Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology educators, misconceptions persist about the evolution. Pop science nonsense has led people to believe that biologists don't believe evolution.
This rich Web site - companion to the PBS series It provides teachers with materials that support evolution education and avoid the kinds of misinformation that can hinder it. It's organized in a nested "bread crumb" format to make it easy for navigation and orientation.
Definitions
Evolution is a complicated and difficult subject matter to teach effectively. It is often misunderstood by non-scientists, and even scientists have been guilty of using a definition that confuses the issue. This is especially relevant when it comes to the meaning of the words themselves.
Therefore, it is crucial to define the terms used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website does this in an easy and helpful way. The website is a companion to the series that first aired in 2001, but also functions as an independent resource. The material is presented in a structured manner that makes it simpler to navigate and understand.
The site defines terms like common ancestor, gradual process, and adaptation. These terms help define the nature of evolution and its relationship to evolution with other scientific concepts. The website provides a summary of the ways that evolution has been tested. This information can be used to dispel the myths that have been created by creationists.
You can also consult a glossary that includes terms that are used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
The process of adaptation is the tendency of heritable traits to be more suited to the environment. This is due to natural selection. It occurs when organisms that are better-adapted traits are more likely survive and reproduce than those with less adapted characteristics.
Common ancestor: The latest common ancestor of two or more species. By analyzing DNA from these species it is possible to identify the common ancestor.
Deoxyribonucleic acid: A huge biological molecule that contains information needed for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotides arranged in sequences 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 relationship between two species in which evolutionary changes in one species are influenced by evolutionary changes in the other. Examples of coevolution include the interactions between predator and prey or parasite and host.
Origins
Species (groups of individuals that are able to interbreed) evolve through natural changes in the traits of their offspring. go to the website of these changes are numerous factors, like natural selection, gene drift, and mixing of the gene pool. The evolution of new species can take thousands of years. Environmental conditions, such as changes in the climate or competition for food or habitat can slow or speed up the process.
The Evolution site tracks through time the emergence of various animal and plant groups with a focus on major changes in each group's history. It also explores the human evolutionary roots and humans, a subject that is particularly important for students to comprehend.
When Darwin wrote the Origin in 1859, only a handful of antediluvian human fossils 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 as an early Homo neanderthalensis. It is unlikely that Darwin knew about the skullcap, which was published in 1858, one year after the first edition of The Origin. Origin.
The site is mostly an online biology resource however it also includes many details on paleontology and geology. The most impressive features of the website are a timeline of events that illustrate how geological and climatic conditions have changed over time and an interactive map of the distribution of a few fossil groups that are featured on the site.
While the site is a companion to the PBS television series, it also stands on its own as a great resource for teachers and students. The site is well-organized and offers clear links to the introduction material of Understanding Evolution (developed under the National Science Foundation's funding) and the more specific features on the museum's website. These hyperlinks make it easy to transition from the cartoon-style Understanding Evolution pages into the more sophisticated realms of research science. There are links to John Endler's experiments with guppies that illustrate the importance ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life has produced a variety of animals, plants and insects. Paleobiology, the study of these creatures within their geological environment is a superior method of study over modern observational or experimental methods for exploring evolutionary phenomena. Paleobiology focuses on not just the processes and events that take place regularly or over time, but also the relative abundance and distribution of various animal groups across the geological time.
The site is divided into a variety of pathways to understanding evolution that include "Evolution 101," which takes the viewer on a liner path through the nature of science and the evidence to support the theory of evolution. The path also explores misconceptions about evolution as well as the history of evolutionary thinking.
Each of the other main sections of the Evolution site is equally well constructed, with materials that can support a variety of educational levels and pedagogical styles. The site offers a wide array of interactive and multimedia resources, including video clips, animations and virtual laboratories, in addition to its general textual content. The content is presented in a nested bread crumb-like fashion that helps with navigation and orientation within the large web site.
The page "Coral Reef Connections" For instance, it gives a brief overview of the relationships between corals and interactions with other organisms, and then is enlarged to show one clam, which can communicate with its neighbours and respond to changes in the water conditions that occur on the reef level. This page, along with the other multidisciplinary multimedia and interactive pages, gives a good introduction to the many areas of evolutionary biology. The content also includes an overview of the importance of natural selection and the concept phylogenetics analysis, an important tool to understand evolutionary changes.
Evolutionary Theory
Evolution is an underlying thread that runs through all branches of biology. A vast collection of resources helps teachers teach about evolution across the life sciences.
One resource, which is the companion to PBS's television series Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of a Web site that provides depth and broadness in terms of educational resources. The site has a wide array of interactive learning modules. It also features an embedded "bread crumb" structure that helps students move from the cartoon-like style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this huge site that are closer to the world of research science. For instance, an animation introducing the notion of genetic inheritance leads to a page highlighting John Endler's artificial selection experiments with guppies from the native ponds of Trinidad.
Another helpful resource is the Evolution Library on this Web site, which has an extensive collection of multimedia items connected to evolution. The content is organized according to curricula-based pathways that correspond to the learning objectives outlined in biology standards. It includes seven short videos specifically designed for use in classrooms. These can be streamed or purchased as DVDs.
A variety of crucial questions remain at the heart of evolutionary biology, such as the factors that trigger evolution and how fast it occurs. This is particularly true for the evolution of humans where it was a challenge to reconcile religious beliefs that held that humanity has a special place in creation and a soul with the notion that our physical traits were derived from Apes.
In addition, there are a number of ways in which evolution could be triggered, with natural selection being the most widely accepted theory. Scientists also study other kinds like mutation, genetic drift and sexual selection.
Although many scientific fields of study are in conflict with literal interpretations in religious texts, the concept of 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.