Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts by biology educators, misconceptions persist regarding evolution. People who have taken in the nonsense of pop science often believe that biologists are saying they do not believe in evolution.
This site, a companion to the PBS program, provides teachers with materials that promote evolution education, while avoiding the kinds of misconceptions which undermine it. It's laid out in the "bread crumb" format to make navigation and orientation easier.
Definitions
It is difficult to properly teach evolution. Many non-scientists are unable to grasp the concept, and some scientists even 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 used in evolutionary biology. The website for the PBS show, Understanding Evolution, does this in a simple and efficient manner. The site is a companion to the show which first aired in 2001, but is also an independent resource. The content is presented in a way that aids navigation and orientation.
The site defines terms such as common ancestor, gradual process, and adaptation. These terms help to frame the nature of evolution and its relationship to other concepts in science. The site gives a comprehensive overview of the ways that evolution has been examined. This information can be used to dispel myths that have been propagated by the creationists.
You can also consult a glossary that contains terms that are used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation is the tendency of heritable traits to become better suited to an environment. This is a result of natural selection. Organisms with better-adapted characteristics are more likely than those with less-adapted characteristics to survive and reproduce.
my website (also called common ancestor) The most recent ancestral ancestor shared by two or more species. By analyzing the DNA from these species it is possible to determine the common ancestor.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid: A large biological molecular containing the 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 responsible for the creation of new genetic information within cells.
Coevolution is the relationship between two species in which the evolution of one species are influenced evolutionary changes in the other. Coevolution is evident through the interaction between predator and prey, or parasite and hosts.
Origins
Species (groups of individuals that are able to interbreed) develop through a series of natural changes in the characteristics of their offspring. The changes can be triggered by a variety, including natural selection, genetic drift and gene pool mixing. The evolution of new species could take thousands of years. Environmental conditions, such as changes in the climate or competition for food and habitat can slow or speed up the process.
The Evolution site follows the emergence of various animal and plant groups, focusing on major transitions in each group's past. It also explores the human evolutionary roots which is particularly important for students to know.
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 associated with it, was discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto of Germany. It is now regarded as an early Homo neanderthalensis. It is unlikely that Darwin knew about the skullcap, which was first published in 1858, one year after the first edition of The Origin. Origin.
While the site focuses on biology, it also contains a wealth of information on geology and paleontology. The Web site has several features that are particularly impressive, such as a timeline of the way that climate and geological conditions have changed over the course of time. It also has maps that show the locations of fossil groups.
The site is a companion for the PBS TV series but it could also be used as a resource by teachers and students. The site is well-organized and provides easy links to the introductory content 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 enthralling cartoon style of the Understanding Evolution pages to the more sophisticated world of research science. In particular there are hyperlinks to John Endler's experiments using Guppies that demonstrate 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 geological context and has a number of advantages over the current observational and experimental methods of examining evolutionary processes. Paleobiology focuses on not only the process and events that happen regularly or over time, but also the distribution and frequency of different groups of animals in space over the course of geological time.
The site is divided into several optional ways to learn about evolution that include "Evolution 101," which takes the viewer on a line through the nature of science and the evidence supporting the theory of evolution. The path also explores misconceptions about evolution as well as the history of evolutionary thinking.
Each of the other main sections of the Evolution site is similarly created, with resources that can support a variety of curriculum levels and pedagogical styles. The site has a range of interactive and multimedia content, including videos, animations, and virtual laboratories, in addition to its general textual content. The content is organized in a nested, bread crumb fashion that aids navigation and orientation within the vast web site.
The page "Coral Reef Connections" For instance, it provides a comprehensive overview of the coral's relationships, their interaction with other organisms, and then is enlarged to show a single clam, which can communicate with its neighbors and react to changes in the 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 variety of topics in evolutionary biology. The content includes a discussion on the role of natural selectivity and the concept of phylogenetics analysis, an important tool to understand evolutionary change.
Evolutionary Theory
Evolution is a common thread that runs through all branches of biology. A vast collection of resources supports teaching about evolution across the life sciences.
One resource, a companion to the PBS television series Understanding Evolution, is an outstanding example of an 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 an encased "bread crumb" structure that allows students to 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. For example, an animation introducing the notion of genetic inheritance leads to a page highlighting John Endler's artificial selection experiments with guppies from the native ponds of Trinidad.
Another helpful resource is the Evolution Library on this site, which has an extensive multimedia library of resources that are related to evolution. The content is organized into curricula-based paths that correspond to the learning goals set forth in the standards for biology. It contains seven videos designed specifically for use in classrooms, and can be streamed for free or purchased on DVD.
A number of important questions remain at the heart of evolutionary biology, such as what causes evolution to occur and how fast it happens. This is particularly true for human evolution, where it has been difficult to reconcile that the innate physical characteristics of humans were derived from apes with religious beliefs that claim that humans are unique in the universe and has a special place in creation, with soul.
In addition there are a myriad of ways that evolution could occur with natural selection being the most popular theory. However scientists also study other types of evolution such as mutation, genetic drift, and sexual selection, among others.
While many fields of scientific study have a conflict with literal interpretations in religious texts, the concept of evolution biology has been a subject of intense controversy and opposition from religious fundamentalists. Certain religions have reconciled their beliefs to evolution while others haven't.