Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology educators, misinformation about evolution remain. Pop science fiction has led a lot of people to believe that biologists aren't believers in evolution.
This rich Web site, which is a companion to the PBS program offers teachers resources that promote evolution education, while avoiding the kinds of misconceptions which undermine it. It's laid out in a nested "bread crumb" format to make it easy for navigation and orientation.
Definitions
Evolution is a complicated and difficult subject to teach well. It is often misunderstood even by non-scientists, and even scientists are guilty of using an interpretation that is confusing the issue. This is particularly true when it comes to discussions on the nature of the word.
It is crucial to define the terms that are used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website provides this in an easy and helpful way. The website is a companion to the series that first aired in 2001, but it can also function as an independent resource. The material is presented in a nested manner that assists in navigation and orientation.
The site defines terms such as common ancestor and gradual process. These terms help to define the nature and significance of evolution with other scientific concepts. The website then provides an overview of how the concept of evolution has been tested and verified. This information will help to dispel the myths created by creationists.
You can also access a glossary which includes terms used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation: The tendency for heritable traits to become better suitable to a particular setting. This is due to natural selection. It occurs when organisms that have better adapted traits are more likely to survive and reproduce than those with less adaptable traits.
Common ancestor (also called common ancestor) is the most recent ancestral ancestor shared by two or more species. The common ancestor can be identified by studying the DNA of these species.
Deoxyribonucleic acid: A massive biological molecule that contains information needed for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences which are strung into long chains called chromosomes. Mutations are the basis for new genetic information in cells.
Coevolution is a relationship between two species in which evolutionary changes in one species are influenced by evolutionary changes in the other. Coevolution can be seen in the interaction of predator and prey, or parasite and hosts.
Origins
Species (groups that can interbreed) change through a series natural changes in the traits of their offspring. Changes can be caused by numerous factors, like natural selection, gene drift and mixing of the gene pool. The evolution of a new species may take thousands of years and the process may be slowed down or speeded up by environmental conditions such as climate change or the competition for food or habitat.
The Evolution site tracks the development of a variety of groups of animals and plants over time, focusing on the major shifts that occurred throughout each group's history. It also examines the evolution of humans, which is a topic of particular importance to students.
When Darwin wrote the Origin, only a handful of antediluvian human fossils had been discovered. The famous skullcap, along with the associated bones, was discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto of Germany. It is now known as an early Homo neanderthalensis. While the skullcap wasn't published until 1858, which was a year before the first edition of the Origin appeared, it is extremely unlikely that Darwin had heard or seen of it.
While the site focuses on biology, it also contains a wealth of information about geology as well as paleontology. Among the best features of the website are a set of timelines which show how climatic and geological conditions changed over time, as well as a map of the distribution of some fossil groups listed on the site.
Although the site is a companion piece to the PBS television show, it also stands on its own as a valuable resource for teachers and students. The site is well-organized and offers clear links between the introduction material in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more specific elements of the museum's web site. These hyperlinks facilitate the move from the enthralling cartoon style of the Understanding Evolution pages to the more sophisticated world of research science. In 에볼루션 게이밍 there are links to John Endler's experiments with guppies that illustrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life on Earth has produced a diversity of plants, animals, and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures within their geological context and has many advantages over the current observational and experimental methods of examining evolutionary processes. Paleobiology focuses on not only processes and events that happen regularly or over time but also the distribution and frequency of various animal groups across the geological time.
The website is divided into a variety of paths to learning evolution, including "Evolution 101," which takes the viewer on a liner path through the science of nature and the evidence to support the theory of evolution. The path also examines myths about evolution, and the background of evolutionary thinking.
Each of the main sections of the Evolution website is equally well-developed, and includes materials that are suited to a variety of curriculum levels and teaching styles. The site has a range of multimedia and interactive resources that include video clips, animations and virtual laboratories as well as general textual content. The content is laid out in a nested bread crumb fashion that aids navigation and orientation within the large Web site.
For instance the page "Coral Reef Connections" provides an overview of coral relationships and their interactions with other organisms. Then, it zooms in on a single clam that can communicate with its neighbours and respond to changes in the water conditions that occur at the level of the reef. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary, multimedia, and interactive pages on the site, offer an excellent introduction to the broad range of topics in evolutionary biology. The content includes a discussion on the significance of natural selectivity and the concept phylogenetics analysis, an important method for understanding the evolution of change.
Evolutionary Theory
Evolution is an underlying thread that runs through all branches of biology. A rich collection of resources helps teachers teach about evolution across all life sciences.
One resource, a companion to the PBS television series Understanding Evolution, is an exceptional example of an Web site that provides the depth and breadth of its educational resources. The site offers a variety of interactive learning modules. It also features an encased "bread crumb" structure that helps students transition from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this massive website that are more closely linked to the world of research science. For example an animation that explains the concept of genetic inheritance links to a page that focuses on John Endler's artificial selection experiments with guppies from the native ponds of Trinidad.
Another useful resource is the Evolution Library on this web site, which has an extensive collection of multimedia items related to evolution. The content is organized into courses that are based on curriculum and follow the learning objectives outlined in biology standards. It includes seven short videos designed specifically for classroom use, which can be streamed at no cost or purchased on DVD.
A variety of crucial questions remain at the heart of evolutionary biology, including the factors that trigger evolution and how fast it happens. This is especially applicable to human evolution where it has been difficult to reconcile the notion that the physical traits of humans derived from apes, and the religious beliefs that claim that humanity is unique in the universe and has an enviable place in creation with soul.
There are a variety of other ways evolution could occur and natural selection being the most popular theory. However, scientists also study other kinds of evolution, such as genetic drift, mutation, and sexual selection, among others.
Many fields of inquiry have a conflict with literal interpretations of religious texts evolutionary biology has been the subject of particularly fierce debate and opposition from religious fundamentalists. Some religions have reconciled their beliefs to evolution while others haven't.