Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts by biology educators, misconceptions persist regarding evolution. Pop science nonsense has led people to believe that biologists aren't believers 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 types of misconceptions that can hinder it. It's arranged in a nested "bread crumb" format to make it easy for navigation and orientation.
Definitions
Evolution is a complicated and difficult subject to teach effectively. Non-scientists often misunderstand the subject and some scientists use a definition that confuses it. This is particularly true when discussing the meaning of the words themselves.
It is therefore important to define the terms that are used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website does this in a straightforward and useful manner. The site is a companion to the show which first aired in 2001, but it can also function as an independent resource. The content is presented in a structured manner that makes it easier to navigate and understand.
The site defines terms such as common ancestor (or common ancestor), gradual process, and adaptation. These terms help frame the nature and relationship of evolution with other scientific concepts. The site then offers an overview of how the concept of evolution has been researched and confirmed. This information can be used to dispel misconceptions that have been propagated by the creationists.
You can also consult a glossary that contains terms used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation: The tendency for heritable traits to become better suitable to a particular setting. This is a result of natural selection. Organisms with more adaptable characteristics are more likely than those with less-adapted traits to reproduce and survive.
Common ancestor: The most recent common ancestor of two or more different species. By studying the DNA of these species, it is possible to identify the common ancestor.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid: A large biological molecular that holds the information required for cell replication. The information is contained in nucleotides arranged in sequences that are strung together to form long chains, also known as chromosomes. Mutations are the cause of new genetic information in cells.
Coevolution is a relation between two species, where the evolution of one species are influenced 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 an array of 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 development of new species can take thousands of years. Environmental conditions, like climate changes or competition for food and habitat can slow or speed up the process.
The Evolution site traces through time the evolution of different groups of animals and plants with a focus on major changes in each group's past. It also examines the evolutionary history of humans and humans, a subject that is particularly important for students to know.
Darwin's Origin was published in 1859, when just a few antediluvian fossils of human beings had been discovered. One of them was the infamous skullcap and associated bones found in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto in Germany which is now believed to be an early Homo neanderthalensis. It is unlikely that Darwin was aware of the skullcap when it was published in 1858, a year following the initial edition of The Origin.
While the site focuses on biology, it contains a wealth of information about geology and paleontology. The Web site has a number of features that are particularly impressive, such as a timeline of how geological and climate conditions have changed over the course of time. It also features an interactive map that shows the location of fossil groups.
Although the site is a companion piece to the PBS television show however, it can stand on its own as an excellent resource for teachers and students. The site is very well-organized and has clear links between the introduction information in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more specialized components of the museum's Web site. These hyperlinks facilitate the move from the engaging 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. They illustrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life on Earth has led to a wide variety of plants, animals, and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures within their geographical context and offers many advantages over the current observational and experimental methods in its exploration of evolutionary phenomena. Paleobiology can examine not just the processes and events that occur regularly or over time, but also the relative abundance and distribution of different species of animals in space throughout the geological time.
The site is divided into several paths that can be chosen to study the subject of evolution. One of the paths, "Evolution 101," walks the reader through the complexities and evidence of evolution. The path also reveals common misconceptions about evolution as well as the evolution of thought.
Each of the main sections of the Evolution website is equally well-developed, with materials that support a variety levels of curriculum and teaching methods. In addition to general textual content, the site also has a wide range of multimedia and interactive resources, such as video clips, animations, and virtual labs. The content is organized in a nested, bread crumb style that facilitates navigation and orientation within the large web site.
The page "Coral Reef Connections" For instance, the page "Coral Reef Connections" gives a brief overview of coral relationships and their interactions with other organisms and then zooms in to 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 on the website, provide an excellent introduction to a wide variety of topics in evolutionary biology. The material includes a discussion on the importance of natural selection and the concept of phylogenetics analysis, an important method for understanding the evolution of change.
Evolutionary Theory
For biology students the concept of evolution is a major thread that connects all branches of the field. 에볼루션 카지노 of resources can help teachers teach about evolution across the life sciences.
One resource, which is a companion to the PBS television series Understanding Evolution, is an excellent example of an Web site that provides the depth and breadth of its educational resources. The site offers a range of interactive learning modules. It also features a "bread crumb structure" that allows students to move away from the cartoon-like style used in Understanding Evolution and onto elements of this vast website that are closely connected to the worlds of research science. For example an animation that explains the notion of genetic inheritance leads to a page that focuses on John Endler's experiments in artificial selection using guppies in the ponds of his native country of Trinidad.
Another resource that is worth mentioning is the Evolution Library on this web site, which has an extensive collection of multimedia items related to evolution. The content is organized according to curricula-based pathways that correspond to the learning objectives outlined in the standards for biology. It includes seven short videos designed specifically for use in classrooms, and can be streamed at no cost or purchased on DVD.
A number of important questions remain in the midst of evolutionary biology, such as what causes evolution to occur and the speed at which it occurs. This is especially true in the case of human evolution which was a challenge to reconcile religious beliefs that humans have a distinct position in the universe and a soul, with the notion that our physical traits evolved from Apes.
There are also a number of other ways in which evolution could occur including natural selection, which is the most well-known theory. However scientists also study different types of evolution such as genetic drift, mutation, and sexual selection, among others.
Many fields of inquiry conflict with the literal interpretations of the Bible Evolutionary biology has been the subject of particularly fierce debate and opposition from religious fundamentalists. While some religions have been able to reconcile their beliefs with the notions of evolution, others haven't.