Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts by biology educators, misconceptions persist about evolution. People who have been exposed to pop science nonsense often assume that biologists are saying they don't believe in evolution.
This rich website - companion to the PBS series It provides teachers with materials that support evolution education and avoids the kinds of misinformation that can make it difficult to understand. It's arranged in a nested "bread crumb" format to facilitate navigation and orientation.
Definitions
Evolution is a complicated and difficult subject to teach well. It is often misunderstood by non-scientists, and even scientists have been guilty of using definitions that confuse the issue. This is particularly relevant when it comes to the definition of the words.
It is therefore crucial to define the terms used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website helps you define these terms in a simple and efficient way. The site is a companion to the show that premiered in 2001, but also functions as an independent resource. The material is presented in a nested manner that aids navigation and orientation.
The site defines terms such as common ancestor, the gradual process and adaptation. These terms help define the nature and relationship of evolution to other concepts in science. The site also provides an overview of how the concept of evolution has been researched and validated. This information can help dispel the myths that are created by the creationists.
You can also consult a glossary that includes terms that are used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation: The tendency of heritable characteristics to become more suitable to a particular setting. This is a result of natural selection. It occurs when organisms with more adaptable traits are more likely survive and reproduce than those with less adaptable traits.
Common ancestor (also called common ancestor): The most recent ancestor that is shared by two or more species. By studying the DNA of these species it is possible to determine the common ancestor.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid: A huge biological molecular containing the necessary information for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences, which 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 relationship between two species in which evolutionary changes in one species are influenced by evolutionary changes in the other. Examples of coevolution are the interactions between predator and prey or parasite and host.
Origins
Species (groups of individuals who can interbreed) change through natural changes in the characteristics of their offspring. These changes are caused by a variety, including natural selection, genetic drift, and mixing of gene pools. The evolution of new species could take thousands of years. Environmental conditions, such as climate changes or competition for food resources and habitat can impede or accelerate the process.
The Evolution site traces through time the evolution of various groups of animals and plants and focuses on major changes within each group's past. It also explores the evolutionary origin of humans and humans, a subject that is crucial for students to understand.
Darwin's Origin was written in 1859, at a time when only a handful of antediluvian fossils of human beings had been discovered. One of them was the infamous skullcap and bones that were discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto in Germany which is now believed to be an early Homo neanderthalensis. Although the skullcap was not published until 1858, just a year before the first edition of the Origin was published, it's very unlikely that Darwin had seen or heard of it.
While the site focuses on biology, it also includes a good deal of information about geology and paleontology. Among the best features on the site are a timeline of events that show how climatic and geological conditions have changed over time and an outline of the distribution of a few fossil groups that are featured on the site.
Although the site is a companion to the PBS television show but it also stands on its own as an excellent resource for teachers and students. The site is well-organized, and provides clear links to the introduction material of Understanding Evolution (developed under the National Science Foundation's funding) and the more specific features of the museum's website. These links facilitate the transition from the enthralling cartoon style of the Understanding Evolution pages to the more sophisticated world of research science. There are links to John Endler's experiments with guppies, which illustrate the importance ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life has resulted in a variety of plants, animals and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures in their geological context and has a number of advantages over the current observational and experimental methods in its exploration of evolutionary phenomena. Paleobiology is able to study not only processes and events that take place regularly or over time, but also the relative abundance and distribution of different species of animals across the geological time.
The website is divided into various ways to learn about evolution that include "Evolution 101," which takes the viewer on a line through the nature of science and the evidence that supports the theory of evolution. The course also focuses on common misconceptions about evolution and the evolution of thought.
Each of the main sections on the Evolution website is equally well-designed, with materials that are suited to a variety of educational levels and teaching styles. The site includes a variety of interactive and multimedia content that include video clips, animations and virtual labs, in addition to its general textual content. The content is organized in a nested, bread crumb style that facilitates navigation and orientation within the vast Web site.
For instance the page "Coral Reef Connections" gives a brief overview of coral relationships and their interactions with other organisms, then narrows down to a single clam that can communicate with its neighbors and react to changes in water conditions that occur at the level of the reef. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary interactive and multimedia pages provides an excellent introduction to many topics in evolutionary biology. 에볼루션 룰렛 includes an overview of the role of natural selectivity and the concept of phylogenetics analysis which is a crucial method for understanding the evolution of change.
Evolutionary Theory
Evolution is a common thread that is found throughout all branches of biology. A wide selection of resources helps teachers teach evolution across the disciplines of life sciences.
One resource, the companion to PBS's television show Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of an Web site that provides depth as well as broadness in terms of educational resources. The site features a wealth of interactive learning modules. It also features an "bread crumb structure" that allows students to move away from the cartoon-like style of Understanding Evolution and onto elements on this large website more closely linked to the fields of research science. 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.
Another resource that is worth mentioning is the Evolution Library on this web site, which contains an extensive collection of multimedia assets connected to evolution. The content is organized into curricula-based paths that correspond to the learning objectives set out in the biology standards. It includes seven short videos specifically designed for classroom use, which can be streamed for no cost or purchased on DVD.
A variety of crucial questions remain in the midst of evolutionary biology, including the factors that trigger evolution and the speed at which it occurs. This is particularly true for human evolution, where it's been difficult to reconcile that the physical characteristics of humans derived from apes with religious beliefs that hold that humans are unique in the universe and has a special place in creation with soul.
In addition there are a myriad of ways that evolution could be triggered with natural selection being the most widely accepted theory. However scientists also study different kinds of evolution like mutation, genetic drift, and sexual selection, among other things.
Although many scientific fields of study are in conflict with literal interpretations in religious texts, evolution biology has been a source of intense debate and opposition from religious fundamentalists. While certain religions have been able to reconcile their beliefs with the theories of evolution, others aren't.