Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology educators, misconceptions about evolution persist. Pop science nonsense has led people to believe that biologists aren't believers in evolution.
This site, which is a companion to the PBS program offers teachers resources that promote evolution education, while avoiding the kinds of misconceptions that undermine it. It's arranged in a nested "bread crumb" format to facilitate navigation and orientation.
Definitions
Evolution is a complex and difficult subject to teach well. Many non-scientists are unable to grasp the concept and some scientists employ a definition that confuses it. This is especially relevant when it comes to the meaning of the words themselves.
Therefore, it is crucial to define the terms that are used in evolutionary biology. The website for the PBS show, Understanding Evolution, does this in a clear and useful manner. The site is both a companion for the 2001 series, and also a resource of its own. The material is presented in a nested manner that assists in navigation and orientation.
The site defines terms like common ancestor, the gradual process, and adaptation. These terms help frame the nature and significance of evolution to other scientific concepts. The site provides an overview of the manner the concept of evolution has been examined. This information can be used to dispel misconceptions that have been created by creationists.
You can also access a glossary that contains terms used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation is the process of changing hereditary traits to become more suited to the environment. This is a result of natural selection. Organisms that have better-adapted characteristics are more likely than those with less-adapted traits to reproduce and survive.
Common ancestor (also called common ancestor) The most recent ancestral ancestor 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 contains the information necessary for cell replication. The information is stored in sequences of nucleotides that are strung together into long chains, also known as chromosomes. Mutations are the reason behind the creation of new genetic information within cells.
Coevolution is a relation between two species, where the evolutionary changes of one species are influenced evolutionary changes in the other. Examples of coevolution include the interaction between predator and prey, or host and parasite.
Origins
Species (groups which can interbreed) change by a series of natural variations in their offspring's traits. Changes can be caused by various factors, including natural selection, gene drift, and mixing of the gene pool. The development of new species can take thousands of years. Environmental conditions, like climate change or competition for food or habitat, can slow or accelerate the process.
The Evolution site tracks the evolution of a variety of groups of animals and plants over time and focuses on the most significant changes that took place in the evolution of each group's history. It also focuses on human evolution as a subject that is of particular interest to students.
When Darwin wrote the Origin, only a handful of antediluvian human fossils had been found. Among them was the famous skullcap and the associated bones discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto in Germany that is now thought as an early Homo neanderthalensis. It is highly unlikely that Darwin was aware of the skullcap when it was published in 1858, one year following the initial edition of The Origin. Origin.
While the site focuses on biology, it contains a wealth of information about geology as well as paleontology. One of the most appealing features of the Web site are a series of timelines which show how climatic and geological conditions changed over time, and a map of the distribution of a few fossil groups that are featured on the site.
The site is a companion for the PBS television series, but it can also be used as a resource by teachers and students. The site is extremely well-organized and offers clear links between the introductory content in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more specialized elements of the museum Web site. These hyperlinks facilitate the move from the cartoon-like style of the Understanding Evolution pages to the more sophisticated world of research science. There are Evolution KR to John Endler's experiments with guppies, which illustrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life on Earth has resulted in 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 the modern observational and research methods of examining evolutionary processes. In addition to exploring processes and events that occur regularly or over a long period of time, paleobiology can be used to study the relative abundance of different species of organisms and their distribution throughout the geological time.
The site is divided up into several options to learn about evolution. One of these paths, "Evolution 101," takes the viewer through the complexities and evidence of evolution. The path also explores common misconceptions about evolution and the evolution of thought.
Each of the main sections of the Evolution website is equally well-developed, with materials that are suited to a variety of levels of curriculum and teaching methods. In addition to the standard textual content, the site also has an extensive selection of multimedia and interactive content like videos, animations and virtual laboratories. The content is laid out in a nested bread crumb style that facilitates navigation and orientation on the web site.
The page "Coral Reef Connections" For instance, the page "Coral Reef Connections" provides an overview of coral relationships and their interactions with other organisms and then zooms in to a single clam, which is able communicate with its neighbors and react to changes in the conditions of the water at the reef level. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary multimedia and interactive pages, provides an excellent introduction to many topics in evolutionary biology. The content includes an overview of the importance of natural selection and the concept of phylogenetics as a key tool to understand evolutionary change.
Evolutionary Theory
For biology students the concept of evolution is a major thread that binds all the branches of the field. A wide selection of resources helps teachers teach evolution across all disciplines of life sciences.
One resource, a companion to the PBS television series Understanding Evolution, is an exceptional example of an Web site that offers both depth and a variety of educational resources. The site features a wealth of interactive learning modules. It also has an embedded "bread crumb" structure that allows students to move from the cartoon-like style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this large Web site closer to the field of research science. For instance an animation that introduces the concept of genetic inheritance links to a page that highlights John Endler's experiments in artificial selection using guppies in the ponds of his native country of Trinidad.
The Evolution Library on this website is a vast multimedia library of assets related to evolution. The content is organized according to curriculum-based pathways that correspond to the learning goals set forth in biology standards. It includes seven short videos designed specifically for use in the classroom, and can be streamed at no cost or purchased on DVD.
A variety of crucial questions remain in the midst of evolutionary biology, such as the factors that trigger evolution and the speed at which it occurs. This is particularly true for human evolution, which has made it difficult to reconcile the idea that the innate physical characteristics of humans derived from apes, and the religious beliefs that claim that humans are unique among living things and has a special place in creation with a soul.
There are also a number of other ways in which evolution can take place, with natural selection as the most popular theory. Scientists also study other kinds like mutation, genetic drift, and sexual selection.
While many fields of scientific inquiry are in conflict with the 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 theories of evolution, others have not.