Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology teachers, misinformation about evolution remain. People who have been exposed to the nonsense of pop science often believe that biologists are saying they do not believe in evolution.
This rich Web site, which is a complement to the PBS program that provides teachers with resources that support the evolution of education, while avoiding the kinds of misconceptions that hinder it. It's laid out in a nested "bread crumb" format for ease of navigation and orientation.
Definitions
It is difficult to properly teach evolution. People who are not scientists often have a difficult time understanding the subject and some scientists use a definition which confuses it. This is especially relevant to debates about the definition of the word itself.
Therefore, it is crucial to define the terms that are used in evolutionary biology. The website for the PBS show, Understanding Evolution, does this in a clear and helpful manner. The site is a companion site to the show which first aired in 2001, but it also functions as an independent resource. The content is presented in a nested fashion which aids navigation and orientation.
The site defines terms like common ancestor (or common ancestor), gradual process and adaptation. 에볼루션 룰렛 help to define the nature of evolution and its relationship to evolution to other concepts in science. The website then provides an overview of how the concept of evolution has been vetted and validated. This information can be used to dispel myths that have been engendered by creationists.
You can also access a glossary which includes terms used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
The process of adaptation is the tendency of heritable traits to become more suitable to their environment. This is a 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 most recent common ancestor of two or more distinct species. The common ancestor can be identified through analyzing the DNA of the species.
Deoxyribonucleic acid: A huge biological molecule that contains information required for cell replication. The information is contained in sequences of nucleotides that are strung together 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 of the other. Coevolution is evident through the interaction between predator and prey, or parasite and hosts.
Origins
Species (groups that can crossbreed) develop through a series natural changes in the traits of their offspring. These changes can be caused by many factors, such as natural selection, gene drift and mixing of the gene pool. The development of a new species could take thousands of years and the process can be slowed or increased by environmental conditions such as climate change or the competition for food or habitat.
The Evolution site traces the emergence of a variety of groups of animals and plants over time with a focus on the key changes that took place in the evolution of each group's history. It also examines the evolutionary history of humans which is especially important for students to comprehend.
When Darwin wrote the Origin, only a handful of antediluvian human fossils had been found. Among them was the famous skullcap and the associated bones discovered in 1856 at the Little Feldhofer Grotto in Germany that is now thought as an early Homo neanderthalensis. It is unlikely that Darwin knew about the skullcap when it was published in 1858, one year after the publication of the first edition of The Origin.
While the site is focused on biology, it includes a good deal of information about geology and paleontology. Among the best features of the website are a series of timelines that show how climatic and geological conditions have changed over time, as well as an outline of the distribution of some fossil groups listed on the site.
The site is a companion to a PBS TV series but it could also be used as an educational resource by teachers and students. The site is well-organized, and provides clear links to the introduction information of Understanding Evolution (developed under the National Science Foundation's support) and the more specific features of the museum's website. These hyperlinks make it easier to transition from the cartoon-style Understanding Evolution pages into the more sophisticated worlds of research science. In particular, there are links to John Endler's experiments with Guppies, which demonstrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life has resulted in many species of plants, animals and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures in their geological context and has numerous advantages over the current observational and experimental methods of examining evolutionary processes. Paleobiology can examine not only the process and events that take place regularly or over time but also the distribution and frequency of different groups of animals in space throughout the geological time.
The website is divided into various routes that can be taken to learn about evolution. One of the paths, "Evolution 101," guides the user through the complexities and evidence of evolution. The path also explores the most common misconceptions about evolution, as well as the evolution theory's history.
Each of the other sections of the Evolution site is similarly constructed, with materials that support a variety of different pedagogical levels and curriculum levels. In addition to the general textual content, the site features an extensive selection of interactive and multimedia resources like videos, animations, and virtual laboratories. The breadcrumb-like arrangement of the content assists with navigation and orientation on the vast website.
For 에볼루션 룰렛 " provides an overview of coral relationships and their interaction with other organisms. Then, it narrows down to a single clam that can communicate with its neighbours and respond to changes in the water conditions that occur at the reef level. This page, along with the other multidisciplinary multimedia and interactive pages, offers a great introduction to many topics in evolutionary biology. The information also includes an explanation of the role of natural selection and the concept of phylogenetic analysis, which is an important tool in understanding evolutionary change.
Evolutionary Theory
For biology students, evolution is a key thread that weaves together all the branches of the field. A wide range of resources supports teaching about evolution across all life sciences.
One resource, which is the companion to PBS's television show Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of a Web site that provides depth and wide range of educational resources. The site offers a range of interactive learning modules. It also has an "bread crumb structure" that helps students move away from the cartoon-like style used in Understanding Evolution and onto elements on this site that are more closely linked to the realms of research science. An animation that introduces students to the concept of genetics, which links to a page highlighting John Endler's experiments in artificial selection using guppies on native ponds in Trinidad.
The Evolution Library on this website is a vast multimedia library of assets related to evolution. The content is organized according to curricula-based pathways that correspond to the learning objectives outlined in the biology standards. It includes seven short videos designed specifically for classroom use, which can be streamed for no cost or purchased on DVD.
Evolutionary biology is an area of study that has many important questions to answer, such as what triggers evolution and the speed at which it takes place. This is particularly true for the evolution of humans which was a challenge to reconcile religious beliefs that humanity has a special place in creation and a soul, with the notion that human beings have innate physical traits originated from the apes.
There are a myriad of other ways in which evolution can take place, with natural selection as the most widely accepted theory. Scientists also study other types such as genetic drift and sexual selection.
While many fields of scientific inquiry are in conflict with literal interpretations of religious texts Evolutionary biology has been the subject of fierce debate and opposition from religious fundamentalists. Some religions have reconciled their beliefs to evolution but others haven't.