Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology teachers, there are still misconceptions about evolution. People who have absorbed the nonsense of pop science often believe that biologists claim they don't believe in evolution.
This site, which is a companion to the PBS series It provides teachers with materials that promote evolution education and help avoid the kinds of myths that hinder it. It's laid out in a nested "bread crumb" format to make it easy for navigation and orientation.
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 employ a definition that confuses it. This is especially relevant to discussions on the meaning of the word itself.
Therefore, it is essential to define terms used in evolutionary biology. The website for the PBS show, Understanding Evolution, does this in a clear and useful manner. The website is a companion to the series that first aired in 2001, but can also function as an independent resource. The content is presented in a nested fashion that aids navigation and orientation.
The site defines terms such as common ancestor and the gradual process. These terms help define the nature and relationship of evolution with other scientific concepts. The site also provides an overview of how the concept of evolution has been tested and confirmed. This information can be used to dispel the myths that have been created by the creationists.
You can also access a glossary that includes terms used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation is the tendency of heritable traits to become better suited to an environment. This is the result of natural selection, which happens when organisms that are better adapted traits are more likely to survive and reproduce than those with less adaptable traits.
Common ancestor (also known as common ancestor): The most recent ancestor shared by two or more species. The common ancestor can be identified through analyzing the DNA of the species.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid: A large biological molecular that holds the necessary information for cell replication. The information is stored in a sequence of nucleotides that are strung together to form long chains, referred to as chromosomes. Mutations are the reason behind the creation of new genetic information within cells.
Coevolution is the relationship between two species in which the evolution of one species are influenced by evolutionary changes in the other. Examples of coevolution are the interactions between predator and prey or host and parasite.
Origins
Species (groups which can interbreed) change through a series natural changes in the traits of their offspring. The changes can be triggered by a variety that include natural selection, genetic drift, and mixing of genes. The evolution of a new species can take thousands of years and the process may be slowed or increased by environmental conditions such as climate change or the competition for food or habitat.
The Evolution site traces through time the evolution of various groups of animals and plants and focuses on major changes within each group's past. It also explores the evolutionary origin of humans, a topic that is crucial for students to understand.
Darwin's Origin was published in 1859, at a time when only a few antediluvian fossils of humans were discovered. The skullcap that is famous, along with the bones that accompanied it were discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto of Germany. It is now recognized as an early Homo neanderthalensis. Although the skullcap was not published until 1858, which was a year before the first edition of the Origin appeared, 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 Web site has numerous features that are particularly impressive, such as the timeline of how geological and climate conditions have changed over the course of time. It also has a map showing the distribution of fossil groups.
The site is a companion for a PBS television series, but it can also be used as an educational resource by teachers and students. The site is well-organized and offers clear links to the introduction content of Understanding Evolution (developed under the National Science Foundation's assistance) and the more specialized features of the museum website. 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 demonstrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life on Earth has produced a diversity of animals, plants, and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures within their geographical context and offers numerous advantages over modern observational and experimental methods for analyzing evolutionary phenomena. In addition to exploring processes and events that take place frequently or over a long period of time, paleobiology is able to analyze the diversity of groups of organisms and their distribution in space over geological time.
The site is divided into different routes that can be taken to gain knowledge about evolution. One of these paths, "Evolution 101," walks the reader through the evolution of nature and the evidence of evolution. The course also focuses on common misconceptions about evolution as well as the evolution theory's history.
Each of the main sections on the Evolution website is equally well-designed, with materials that are suited to a variety of curriculum levels and teaching styles. The site includes a variety of interactive and multimedia content that include videos, animations, and virtual labs, in addition to its general textual content. The content is organized in a nested, bread crumb-like fashion that helps with navigation and orientation on the web site.
The page "Coral Reef Connections" For instance, it provides an overview of the coral's relationships and interactions with other organisms and then is enlarged to show a single clam, which can communicate with its neighbors and respond to changes in water conditions that occur on the reef level. This page, along with the other multidisciplinary, multimedia, and interactive pages on the site, provide an excellent introduction to a broad range of topics in evolutionary biology. The material also provides an explanation of the role of natural selection as well as the concept of phylogenetic analysis, which is an important method to understand evolutionary changes.
Evolutionary Theory
Evolution is an underlying thread that is found throughout all branches of biology. A rich collection supports teaching evolution across the disciplines of life science.
One resource, a companion to the PBS television series Understanding Evolution, is an exceptional example of a Web site that provides depth and breadth in its educational resources. The site features a wealth of interactive learning modules. 에볼루션 바카라사이트 features a nested "bread crumb" structure that helps students move from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this massive website that are more closely tied to the field of research science. Animation that introduces the concept of genetics links to a page that highlights John Endler's experiments in artificial selection using Guppies in native ponds in Trinidad.
Another useful resource 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 in the form of curriculum-based pathways that are in line with the learning objectives set out in the standards for biology. It includes seven short videos specifically designed for use in classrooms, and can be streamed at no cost or purchased on DVD.
Evolutionary biology remains a field of study that has many important questions, including what causes evolution and the speed at which it takes place. This is especially relevant to human evolution, where it has been difficult to reconcile that the innate physical characteristics of humans derived from apes, and the religions that believe that humanity is unique among living things and has an exclusive place in the creation, with soul.
There are a variety of other ways in which evolution can take place including natural selection, which is the most widely accepted theory. Scientists also study other types like mutation, genetic drift and sexual selection.
While many fields of scientific inquiry are in conflict with the literal interpretations of the Bible, evolutionary biology has been the subject of particularly fierce debate and opposition from religious fundamentalists. While certain religions have been able to reconcile their beliefs with the ideas of evolution, others aren't.