Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology educators, there are still a lot of misconceptions about the evolution. People who have been exposed to pop science nonsense often assume that biologists claim they don't believe in evolution.
This site, a companion to the PBS program, provides teachers with materials that support the evolution of education while avoiding the types of misconceptions which make it difficult to understand. It's laid out in a "bread crumb" format to make navigation and orientation easier.
Definitions
It is difficult to properly teach evolution. It is often misunderstood by non-scientists, and even scientists have been guilty of using definitions that confuse the issue. This is particularly relevant when it comes to the nature of the words themselves.
It is therefore crucial to define the terms used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website provides this in a straightforward and useful manner. The site is both an accompanying site for the 2001 series, but it is also a resource on its own. The material is presented in a nested manner that assists in navigation and orientation.
The site defines terms like common ancestor and the gradual process. These terms help frame the nature of evolution as well as its relation to other concepts in science. 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 engendered by creationists.
It is also possible to access the glossary of terms used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
The process of adaptation is the tendency of heritable traits to become more suited to the 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 known as common ancestor) is the most recent ancestral ancestor shared by two or more species. By studying the DNA of these species it is possible to identify the common ancestor.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid: A huge biological molecular that holds the necessary information for cell replication. The information is contained in a sequence of nucleotides that are strung together into long chains, referred to as chromosomes. Mutations are responsible for the creation of new genetic information within cells.
Coevolution is a relationship between two species where 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 parasite and host.
Origins
Species (groups which can interbreed) change by a series of natural variations in their offspring's traits. The causes of these changes are numerous factors, like natural selection, gene drift and mixing of the gene pool. The development of a new species may take thousands of years and the process could be slowed down or accelerated by environmental factors like climate change or the competition for food or habitat.
The Evolution site tracks through time the emergence of various groups of animals and plants, focusing on major transitions in each group's history. It also focuses on human evolution and is a subject that is particularly important for students.
Darwin's Origin was written in 1859, when just a handful of antediluvian fossils of humans were discovered. The famous skullcap, with the associated bones, was discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto of Germany. It is now recognized as an early Homo neanderthalensis. While the skullcap wasn't published until 1858, which was one year after the first edition of the Origin was published, it is highly unlikely that Darwin had heard or seen of it.
The site is primarily one of biology however it also includes a lot of information on paleontology and geology. The website has a number of features that are particularly impressive, including a timeline of how climate and geological conditions have changed over the course of time. It also features an interactive map that shows the location of fossil groups.
While the site is a companion to a PBS television show however, it can stand on its own as a valuable source for teachers and students. The site is well organized and provides 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. There are links to John Endler's experiments with guppies that demonstrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life has led to a variety of plants, animals and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures in their geological context and has a number of advantages over modern observational and experimental methods for analyzing evolutionary phenomena. Paleobiology is able to study not only processes and events that happen regularly or over time, but also the relative abundance and distribution of different species of animals across geological time.
The site is divided into various ways to learn about evolution which include "Evolution 101," which takes the viewer on a line through the nature of science and the evidence supporting the theory of evolution. The path also explores misconceptions regarding 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 educational levels and teaching styles. The site includes a variety of interactive and multimedia resources that include animations, video clips and virtual laboratories in addition to general textual content. The breadcrumb-like arrangement of the content aids in navigation and orientation on the massive Web site.
The page "Coral Reef Connections" For instance, it provides a comprehensive overview of the relationships between corals and interactions with other organisms and then zooms in on a single clam, which can communicate with its neighbors and react to changes in the conditions of the water that occur at the reef level. This page, along with the other multidisciplinary, multimedia, and interactive pages on the website, provide an excellent introduction to a broad variety of topics in evolutionary biology. The information also includes an overview of the importance of natural selection as well as the concept of phylogenetic analysis which is a key tool for understanding the evolution of changes.
Evolutionary Theory
For biology students evolution is a crucial thread that binds all branches of the field. A vast collection of resources supports teaching about evolution across all life sciences.
One resource, a companion to the PBS television series Understanding Evolution, 에볼루션카지노사이트 is an outstanding example of an Web site that offers both depth and a variety of educational resources. The site features a wide range of interactive learning modules. It also has an "bread crumb structure" that helps students move away from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution and onto elements on this large website more closely related to the fields of research science. For example an animation that explains the concept of genetic inheritance links to a page that focuses on John Endler's experiments with artificial selection with guppies in native ponds of Trinidad.
Another resource that is worth mentioning is the Evolution Library on this Web site, which contains an extensive library of multimedia resources that are related to evolution. The content is organized according to curriculum-based paths that parallel the learning objectives outlined in biology standards. It contains seven short videos designed for classroom use. They can be streamed or purchased as DVDs.
Evolutionary biology is still an area of study that poses many important questions, such as what triggers evolution and how quickly it takes place. This is particularly true for human evolution, where it's been difficult to reconcile the notion that the physical characteristics of humans were derived from apes with religious beliefs that claim that humanity is unique among living things and has a special place in creation, with soul.
Additionally there are a myriad of ways that evolution can be triggered with natural selection being the most widely accepted theory. Scientists also study different types such as genetic drift, and sexual selection.
While many scientific fields of inquiry conflict with the literal interpretations of the Bible evolutionary biology has been the subject of intense controversy and resistance from religious fundamentalists. Certain religions have reconciled their beliefs with evolution, but others haven't.