Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts by biology educators, misconceptions persist regarding evolution. People who have absorbed the nonsense of pop science often believe that biologists claim they don't believe in 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 make it difficult to understand. It's laid out in a nested "bread crumb" format for ease of navigation and orientation.
Definitions
It's not easy to properly teach evolution. It is often misunderstood by non-scientists, and even some scientists have been guilty of using a definition that confuses the issue. This is especially true when it comes to discussions on the meaning of the word itself.
It is important to define terms used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website does this in a straightforward and useful way. The site serves as an accompaniment to the 2001 series, and it is also a resource on its own. The material is presented in a way which aids navigation and orientation.
The site defines terms such as common ancestor, gradual process and so on. These terms help to frame the nature of evolution and its relationship to other scientific concepts. The website then provides an overview of how the concept of evolution has been researched and verified. This information can be used to dispel misconceptions that have been propagated by the creationists.
It is also possible to access a glossary of terms used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation: The tendency for heritable characteristics to become more suitable to a particular setting. This is the result of natural selection. Organisms with better-adapted traits are more likely than those with less-adapted characteristics to survive and reproduce.
Common ancestor: The most recent common ancestor of two or more distinct species. The common ancestor can be identified by analyzing the DNA of the species.
Deoxyribonucleic acid: A massive biological molecule that contains the information required for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences that are strung into long chains called chromosomes. Mutations are responsible for the creation of new genetic information inside cells.
Coevolution is a relationship between two species in which evolutionary changes in one species are affected by changes in evolutionary processes in the other. Examples of coevolution include the interactions between predator and prey, or the parasite and the host.
Origins
Species (groups of individuals that are able to interbreed) change through an array of natural changes in the characteristics of their offspring. These changes can be caused by various factors, including natural selection, gene drift and mixing of the gene pool. The evolution of a new species can take thousands of years, and the process may be slowed down or accelerated by environmental factors like climate change or the competition for food or habitat.
The Evolution site follows the evolution of various groups of animals and plants and focuses on major changes in each group's past. It also explores the evolutionary history of humans which is especially important for students to comprehend.
Darwin's Origin was published in 1859, when just a handful of antediluvian fossils of humans were discovered. The most famous among them was the skullcap and the associated bones discovered in 1856 at the Little Feldhofer Grotto in Germany which is now believed as an early Homo neanderthalensis. Although the skullcap was not published until 1858, just one year after the first edition of the Origin was published, it's highly unlikely that Darwin had ever heard of it.
While the site focuses on biology, it offers a lot of information on geology and paleontology. The Web site has a number of features that are especially impressive, such as an overview of how climate and geological conditions have changed over time. It also has a map showing the distribution of fossil groups.
The site is a companion for the PBS television series, but it could also be used as a resource for teachers and students. The site is well-organized and provides clear links to the introductory information of Understanding Evolution (developed under the National Science Foundation's funding) and the more specialized features on the museum's website. These links facilitate the transition from the cartoon-like style of the Understanding Evolution pages to the more sophisticated world of research science. There are also links to John Endler's experiments with guppies that illustrate the importance ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life has led to many species of plants, animals and insects. 에볼루션코리아 , the study of these creatures within their natural environment offers many advantages over modern observational or research methods for studying evolutionary processes. Paleobiology is able to study not just the processes and events that take place frequently or over time, but also the relative abundance and distribution of different groups of animals across the geological time.
The website is divided into various paths that can be chosen to study the subject of evolution. One of the paths, "Evolution 101," guides the user through the nature and evidence of evolution. The path also explores common misconceptions about evolution as well as the evolution theory's history.
Each of the main sections on the Evolution website is equally well-developed, and includes materials that can be used to support a variety of levels of curriculum and teaching methods. The site has a range of multimedia and interactive resources which include videos, animations, and virtual labs as well as general textual content. The breadcrumb-like organization of the content aids in navigation and orientation on the large website.
For example, the page "Coral Reef Connections" provides an overview of coral relationships and their interaction with other organisms, then zooms in on a single clam that can communicate with its neighbors and respond to changes in water conditions that occur at the reef level. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary multimedia and interactive pages, provides an excellent introduction to a variety of topics in evolutionary biology. The content includes an explanation of the importance of natural selection and the concept phylogenetics analysis as a key method for understanding the evolution of changes.
Evolutionary Theory
For biology students, evolution is a key thread that connects all branches of the field. A rich collection supports teaching evolution across the life science disciplines.
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 range of interactive learning modules. It also features an "bread crumb structure" that helps students move away from the cartoon style that is used in Understanding Evolution and onto elements of this vast website that are closely related to the realms of research science. An animation that introduces the concept of genetics links to a page highlighting John Endler's experiments in artificial selection using Guppies living in ponds native to Trinidad.
The Evolution Library on this website is a vast multimedia library of resources that are associated with evolution. The content is organized into courses that are based on curriculum and follow the learning objectives outlined in the biology standards. It contains seven videos designed for use in classrooms. They can be streamed or purchased as DVDs.
Evolutionary biology is a field of study that has many important questions to answer, such as what causes evolution and the speed at which it takes place. This is particularly applicable to human evolution where it has been difficult to reconcile that the innate physical characteristics of humans derived from apes with religious beliefs that hold that humans are unique among living things and has an enviable place in creation. It is a soul.
There are a variety of other ways in which evolution can occur and natural selection being the most popular theory. Scientists also study different types such as mutation, genetic drift, and sexual selection.
While many scientific fields of inquiry conflict with literal interpretations of religious texts evolutionary biology has been the subject of particularly intense controversy and resistance from religious fundamentalists. Certain religions have reconciled their beliefs with evolutionary biology, but others haven't.