Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology educators, misconceptions about evolution remain. People who have taken in pop science nonsense often assume that biologists do not believe in evolution.
This site, which is a complement 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 laid out in the "bread crumb" format to make navigation and orientation easier.
Definitions
Evolution is a complex and difficult subject matter to teach well. People who are not scientists often have a difficult time understanding the subject, and some scientists even employ a definition that confuses it. This is especially relevant to discussions about the meaning of the word itself.
Therefore, it is essential to define terms that are used in evolutionary biology. The website for the PBS show, Understanding Evolution, does this in a clear and helpful way. The site is a companion site to the show which first aired in 2001, but it also functions as an independent resource. The content is presented in an organized manner that makes it easier to navigate and understand.
The site defines terms such as common ancestor (or common ancestor), gradual process, and adaptation. These terms help to define the nature and relationship of evolution to other concepts in science. The site then offers an overview of how the concept of evolution has been researched and confirmed. This information can be used to dispel the myths that have been created by creationists.
It is also possible to find a glossary of terms used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation: The tendency of heritable traits to become better suitable to a particular setting. This is the result of natural selection, which occurs when organisms with better adapted traits are more likely survive and reproduce than those with less adapted traits.
Common ancestor (also called common ancestor) The most recent ancestor that is shared by two or more species. The common ancestor can be identified by studying the DNA of the species.
Deoxyribonucleic acid: A huge biological molecule that contains information necessary for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences that are strung into long chains called chromosomes. Mutations are the source of new genetic information in cells.
Coevolution is a relationship between two species where evolutionary changes of one species influence evolutionary changes of the other. Examples of coevolution are the interactions between predator and prey or the parasite and the host.
Origins
Species (groups of individuals that can interbreed) evolve through an array of natural changes in the traits of their offspring. 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 could take thousands of years and the process could be slowed or increased due to environmental conditions, such as climate change or the competition for food or habitat.
The Evolution site follows the evolution of various species of plants and animals with a focus on major changes within each group's past. It also focuses on the human evolutionary roots and humans, a subject that is particularly important for students to understand.
에볼루션 슬롯 was written in 1859, at a time when only a few antediluvian fossils of humans had been found. Among them was the famous skullcap and bones that were discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto in Germany, which is now known to be an early Homo neanderthalensis. It is unlikely that Darwin knew about the skullcap, which was published in 1858, one year after the publication of the first edition of The Origin. Origin.
While the site focuses on biology, it contains a wealth of information on geology and paleontology. The most impressive features of the website are a timeline of events which show how climatic and geological conditions have changed over time, as well as a map of the distribution of a few fossil groups listed on the site.
The site is a companion for the PBS TV series but it could also be used as a resource for teachers and students. The site is well-organized and offers 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 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. There are links to John Endler's experiments with guppies, which illustrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life on Earth has produced a diversity of animals, plants, and insects. Paleobiology, the study of these creatures in their geological context, has many advantages over modern observational or experimental methods of studying evolutionary processes. In addition to exploring processes and events that occur frequently or over a long period of time, paleobiology allows to analyze the diversity of kinds of organisms as well as their distribution across the course of geological time.
The site is divided up into several paths that can be chosen to gain knowledge about evolution. One of these paths, "Evolution 101," guides the user through the nature and evidence of evolution. The path also explores misconceptions about evolution, and the background of evolutionary thinking.
Each of the main sections on the Evolution website is equally well-designed, 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 a wide range of multimedia and interactive content including video clips, animations, and virtual laboratories. The breadcrumb-like structure of the content aids in navigation and orientation on the massive Web site.
The page "Coral Reef Connections" For instance, the page "Coral Reef Connections" gives a brief overview of coral relationships and interactions with other organisms and zooms in to a single clam, which is able communicate with its neighbours and respond to changes in water conditions that occur on the reef level. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary, multimedia and interactive pages on the site, offer an excellent introduction to a wide spectrum of topics in evolutionary biology. The material includes a discussion on the importance of natural selection and the concept of phylogenetics analysis as a key method for understanding the evolution of changes.
Evolutionary Theory
For biology students evolution is a crucial thread that weaves together all the branches of the field. A wide selection of resources helps teachers teach evolution across the disciplines of life sciences.
One resource, a companion to the PBS television series Understanding Evolution, is an outstanding example of an Web site that offers both the depth and breadth of its educational resources. The site features a wide range of interactive learning modules. It also has a "bread crumb structure" that allows students to move away from the cartoon style that is used in Understanding Evolution and onto elements on this site that are more closely linked to the realms of research science. Animation that introduces the concept of genetics is linked to a page that highlights John Endler's artificial-selection experiments with guppies on native ponds in Trinidad.
Another resource that is worth mentioning is the Evolution Library on this web site, which has an extensive library of multimedia resources that are related to evolution. The content is organized into curricula-based paths that correspond to the learning objectives set out in the biology standards. It includes seven short videos specifically intended for use in the classroom. They are available to stream or purchase as DVDs.
A number of important questions remain in the midst of evolutionary biology, such as the factors that trigger evolution and how fast it happens. This is especially applicable to human evolution where it's been difficult to reconcile the idea that the innate physical characteristics of humans derived from apes, and the religious beliefs that hold that humans are unique among living things and has a special place in creation with a soul.
In addition there are a myriad of ways that evolution can be triggered and natural selection is the most popular theory. However, scientists also study other types of evolution such as mutation, genetic drift, and sexual selection, among other things.
While many fields of scientific study conflict with the literal interpretations of religious texts, evolution biology has been a source of intense debate and opposition from religious fundamentalists. While certain religions have managed to reconcile their beliefs with the notions of evolution, other religions have not.