolution and how quickly it takes place. This is especially applicable to human evolution where it has been difficult to reconcile the idea that the innate physical characteristics of humans were derived from apes, and the religious beliefs that hold that humanity is unique in the universe and has a special place in creation. It is soul.
There are a variety of other ways in which evolution can take place including natural selection, which is the most widely accepted theory. However scientists also study different kinds of evolution like mutation, genetic drift and sexual selection, among others.
While many fields of scientific inquiry are in conflict with literal interpretations of the Bible evolutionary biology has been the subject of particularly controversial debate and resistance from religious fundamentalists. Certain religions have embraced their beliefs to evolution but others haven't.