Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology teachers, misinformation about evolution persist. Pop science nonsense has led many people to think that biologists don't believe in evolution.
This site, which is a companion to the PBS series It provides teachers with materials which support evolution education and avoid the kinds of misinformation that can hinder it. It's arranged in a nested "bread crumb" format to make it easy for navigation and orientation.
Definitions
It's not easy to teach evolution well. People who are not scientists often have a difficult time understanding the subject and some scientists employ a definition that confuses it. This is especially relevant when it comes to the meaning of the words themselves.
As such, it is important 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 both a companion for the 2001 series, and also a resource of its own. The material is presented in a structured manner that makes it easier to navigate and comprehend.
The site defines terms like common ancestor, the gradual process, and adaptation. These terms help frame the nature and relationship of evolution with other scientific concepts. The site gives a comprehensive overview of the ways the concept of evolution has been tested. This information can help dispel the myths created by creationists.
It is also possible to get a glossary of terms that are 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 characteristics.
Common ancestor: The latest common ancestor of two or more different species. The common ancestor can be identified by analyzing the DNA of these species.
Deoxyribonucleic acid: A huge biological molecule that contains information necessary for cell replication. The information is contained in nucleotides arranged in sequences that are strung together to form long chains, called chromosomes. Mutations are the source of new genetic information in cells.
Coevolution is a relationship between two species in which the evolution of one species influence evolutionary changes in the other. Coevolution can be observed in the interaction of predator and prey, or parasite and hosts.
Origins
Species (groups that can interbreed) change through a series of natural changes in their offspring's traits. Changes can be caused by various factors, including natural selection, gene drift, and mixing of the gene pool. The evolution of new species could take thousands of years. Environmental circumstances, such as changes in the climate or competition for food resources and habitat, can slow or accelerate the process.
The Evolution site tracks the evolution of various groups of animals and plants over time with a focus on the key transitions that occurred in the evolution of each group's history. It also focuses on the evolutionary history of humans which is crucial for students to comprehend.
When Darwin wrote the Origin, only a handful of antediluvian human fossils had been found. One of them was the infamous skullcap and the associated bones discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto in Germany that is now thought as an early Homo neanderthalensis. While the skullcap wasn't published until 1858, just one year after the first edition of the Origin was published, it is extremely unlikely that Darwin had seen or heard of it.
The site is primarily an online biology resource however it also includes many details on paleontology and geology. The most impressive features of the Web site are a set of timelines that show how climatic and geological conditions have changed over time, and a map of the distribution of some fossil groups that are featured on the site.
Although 에볼루션 바카라 무료체험 is a companion to the PBS television series, it also stands on its own as a valuable resource for teachers and students. The site is well-organized and provides clear links to the introductory information of Understanding Evolution (developed under the National Science Foundation's support) and the more specific features on the museum's website. 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 links to John Endler’s experiments with guppies that illustrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life has led to a variety of plants, animals and insects. Paleobiology, the study of these creatures within their natural environment, has many advantages over modern observational or research methods for exploring evolutionary processes. In addition to studying processes and events that occur regularly or over a lengthy period of time, paleobiology can be used to study the relative abundance of various groups of organisms and their distribution in space over the course of geological time.
The website is divided into several routes that can be taken to study the subject of evolution. One of these paths, "Evolution 101," walks the reader through the evolution of nature and the evidence of evolution. The path also explores misconceptions regarding evolution, and the background of evolutionary thinking.
Each of the other major sections of the Evolution site is equally well developed, with materials that can support a variety of educational levels and pedagogical styles. In addition to the general textual content, the site also has an array of interactive and multimedia resources including video clips, animations, and virtual laboratories. The content is laid out in a nested bread crumb fashion that aids navigation and orientation on the Web site.
For example, the page "Coral Reef Connections" provides an overview of coral relationships and their interaction with other organisms, then zooms in on a single clam that can communicate with its neighbours and respond to changes in water conditions that occur at the level of the reef. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary interactive and multimedia pages gives a good introduction to a variety of topics in evolutionary biology. The content also includes an explanation of the role of natural selection and the concept of phylogenetic analysis, which is a crucial tool for understanding the evolution of changes.
Evolutionary Theory
Evolution is an underlying thread that runs through all branches of biology. A rich collection of resources helps teachers teach about evolution across the life sciences.
One resource, a companion to the PBS television series Understanding Evolution, is an excellent example of a Web site that offers both the depth and breadth of its educational resources. The site has a wide array of interactive learning modules. It also features 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 large website more closely linked to the worlds of research science. An animation that introduces students to the concept of genetics links to a page highlighting John Endler's experiments with artificial selection using Guppies in native ponds in Trinidad.
Another resource that is worth mentioning is the Evolution Library on this Web website, which includes an extensive library of multimedia items related to evolution. The contents are organized into curricula-based pathways that correspond to the learning goals established in the standards for biology. It contains seven videos designed specifically for classroom use, which can be streamed for free or purchased on DVD.
A number of important questions remain at the core of evolutionary biology, including the factors that trigger evolution and how fast it occurs. This is particularly applicable to human evolution which has made it difficult to reconcile the idea that the physical characteristics of humans derived from apes and religious beliefs that claim that humans are unique among living things and has an exclusive place in the creation, with soul.
There are also a number of other ways evolution can occur and natural selection being the most widely accepted theory. Scientists also study different types like mutation, genetic drift and sexual selection.
While many scientific fields of inquiry are in conflict with literal interpretations of religious texts evolutionary biology has been the subject of particularly fierce debate and opposition from religious fundamentalists. Certain religions have reconciled their beliefs with evolution, while others haven't.