Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology educators, misinformation about evolution persist. People who have absorbed popular science myths often assume that biologists claim they do not believe in evolution.
This rich Web site - companion to the PBS series offers teachers with resources that promote evolution education and avoid the kinds of myths that hinder it. It's laid out in a "bread crumb" format to facilitate navigation and orientation.
Definitions
It's difficult to teach evolution well. It is often misunderstood by non-scientists, and even scientists use an interpretation that is confusing the issue. This is particularly relevant to discussions on the meaning of the word itself.
As such, it is essential to define terms that are used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website provides this in a straightforward and useful way. The site is both an accompaniment to the 2001 series, and also a resource on its own. The content is presented in a structured manner that makes it simpler to navigate and understand.
The site defines terms such as common ancestor and the gradual process. These terms help to define the nature of evolution and its relationship to other scientific concepts. The website then provides an overview of how the concept of evolution has been vetted and confirmed. This information can help dispel myths created by creationists.
It is also possible to access the glossary of terms used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation is the tendency of hereditary traits to become better suited to an environment. This is the result of natural selection. Organisms with better-adapted characteristics are more likely than those with less adaptable traits to survive and reproduce.
Common ancestor (also known as common ancestor) The most recent ancestor shared by two or more species. By analyzing DNA from these species, it is possible to determine the common ancestor.
Deoxyribonucleic acid: A huge biological molecule that contains information needed for cell replication. The information is stored in a sequence of nucleotides that are strung together to form long chains, called chromosomes. Mutations are the reason behind the creation of new genetic information within cells.
Coevolution is a relationship between two species where evolutionary changes in one species are influenced by evolutionary changes in the other. Examples of coevolution include the interaction between predator and prey or parasite and host.
Origins
Species (groups of individuals that are able to interbreed) change through natural changes in the characteristics of their offspring. Changes can be caused by numerous factors, like natural selection, gene drift and mixing of the gene pool. The development of a new species can take thousands of years and the process could be slowed down or speeded up by environmental factors like climate change or competition for food or habitat.
The Evolution site tracks the development of various animal and plant groups through time, focusing on the major changes that took place in each group's history. It also focuses on the evolutionary origin of humans and humans, a subject that is crucial for students to comprehend.
Darwin's Origin was published in 1859, at a time when only a handful of antediluvian fossils of humans had been found. Among them was the famous skullcap and associated bones found in 1856 at the Little Feldhofer Grotto in Germany that is now thought 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 very unlikely that Darwin had seen or heard of it.
While the site focuses on biology, it also offers a lot of information about geology and paleontology. One of the most appealing features of the Web site are a timeline of events which show the way in which climatic and geological conditions have changed over time as well as an outline of the geographical distribution of some fossil groups that are featured on the site.
The site is a companion for the PBS television series, but it can be used as a resource for teachers and students. The site is extremely well-organized and has clear links between the introductory information in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more specific elements of the museum Web site. These hyperlinks help users move from the engaging cartoon style of the Understanding Evolution pages to the more sophisticated world of research science. Particularly, there are links to John Endler's experiments using guppies that illustrate the importance of 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 in their natural environment and has a number of advantages over modern observational and experimental methods in its exploration of evolutionary processes. Paleobiology is able to study not only the process and events that happen regularly or over time but also the relative abundance and distribution of various animal groups across the geological time.
The site is divided up into various routes that can be taken to learn about evolution. One of the paths, "Evolution 101," takes the viewer through the nature and evidence of evolution. 에볼루션사이트 reveals the most common misconceptions about evolution, as well as the history of evolutionary thought.
Each of the other main sections of the Evolution site is equally created, with resources that can be used to support a range of different pedagogical levels and curriculum levels. In addition to the general textual content, the site also has an array of multimedia and interactive resources including videos, animations, and virtual laboratories. The content is laid out in a nested bread crumb-like fashion that helps with navigation and orientation within the large Web site.
For instance the page "Coral Reef Connections" provides a comprehensive overview of the relationships between corals and their interactions with other organisms. It then narrows down to a single clam that can communicate with its neighbors and respond to changes in the water conditions that take place at the reef level. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary interactive and multimedia pages, provides an excellent introduction to a variety of topics in evolutionary biology. The material includes an overview of the significance of natural selectivity and the concept of phylogenetics analysis which is a crucial tool for understanding evolutionary change.
Evolutionary Theory
Evolution is a common thread that is found throughout all branches of biology. A vast collection of books helps in teaching evolution across the disciplines of life sciences.
One resource, which is the companion to PBS's TV series Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of an Web site that provides depth as well as wide range of educational resources. The site features a wide range of interactive learning modules. It also has an encased "bread crumb" structure that allows students to transition from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this massive website that are closer to the world of research science. For example an animation that explains the idea of genetic inheritance connects to a page that focuses on John Endler's experiments in artificial selection with guppies from the native ponds of Trinidad.
The Evolution Library on this website contains a large multimedia library of assets related 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 includes seven short videos designed specifically for use in classrooms, and can be streamed for free or purchased on DVD.
Evolutionary biology remains an area of study that poses many important questions to answer, such as what causes evolution and how quickly it occurs. This is especially true for human evolution, where it has been difficult to reconcile that the innate physical characteristics of humans derived from apes with religions that believe that humans are unique among living things and holds a an exclusive place in the creation with a soul.
Additionally there are a variety of ways in which evolution could occur, with natural selection being the most popular theory. However 에볼루션바카라 study other kinds of evolution, such as mutation, genetic drift and sexual selection, among others.
While many fields of scientific study have a conflict with literal interpretations found in religious texts, evolution biology has been a source of intense debate and resistance from religious fundamentalists. Certain religions have reconciled their beliefs to evolution while others haven't.