Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts by biology educators, misconceptions persist about evolution. People who have absorbed the nonsense of pop science often believe that biologists claim they don't believe in evolution.
This site, which is a complement to the PBS program, provides teachers with materials that promote evolution education, while avoiding the kinds of misconceptions which make it difficult to understand. It's organized in a "bread crumb" format to facilitate navigation and orientation.
Definitions
It is 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 particularly relevant when discussing the nature of the words themselves.
It is therefore essential to define the terms used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website provides this in a simple and efficient manner. The site serves as an accompanying site for the 2001 series, and also a resource on its own. The content is presented in a nested manner that aids navigation and orientation.
The site defines terms like common ancestor, gradual process and so on. These terms help to frame the nature of evolution and its relationship to other concepts in science. The site then offers an overview of how the concept of evolution has been vetted and confirmed. This information can be used to dispel the myths that have been engendered by creationists.
It is also possible to get a glossary of terms used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation: The tendency of heritable traits to become better adaptable to a specific environment. This is the result of natural selection. Organisms that have better-adapted traits are more likely than those with less adapted traits to survive and reproduce.
Common ancestor (also called common ancestor) is the most recent ancestor that is shared by two or more species. The common ancestor can be identified by studying the DNA of the species.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid: A large biological molecular that holds the information needed for cell replication. The information is contained in a sequence of nucleotides that are strung together to form long chains, called chromosomes. Mutations are the cause of new genetic information in cells.
Coevolution is a relation between two species where evolution of one species are influenced by evolutionary changes in the other. Coevolution can be observed in the interaction of predator and prey, or parasites and hosts.
Origins
Species (groups of individuals who can interbreed) evolve through an array of natural changes in the characteristics of their offspring. These changes are caused by a variety of causes that include natural selection, genetic drift, and mixing of gene pools. 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 traces the emergence of a number of different groups of animals and plants over time, focusing on the major transitions that occurred in the history of each group. It also explores the human evolutionary roots and humans, a subject that is especially important for students to understand.
Darwin's Origin was published in 1859, when only a handful of antediluvian fossils of human beings had been discovered. Among them was the famous skullcap and bones that were discovered in 1856 at the Little Feldhofer Grotto in Germany that is now thought to be an early Homo neanderthalensis. While the skullcap wasn't published until 1858, one year before the first edition of the Origin was published, it's highly unlikely that Darwin had seen or heard of it.
The site is primarily an online biology resource, but it also contains many details on paleontology and geology. The Web site has several features that are especially impressive, such as an overview of how geological and climate conditions have changed over the course of time. It also includes a map showing the distribution of fossil groups.
The site is a companion for the PBS TV series but it can also be used as a resource by teachers and students. find out here now is well-organized and has clear links between the introductory content in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more specific elements of the museum Web site. These hyperlinks facilitate the move from the cartoon-like style of the Understanding Evolution pages to the more sophisticated world of research science. In particular, there are links to John Endler's research with Guppies that demonstrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life has led to an array of plants, animals and insects. Paleobiology, the study of these creatures in their geological environment, has many advantages over modern observational or research methods of studying evolutionary phenomena. Paleobiology is able to study not only processes and events that happen frequently or over time, but also the relative abundance and distribution of different groups of animals in space throughout the geological time.
The website is divided into a variety of ways to learn about evolution which include "Evolution 101," which takes the user on a linear path through the nature of science and the evidence supporting the theory of evolution. The path also explores the most common misconceptions about evolution, as well as the evolution of thought.
Each of the main sections of the Evolution website is equally well-developed, and includes materials that are suited to a variety of educational levels and teaching styles. The site offers a wide array of interactive and multimedia resources that include video clips, animations and virtual laboratories, in addition to its general textual content. The content is laid out in a nested bread crumb style that facilitates navigation and orientation within the large web site.
The page "Coral Reef Connections" For instance, it provides a comprehensive overview of coral relationships and their interactions with other organisms and zooms in to one clam, which is able communicate with its neighbours and respond to changes in water conditions that occur on the reef level. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary, multimedia, and interactive pages on the site, offer an excellent introduction to a wide spectrum of topics in evolutionary biology. The material also provides an overview of the importance of natural selection as well as the concept of phylogenetic analysis, which is an important tool in understanding evolutionary change.
Evolutionary Theory
Evolution is an underlying thread that is found throughout all branches of biology. A rich collection supports teaching evolution across all disciplines of life sciences.
One resource, a companion to the PBS television series Understanding Evolution, is an exceptional example of an Web site that offers both depth and breadth in its educational resources. The site features a wide range of interactive learning modules. It also features a nested "bread crumb" structure that allows students to transition from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this large Web site more closely tied to the field of research science. For instance an animation that introduces the idea of genetic inheritance connects to a page highlighting John Endler's experiments with artificial selection with guppies in native ponds of Trinidad.
find out here now is the Evolution Library on this web site, which has an extensive library of multimedia assets related to evolution. The content is organized according to curricula-based paths that correspond to 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 at no cost or purchased on DVD.
Evolutionary biology is still an area of study that has many important questions to answer, such as what causes evolution and how fast it takes place. This is especially true for human evolution, which has made it difficult to reconcile the idea that the physical traits of humans derived from apes and religious beliefs that hold that humanity is unique among living things and has an exclusive place in the creation with a soul.
There are also a number of other ways evolution could occur including natural selection, which is the most well-known theory. However scientists also study different kinds of evolution, such as genetic drift, mutation, and sexual selection, among other things.
While many scientific fields of study are in conflict with literal interpretations in religious texts, the concept of evolution biology has been a subject of intense debate and opposition from religious fundamentalists. Certain religions have embraced their beliefs with evolution, while others haven't.