Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology educators, there are still a lot of misconceptions about the evolution. Pop science fiction has led a lot of 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 avoids the kinds of misconceptions that undermine it. It's organized in a "bread crumb" format to facilitate navigation and orientation.
Definitions
Evolution is a complicated and difficult subject matter to teach effectively. Non-scientists often misunderstand the subject and some scientists use a definition that confuses it. This is especially relevant when discussing the meaning of the words themselves.
It is therefore crucial to define the terms used in evolutionary biology. The website for the PBS show, Understanding Evolution, does this in a clear and useful manner. The website is a companion to the show that premiered in 2001, but can also function as an independent resource. The material is presented in a nested fashion that assists in navigation and orientation.
The site defines terms like common ancestor (or common ancestor), gradual process and adaptation. These terms help to define the nature of evolution and its relationship to evolution to other scientific concepts. The site also provides an overview of how the concept of evolution has been vetted and verified. 에볼루션 can help dispel the myths created by creationists.
You can also consult a glossary that contains terms that are used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation is the process of changing hereditary traits to become more suitable to their environment. This is the result of natural selection. Organisms with more adaptable traits are more likely than those with less-adapted traits to survive and reproduce.
Common ancestor (also called common ancestor): The most recent ancestor that is shared by two or more species. By analyzing the DNA from these species it is possible to determine the common ancestor.
Deoxyribonucleic acid: A massive biological molecule that holds the information required for cell replication. The information is contained in sequences of nucleotides that are strung together into long chains, also known as chromosomes. Mutations are responsible for the creation of new genetic information inside cells.
Coevolution is a relation between two species, where the evolutionary changes of one species are influenced evolutionary changes of the other. Coevolution can be seen through the interaction between predator and prey, or parasites and hosts.
Origins
Species (groups of individuals that can interbreed) develop through a series of natural changes in the traits of their offspring. These changes are caused by a variety such as natural selection, genetic drift, and mixing of gene pools. The evolution of a new species could take thousands of years and the process can be slowed down or accelerated due to environmental conditions, such as climate change or the competition for food or habitat.
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 human evolution, which is a topic of particular importance to students.
Darwin's Origin was written in 1859, when just a few antediluvian fossils of humans were discovered. The famous skullcap, with the bones associated with it, was discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto of Germany. It is now regarded as an early Homo neanderthalensis. Although the skullcap was not published until 1858, just a year before the first edition of the Origin was published, it is highly unlikely that Darwin had ever heard of it.
While the site focuses on biology, it offers a lot of information about geology and paleontology. Among the best features on the site are a series of timelines that show how climatic and geological conditions have changed over time as well as a map of the distribution of a few fossil groups that are featured on the site.
While the site is a companion piece to a PBS television show but it also stands on its own as an excellent resource for teachers and students. The site is well-organized, and provides clear links to the introduction material of Understanding Evolution (developed under the National Science Foundation's assistance) and the more specialized features of the museum website. These hyperlinks facilitate the move from the enthralling 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 that illustrate the importance ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life on Earth has led to a wide variety of animals, plants and insects. Paleobiology, the study of these creatures within their geological context is a superior method of study over modern observational or research methods for studying evolutionary phenomena. Paleobiology focuses on not just the processes and events that happen regularly or over time, but also the distribution and frequency of different species of animals in space over the course of geological time.
The website is divided into different routes that can be taken to learn about evolution. One of the paths, "Evolution 101," takes the viewer through the nature and evidence of evolution. The path also reveals the most common misconceptions about evolution, as well as the evolution of thought.
Each of the main sections of the Evolution website is equally well-designed, with materials that can be used to support a variety of levels of curriculum and teaching methods. The site includes a variety of interactive and multimedia resources that include videos, animations, and virtual labs as well as general textual content. The breadcrumb-like organization of the content helps with navigation and orientation on the large web site.
The page "Coral Reef Connections", for example, provides a comprehensive overview of the relationships between corals and their interactions with other organisms, and then is enlarged to show one clam that can communicate with its neighbors and respond to changes in conditions of the water that occur at the reef level. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary interactive and multimedia pages offers a great introduction to many topics in evolutionary biology. The material includes a discussion on the importance of natural selection and the concept phylogenetics analysis, an important tool to understand evolutionary change.
Evolutionary Theory
Evolution is a common thread that runs through all branches of biology. A rich collection of resources can help teachers teach about evolution across all life sciences.
One resource, the companion to PBS's TV series Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of a Web page that provides the depth and the broadness in terms of educational resources. The site features a wide range of interactive learning modules. It also features a nested "bread crumb" structure that helps students transition from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this large Web site more closely linked to the world of research science. An animation that introduces students to the concept of genetics is linked to a page highlighting John Endler's artificial-selection experiments with Guppies in native ponds in Trinidad.
Another resource that is worth mentioning is the Evolution Library on this site, which has an extensive collection of multimedia items that are related to evolution. The content is organized in curricula-based paths that correspond to the learning goals set forth in the standards for biology. It contains seven videos designed specifically for use in the classroom, and can be streamed at no cost or purchased on DVD.
Evolutionary biology is an area of study that poses many important questions to answer, such as the causes of evolution and how quickly it occurs. This is particularly applicable to human evolution which has made it difficult to reconcile the idea that the innate physical characteristics of humans were derived from apes, and the religious beliefs that claim that humanity is unique among living things and has a special place in creation. It is soul.
There are also a number of other ways in which evolution can occur and natural selection being the most well-known theory. However, scientists also study other kinds of evolution, such as mutation, genetic drift, and sexual selection, among other things.
While many fields of scientific inquiry are in conflict with literal interpretations of religious texts, evolutionary biology has been the subject of particularly controversial debate and resistance from religious fundamentalists. While some religions have been able to reconcile their beliefs with the ideas of evolution, other religions haven't.