Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology teachers, misinformation about evolution persist. People who have taken in pop science nonsense often assume that biologists don't believe in evolution.
This site, a companion to the PBS program offers teachers resources that support the evolution of education while avoiding the types of misconceptions that can hinder it. It's arranged in a nested "bread crumb" format to facilitate navigation and orientation.
Definitions
Evolution is a complex and difficult subject matter to teach well. Many non-scientists are unable to grasp the concept and some scientists use a definition that confuses it. This is particularly true when it comes to discussions on the definition of the word itself.
It is therefore important to define the terms used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website helps you define these terms in a simple and efficient way. The site serves as an accompaniment to the 2001 series, and also a resource on its own. The information is presented in an organized manner that makes it simpler to navigate and comprehend.
The site defines terms such as common ancestor, gradual process, and adaptation. These terms help define the nature and significance of evolution with other scientific concepts. The site also provides an overview of how the concept of evolution has been vetted and verified. 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 process of changing hereditary traits to become better suited to an environment. This is the result of natural selection, which happens when organisms that have more adaptable traits are more likely survive and reproduce than those with less adaptable characteristics.
Common ancestor: The latest common ancestor of two or more distinct species. The common ancestor can be identified through analyzing the DNA of the species.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid: A large biological molecular containing the necessary information for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences that are strung into long chains, referred to as chromosomes. Mutations are the reason behind the creation of new genetic information inside cells.
Coevolution is the relationship between two species, where the evolutionary changes of one species are influenced evolutionary changes in the other. Coevolution can be observed in the interactions between predator and prey, or parasites and hosts.
Origins
Species (groups that can crossbreed) change by a series of natural variations in the traits of their offspring. These changes can be caused by numerous factors, like natural selection, gene drift, and mixing of the gene pool. The evolution of new species could take thousands of years. Environmental conditions, such as climate changes or competition for food or habitat, can slow or accelerate the process.
The Evolution site tracks the evolution of a variety of species of plants and animals over time with a focus on the key transitions that occurred in the evolution of each group's history. It also explores the evolutionary history of humans and humans, a subject that is crucial for students to comprehend.
When Darwin wrote the Origin, only a handful of antediluvian human fossils had been discovered. The famous skullcap, along with the bones associated with it, 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, one year before the first edition of the Origin was published, it's extremely unlikely that Darwin had seen or heard of it.
The site is mostly a biology site, but it also contains many details on geology and paleontology. One of the most appealing features on the site are a timeline of events which show how climatic and geological conditions have changed over time as well as an interactive map of the distribution of a few fossil groups listed on the site.
The site is a companion for a PBS television series, but it can be used as a resource by teachers and students. The site is extremely well organized and provides clear links between the introduction material in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more specialized elements of the museum Web site. 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 research with guppies that illustrate 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 natural environment offers many advantages over the current observational or experimental methods of studying evolutionary phenomena. Paleobiology focuses on not only processes and events that occur frequently or over time, but also the distribution and frequency of different species of animals in space throughout the geological time.
The site is divided into different paths that can be chosen to gain knowledge about evolution. One of these paths, "Evolution 101," guides the user through the evolution of nature and the evidence of evolution. The path also explores common misconceptions about evolution as well as the evolution of thought.
Each of the other sections of the Evolution site is similarly constructed, with materials that can support a variety of different pedagogical levels and curriculum levels. The site has a range of interactive and multimedia resources that include animations, video clips and virtual labs as well as general textual content. The content is laid out in a nested bread crumb style that facilitates navigation and orientation within the large Web site.
에볼루션 슬롯 For instance, the page "Coral Reef Connections" provides a comprehensive overview of the relationships between corals and interactions with other organisms and then is enlarged to show a single clam, which is able to communicate with its neighbors and react to changes in the water conditions that occur on the reef level. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary multimedia and interactive pages, gives a good introduction to a variety of topics in evolutionary biology. The content includes a discussion on the significance of natural selectivity and the concept phylogenetics analysis, an important tool for understanding evolutionary change.
Evolutionary Theory
Evolution is a common thread that connects all branches of biology. A wide selection of resources helps teachers teach evolution across the disciplines of life sciences.
One resource, which is a companion to the PBS television series Understanding Evolution, is an excellent example of a Web site that offers both depth and breadth in its educational resources. The site has a variety of interactive learning modules. It also has a "bread crumb structure" that allows students to move away from the cartoon-like style that is used in Understanding Evolution and onto elements on this site that are more closely related to the realms of research science. An animation that introduces students to the concept of genetics links to a page that highlights John Endler's artificial-selection experiments with Guppies living in ponds native to Trinidad.
The Evolution Library on this website has a huge multimedia library of resources that are associated to evolution. The content is organized according to curricula-based pathways that correspond to the learning objectives set out in the standards for biology. It contains seven short videos that are intended for use in the classroom. These are available to stream or purchase as DVDs.
A variety of crucial questions remain in the midst of evolutionary biology, including what triggers evolution and the speed at which it occurs. This is particularly true for the evolution of humans, where it was difficult to reconcile religious beliefs that held that humans have a distinct place in the creation and a soul with the notion that our physical traits were derived from apes.
There are a variety of other ways in which evolution can take place, with natural selection as the most widely accepted theory. Scientists also study other kinds such as genetic drift and sexual selection.
While many fields of scientific inquiry are in conflict with the literal interpretations of the Bible, evolutionary biology has been the subject of particularly controversial debate and resistance from religious fundamentalists. Certain religions have reconciled their beliefs to evolution but others haven't.