Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts by biology teachers, there are still misconceptions about evolution. Pop science fiction has led a lot of people to believe that biologists don't believe evolution.
This rich Web site - companion to the PBS series It provides teachers with materials which support evolution education and avoids the kinds of misconceptions that make it difficult to understand. It's organized in a "bread crumb" format to aid in navigation and orientation.
Definitions
It's difficult to teach evolution well. It is often misunderstood by non-scientists and even some scientists have been guilty of using an interpretation that is confusing the issue. This is particularly true when discussing the meaning of the words themselves.
It is important to define terms 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 is also an independent resource. The content is presented in a way which aids navigation and orientation.
The site defines terms such as common ancestor (or common ancestor), gradual process, and adaptation. These terms help to define the nature and significance of evolution to other concepts in science. The site also provides an overview of how the concept of evolution has been vetted and verified. This information can be used to dispel myths that have been propagated by creationists.
It is also possible to get the glossary of terms used in evolutionary biology. visit this site include:
Adaptation is the process of changing heritable traits to be better suited to an environment. This is a result of natural selection. Organisms with more adaptable characteristics are more likely than those with less-adapted characteristics to survive and reproduce.
Common ancestor (also called common ancestor): The most recent ancestor shared by two or more species. By studying the DNA of these species, it is possible to identify the common ancestor.
Deoxyribonucleic acid: A massive biological molecule that contains the information required for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences, which are strung into long chains, referred to as chromosomes. Mutations are responsible for the creation of new genetic information inside cells.
Coevolution is a relationship between two species in which the evolution of one species influence evolutionary changes of the other. Coevolution can be seen in the interactions between predator and prey, or parasites and hosts.
Origins
Species (groups which can interbreed), evolve by a series of natural variations in their offspring's traits. Changes can be caused by many factors, such as natural selection, gene drift and mixing of the gene pool. The evolution of new species can take thousands of years. Environmental conditions, such as climate changes or competition for food and habitat can slow or speed up the process.
The Evolution site traces the emergence of various animal and plant groups through time, focusing on the major shifts that occurred throughout the history of each group. It also focuses on human evolution and is a subject that is particularly important for students.
Darwin's Origin was written in 1859, when only a handful of antediluvian fossils of human beings had been discovered. The most famous among them was the skullcap and the associated bones discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto in Germany that is now thought to be an early Homo neanderthalensis. It is unlikely that Darwin knew about the skullcap, which was first published in 1858, one year following the initial edition of The Origin. Origin.
The site is primarily one of biology, but it also contains lots of information about geology and paleontology. Among the best features of the website are a set of timelines which show how climatic and geological conditions changed over time, as well as an outline of the distribution of a few of the fossil groups featured on the site.
Although the site is a companion to the PBS television show, it also stands on its own as an excellent resource for teachers and students. The site is extremely well-organized and offers 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 links facilitate the transition from the engaging cartoon style of the Understanding Evolution pages to the more sophisticated world of research science. There are also links to John Endler's experiments with guppies, which demonstrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life on Earth has produced a diversity of plants, animals, and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures within their geographical context and offers numerous advantages over modern observational and experimental methods of examining evolutionary processes. Paleobiology is able to study not only the process and events that take place regularly or over time, but also the distribution and frequency of different species of animals across the geological time.
The website is divided into a variety of paths to learning evolution which include "Evolution 101," which takes the user on a linear path through the science of nature and the evidence that supports the theory of evolution. The path also reveals common misconceptions about evolution and the evolution of thought.
Each of the main sections on the Evolution website is equally well-developed, with materials that are suited to a variety of educational levels and teaching styles. In addition to general textual content, the site offers an array of multimedia and interactive resources including videos, animations and virtual laboratories. The breadcrumb-like structure of the content assists with navigation and orientation on the massive website.
For instance the page "Coral Reef Connections" provides a comprehensive overview of the relationships between corals and their interaction with other organisms. It then narrows down to a single clam that is able to communicate with its neighbors and respond to changes in water conditions that occur at the reef level. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary multimedia and interactive pages, provides an excellent introduction to the many areas of evolutionary biology. The content also includes a discussion of the role of natural selection as well as the concept of phylogenetic analysis which is an important method to understand evolutionary change.
Evolutionary Theory
For biology students, evolution is a key thread that binds all the branches of the field. A vast collection of resources supports teaching about evolution across the life sciences.
One resource, which is the companion to PBS's television series Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of an Web page that provides depth as well as breadth in terms of its educational resources. The site features a wide range of interactive learning modules. It also features an embedded "bread crumb" structure that allows students to move from the cartoon-like style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this massive website that are more closely tied to the field of research science. For instance an animation that introduces the concept of genetic inheritance links to a page that focuses on John Endler's experiments in artificial selection with guppies from the native ponds of Trinidad.
Another resource that is worth mentioning is the Evolution Library on this website, which includes an extensive collection of multimedia assets that are related to evolution. The content is organized according to curriculum-based pathways that correspond to the learning objectives outlined in 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 a field of study that poses many important questions to answer, such as what causes evolution and how fast it takes place. This is especially true for the evolution of humans which was a challenge to reconcile religious beliefs that humanity has a special place in creation and a soul, with the notion that human beings have innate physical traits originated from apes.
Additionally there are a myriad of ways that evolution could be triggered and natural selection is the most popular theory. However, scientists also study other kinds of evolution like genetic drift, mutation, and sexual selection, among other things.
While many fields of scientific 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. Some religions have reconciled their beliefs to evolution while others haven't.