Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology teachers, there are still misconceptions about the evolution. Pop science nonsense has led many people to believe that biologists aren't believers in evolution.
This rich Web site - companion to the PBS series - provides teachers with materials that support evolution education and avoids the kinds of myths that hinder it. It's laid out in the "bread crumb" format to make navigation and orientation easier.
Definitions
It's difficult to effectively teach evolution. It is often misunderstood by non-scientists and even scientists use an interpretation that is confusing the issue. This is especially true when it comes to discussions about the meaning of the word itself.
It is crucial to define the terms that are used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website helps you define these terms in an easy and helpful manner. It is an accompaniment to the 2001 series, but it is also a resource on its own. The material is presented in a nested manner which aids 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 as well as its relation to other scientific concepts. The site gives a comprehensive overview of the manner that evolution has been tested. This information can help dispel the myths that are created by the creationists.
You can also access a glossary which includes terms that are 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 that have better-adapted characteristics are more likely than those with less adapted traits to survive and reproduce.
Common ancestor: The latest common ancestor of two or more distinct species. By analyzing DNA from these species, it is possible to identify the common ancestor.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid: A huge biological molecular containing the necessary information for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences which are strung into long chains called chromosomes. Mutations are the reason behind the creation of new genetic information inside cells.
Coevolution is the relationship between two species in which the evolutionary changes of one species are influenced by evolutionary changes of the other. Examples of coevolution include the interaction between predator and prey, or host and parasite.
Origins
Species (groups of individuals that are able to interbreed) change through an array of natural changes in the traits of their offspring. These changes can be caused by many factors, such as 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 accelerate the process.
The Evolution site tracks the evolution of various animal and plant groups through time, focusing on the major shifts that occurred throughout the history of each group. It also examines the evolution of humans as a subject that is particularly important to students.
Darwin's Origin was published in 1859, when just a handful of antediluvian fossils of humans were discovered. Full Content , along 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. While the skullcap wasn't published until 1858, which was a year before the first edition of the Origin was published, it's highly unlikely that Darwin had ever heard of it.
The site is primarily a biology site however, it also has lots of information about geology and paleontology. The website has a number of features that are particularly impressive, such as the timeline of how climate and geological conditions have changed over the course of time. It also has a map showing the distribution of fossil groups.
The site is a companion to a PBS television series, but it can be used as a resource for teachers and students. The site is well-organized and provides easy links to the introductory content of Understanding Evolution (developed under the National Science Foundation's funding) and the more specific features of the museum's website. These links facilitate the transition from the engaging cartoon style of the Understanding Evolution pages to the more sophisticated world of research science. Particularly there are hyperlinks to John Endler's experiments with Guppies that demonstrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life on Earth has led to a wide variety of animals, plants, and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures in their geographical context and offers numerous advantages over the current observational and experimental methods for analyzing evolutionary phenomena. In addition to examining the processes and events that happen regularly or over a long period of time, paleobiology allows to study the diversity of kinds of organisms as well as their distribution across the geological time.
The Web site is divided into various pathways to understanding evolution, including "Evolution 101," which takes the user on a linear path through the science of nature and the evidence that supports the theory of evolution. The path also reveals common misconceptions about evolution and the evolution theory's history.
Each of the main sections of the Evolution website is equally well-developed, with materials that can be used to support a variety of educational levels and teaching styles. In addition to the general textual content, the site features an extensive selection of multimedia and interactive content, such as videos, animations and virtual labs. The content is organized in a nested, bread crumb fashion that aids navigation and orientation on the Web site.
The page "Coral Reef Connections" For instance, it gives a brief overview of coral relationships and their interactions with other organisms and zooms in on one clam, which can communicate with its neighbours and respond to changes in the conditions of the water at the reef level. This page, along with the other multidisciplinary multimedia and interactive pages, offers a great introduction to the many areas of evolutionary biology. The material also provides a discussion of the role of natural selection and the concept of phylogenetic analysis which is a crucial tool in understanding evolutionary change.
Evolutionary Theory
For biology students, evolution is a key thread that connects all the branches of the field. A wide range of resources supports teaching about evolution across all life sciences.
One resource, which is the companion to PBS's TV series Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of a Web page that offers both depth and wide range of educational resources. The site has a wide array of interactive learning modules. It also features a "bread crumb structure" that assists students in moving away from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution and onto elements on this large website more closely connected to the fields of research science. An animation that introduces the concept of genetics links to a page that highlights John Endler's artificial-selection experiments with Guppies in native ponds in Trinidad.
The Evolution Library on this website contains a large multimedia library of materials that deal to evolution. The content is organized according to curriculum-based pathways that correspond to the learning goals set forth in the biology standards. It contains seven videos specifically designed for classroom use, which can be streamed for no cost or purchased on DVD.
Evolutionary biology is still an area of study that has many important questions, such as what triggers evolution and how fast it takes place. This is particularly true for humans' evolution which was a challenge to reconcile religious beliefs that held that humans have a distinct place in creation and a soul, with the idea that innate physical traits were derived from the apes.
There are also a number of other ways evolution could occur and natural selection being the most well-known theory. Scientists also study different types like mutation, genetic drift, and sexual selection.
While many scientific fields of inquiry have a conflict with literal interpretations of religious texts, evolutionary biology has been the subject of intense controversy and resistance from religious fundamentalists. Certain religions have embraced their beliefs with evolution, while others haven't.