Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts by biology educators, misconceptions persist about the evolution. Pop science nonsense has led people to believe that biologists don't believe evolution.
This rich Web site - companion to the PBS series - provides teachers with materials which support evolution education and avoid the kinds of misinformation that can hinder it. It's laid out in a nested "bread crumb" format for ease of navigation and orientation.
Definitions
Evolution is a complex and difficult subject matter to teach well. Non-scientists often misunderstand the subject and some scientists use a definition which confuses it. This is particularly true when discussing the definition of the words.
It is therefore important to define the terms used in evolutionary biology. 에볼루션 무료체험 for the PBS show, Understanding Evolution, does this in a clear and useful way. The site is both an accompaniment to the 2001 series, but also a resource on its own. The material is presented in a nested fashion that assists in navigation and orientation.
The site defines terms like common ancestor, the gradual process and adaptation. These terms help to define the nature of evolution as well as its relationship to other concepts in science. The website provides a summary of the way the concept of evolution has been examined. This information can be used to dispel the myths that have been engendered by creationists.
It is also possible to get a glossary of terms that are used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation is the tendency of heritable traits to be better suited to an environment. This is due to natural selection, which occurs when organisms that are better-adapted traits are more likely to survive and reproduce than those with less adapted characteristics.
Common ancestor: The most recent 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 that holds the information needed for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences that are strung into long chains called chromosomes. Mutations are the cause of new genetic information within cells.
Coevolution is a relationship between two species, where the evolutionary changes of one species influence evolutionary changes in the other. Examples of coevolution include the interactions between predator and prey, or host and parasite.
Origins
Species (groups that can crossbreed), evolve through a series natural changes in the traits 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 new species can take thousands of years. Environmental conditions, such as climate change or competition for food and habitat, can slow or accelerate the process.
The Evolution site follows the evolution of various species of plants and animals with a focus on major changes in each group's past. It also explores human evolution and is a subject of particular importance for students.
Darwin's Origin was written in 1859, when only a handful of antediluvian fossils of humans had been found. The most famous among them was the skullcap and associated bones found in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto in Germany that is now thought as an early Homo neanderthalensis. It is unlikely that Darwin knew about the skullcap when it was published in 1858, one year after the publication of the first edition of The Origin.
While the site focuses on biology, it also offers a lot of information about geology as well as paleontology. One of the most appealing features on the site are a series of timelines which show the way in which climatic and geological conditions changed over time, as well as a map of the distribution of a few fossil groups listed on the site.
While the site is a companion piece to a PBS television show, it also stands on its own as a valuable resource for teachers and students. The site is well-organized and offers clear links to the introductory content of Understanding Evolution (developed under the National Science Foundation's assistance) as well as the more specialized features of the museum website. These links facilitate the transition from the engaging cartoon 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 demonstrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life has led to a variety of animals, plants and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures in their natural environment is a superior method of study over the current observational or experimental methods for exploring evolutionary processes. In addition to examining processes and events that take place regularly or over a lengthy period of time, paleobiology can be used to study the diversity of species of organisms and their distribution across the course of geological time.
The site is divided up into different paths that can be chosen to learn about evolution. One of the paths, "Evolution 101," walks the reader through the complexities and evidence of evolution. The path also examines myths regarding evolution, and the background of evolutionary thinking.
Each of the main sections on the Evolution website is equally well-developed, with materials that support a variety curriculum levels and teaching styles. In addition to the standard textual content, the site offers a wide range of multimedia and interactive resources like videos, animations and virtual labs. The content is laid out in a nested bread crumb-like fashion that helps with navigation and orientation within the large web site.
The page "Coral Reef Connections" For instance, it provides a comprehensive overview of coral relationships and interactions with other organisms, and then is enlarged to show a single clam, which is able to communicate with its neighbours and respond to changes in the conditions of the water at the reef level. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary, multimedia, and interactive pages on the website, provide an excellent introduction to a wide range of topics in evolutionary biology. The material includes an overview of the importance of natural selection and the concept phylogenetics analysis, an important tool to understand evolutionary changes.
Evolutionary Theory
Evolution is an underlying thread that connects all branches of biology. A rich collection of resources helps 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 depth and breadth in terms of its educational resources. The site features a wide range of interactive learning modules. It also features an embedded "bread crumb" structure that allows students to move from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this large Web site more closely tied to the field of research science. An animation that introduces students to the concept of genetics links to a page that highlights John Endler's experiments with artificial selection using Guppies in native ponds in Trinidad.
Another useful resource is the Evolution Library on this Web site, which contains an extensive multimedia library of assets connected to evolution. The content is organized according to curricula-based pathways that correspond to the learning objectives set out in the biology standards. It includes seven short videos specifically designed for use in classrooms, and can be streamed for no cost or purchased on DVD.
A variety of crucial questions remain at the heart of evolutionary biology, such as what triggers evolution and how fast it occurs. This is especially 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 notion that human beings have innate physical traits evolved from apes.
There are a myriad of other ways evolution can take place, with natural selection as the most well-known theory. Scientists also study different types such as genetic drift, and sexual selection.
While many scientific fields of inquiry are in conflict with the literal interpretations of the Bible, evolutionary biology has been the subject of intense controversy and resistance from religious fundamentalists. While certain religions have been able to reconcile their beliefs with the theories of evolution, others have not.