Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology educators, misinformation about evolution remain. People who have taken in the nonsense of pop science often believe that biologists are saying they do not believe in evolution.
This site, which is a complement to the PBS program, provides teachers with materials that promote evolution education while avoiding the types of misconceptions that hinder it. It's organized in the "bread crumb" format to make navigation and orientation easier.
Definitions
Evolution is a complicated and difficult subject to teach well. People who are not scientists often have a difficult time understanding the subject and some scientists use a definition that confuses it. This is particularly true when discussing the nature of the words themselves.
Therefore, it is crucial to define the terms used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website helps you define these terms in a simple and efficient manner. The site is both an accompaniment to the 2001 series, and it is also a resource on its own. The material is presented in a structured manner that makes it easier to navigate and comprehend.
The site defines terms such as common ancestor, the gradual process, and adaptation. These terms help frame the nature of evolution and its relationship to evolution to other scientific concepts. The site gives a comprehensive overview of the ways in which evolution has been examined. 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 characteristics to become more suitable to a particular setting. This is the result of natural selection. Organisms that have better-adapted traits are more likely than those with less adapted traits to reproduce and survive.
Common ancestor (also called common ancestor): The most recent ancestral ancestor shared by two or more species. 에볼루션 코리아 can be identified by studying the DNA of those species.
Deoxyribonucleic acid: A huge biological molecule that contains information required for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences that are strung into long chains known as chromosomes. Mutations are responsible for the creation of new genetic information inside cells.
Coevolution is a relation between two species, where the evolution of one species are influenced evolutionary changes of the other. Examples of coevolution include the interaction between predator and prey, or the parasite and the host.
Origins
Species (groups that can crossbreed) change through a series natural changes in their offspring's traits. These changes are caused by a variety of factors, including natural selection, genetic drift, and mixing of genes. The evolution of new species could take thousands of years. Environmental conditions, such as climate changes or competition for food resources and habitat can impede or accelerate the process.
The Evolution site traces through time the evolution of various animal and plant groups, focusing on major transitions in each group's history. It also focuses on the human evolutionary roots and humans, a subject that is especially important for students to understand.
When Darwin wrote the Origin in 1859, only a handful of antediluvian human fossils had been found. The most famous among them was the 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. Although the skullcap was not published until 1858, which was one year after the first edition of the Origin was published, it's very unlikely that Darwin had ever heard of it.
The site is mostly one of biology however it also includes a lot of information on paleontology and geology. One of the most appealing features on the site are a series of timelines that show how climatic and geological conditions changed over time, and an interactive map of the distribution of some of the fossil groups featured on the site.
Although the site is a companion to a PBS television series however, it can stand on its own as an excellent resource for teachers and students. The site is well organized and provides clear links between the introduction content in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more specialized components of the museum's Web site. These links facilitate the transition 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, which illustrate the importance ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life on Earth has resulted in a variety of animals, plants, and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures within their natural environment and has many advantages over the modern observational and research methods of examining evolutionary phenomena. Paleobiology is able to study not only processes and events that occur frequently or over time, but also the relative abundance and distribution of different groups of animals in space over the course of the geological time.
The site is divided into several optional ways to learn about evolution which include "Evolution 101," which takes the user on a linear path through the nature of science and the evidence to support the theory of evolution. The path also examines myths regarding evolution, and also the history of evolutionary thinking.
Each of the main sections on the Evolution website is equally well-developed, with materials that can be used to support a variety of curriculum levels and teaching styles. The site offers a wide array of interactive and multimedia content which include video clips, animations and virtual laboratories as well as general textual content. The content is presented in a nested bread crumb style that facilitates navigation and orientation within the vast Web site.
The page "Coral Reef Connections" For instance, the page "Coral Reef Connections" provides a comprehensive overview of the coral's relationships and their interactions with other organisms, and then zooms in on one clam, which can 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 interactive and multimedia pages, provides an excellent introduction to the many areas of evolutionary biology. The information also includes an overview of the importance of natural selection as well as the concept of phylogenetic analysis, which is a key tool in understanding evolutionary change.
Evolutionary Theory
Evolution is a common 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 outstanding example of a Web site that provides depth and a variety of educational resources. The site features a wide range of interactive learning modules. It also has an "bread crumb structure" that helps students move away from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution and onto elements on this site that are more closely linked to the fields of research science. Animation that introduces the concept of genetics, which links to a page that highlights John Endler's experiments in artificial selection using guppies on native ponds in Trinidad.
Another helpful resource is the Evolution Library on this site, which has an extensive library of multimedia items that are related to evolution. The content is organized according to curricula-based paths that correspond to the learning objectives set out in the biology standards. It contains seven videos designed specifically for use in the classroom, and can be streamed for free or purchased on DVD.
Evolutionary biology is still a field of study with a lot of important questions to answer, such as what triggers evolution and how quickly it happens. This is especially applicable to human evolution which has made it difficult to reconcile the notion that the physical characteristics of humans derived from apes and religious beliefs that claim that humanity is unique in the universe and has a special place in creation with soul.
There are a myriad of other ways evolution could occur and natural selection being the most widely accepted theory. However, scientists also study other kinds of evolution like mutation, genetic drift and sexual selection, among other things.
While many scientific fields of inquiry are in conflict with literal interpretations of religious texts, evolutionary biology has been the subject of particularly intense controversy and resistance from religious fundamentalists. While some religions have been able to reconcile their beliefs with the notions of evolution, others have not.