Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology educators, misconceptions about evolution persist. People who have absorbed popular science myths often assume that biologists are saying they don't believe in evolution.
This rich Web site, a companion to the PBS program, provides teachers with materials that support the evolution of 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 complex and difficult subject to teach well. It is often misunderstood even by non-scientists, and even scientists are guilty of using a definition that confuses the issue. This is especially true when discussing the nature of the words themselves.
It is crucial to define the terms that are used in evolutionary biology. The website for the PBS show, Understanding Evolution, does this in a simple and efficient way. why not try here is an accompaniment to the 2001 series, and also a resource of its own. The content is presented in a nested fashion that aids navigation and orientation.
The site defines terms like common ancestor, the gradual process, and adaptation. These terms help frame the nature of evolution and its relationship to evolution with other scientific concepts. The site also provides an overview of how the concept of evolution has been researched and validated. This information can help dispel the myths created by creationists.
You can also access a glossary which includes terms used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation: The tendency for heritable traits to become better suitable to a particular setting. This is a result of natural selection. Organisms with more adaptable characteristics are more likely than those with less adapted traits to survive and reproduce.
Common ancestor: The most recent common ancestor of two or more different species. The common ancestor can be identified by studying the DNA of the species.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid: A huge biological molecular that holds the information required for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences, which are strung into long chains called chromosomes. Mutations are responsible for the creation of new genetic information within cells.
Coevolution is a relationship between two species where evolutionary changes in one species are dependent on evolutionary changes in the other. Coevolution can be observed in the interaction of predator and prey, or parasites and hosts.
Origins
Species (groups that can crossbreed), evolve through a series of natural changes in their offspring's traits. These changes are caused by a variety of causes, including natural selection, genetic drift, and mixing of gene pools. The development of a new species could take thousands of years and the process may be slowed or increased by environmental factors like climate change or the competition for food or habitat.
The Evolution site follows the evolution of different animal and plant groups and focuses on major changes within each group's past. It also examines the evolutionary origin of humans which is especially important for students to know.
Darwin's Origin was published in 1859, at a time when only a few antediluvian fossils of humans had been found. The famous skullcap, with the associated bones, was discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto of Germany. It is now regarded as an early Homo neanderthalensis. Although the skullcap was not published until 1858, one year after the first edition of the Origin was published, it is highly unlikely that Darwin had ever heard of it.
The site is mostly an online biology resource, but it also contains a lot of information on paleontology and geology. The most impressive features of the Web site are a series of timelines that illustrate the way in which climatic and geological conditions have changed over time as well as an interactive map of the geographical distribution of some fossil groups listed on the site.
While the site is a companion piece to the PBS television show but it also stands on its own as a valuable source for teachers and students. The site is well-organized and has clear links between the introductory content in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more specific elements of the museum's web site. These hyperlinks make it easier to transition from the cartoon-style Understanding Evolution pages into the more sophisticated realms of research science. Particularly there are hyperlinks to John Endler's experiments with 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, has many advantages over modern observational or experimental methods for studying evolutionary processes. Paleobiology is able to study not only processes and events that happen regularly or over time, but also the relative abundance and distribution of various animal groups in space over the course of the geological time.
The site is divided up into different paths that can be chosen to learn about evolution. One of the paths, "Evolution 101," walks the reader through the evolution of nature and the evidence of evolution. The path also examines myths about evolution, as well as the history of evolutionary thinking.
Each of the main sections on the Evolution website is equally well-designed, with materials that support a variety curriculum levels and teaching styles. In addition to general textual content, the site features a wide range of multimedia and interactive resources including video clips, animations, and virtual labs. The breadcrumb-like structure of the content assists with navigation and orientation on the vast Web site.
The page "Coral Reef Connections", for example, provides a comprehensive overview of the relationships between corals, their interaction with other organisms and zooms in on a single clam, which is able to communicate with its neighbors and respond to changes in the water conditions that occur on the reef level. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary interactive and multimedia pages, gives a good introduction to a variety of topics in evolutionary biology. The content 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
For biology students evolution is a crucial thread that weaves together all the branches of the field. A rich collection supports teaching evolution across the disciplines of life science.
One resource, which is the companion to PBS's TV series Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of an Web page that offers both the depth and the broadness in terms of educational resources. The site has a wide array of interactive learning modules. It also features a "bread crumb structure" that assists students in moving away from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution and onto elements on this large website more closely linked to the realms of research science. An animation that introduces the concept of genetics is linked to a page highlighting John Endler's experiments in artificial selection using guppies on native ponds in Trinidad.
The Evolution Library on this website has a huge multimedia library of assets related with evolution. The content is organized according to curriculum-based pathways that correspond to the learning objectives set out in biology standards. It includes seven short videos specifically designed for use in classrooms. They can be streamed or purchased as DVDs.
Evolutionary biology is still an area of study with a lot of important questions, such as the causes of evolution and how fast it takes place. This is especially relevant to human evolution, where it has been difficult to reconcile the notion that the physical traits of humans evolved from apes with religious beliefs that hold that humans are unique in the universe and has an enviable place in creation with a soul.
Additionally there are a myriad of ways that evolution can be triggered and natural selection is the most popular theory. However scientists also study different kinds of evolution, such as genetic drift, mutation, and sexual selection, among other things.
Many fields of inquiry have a 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 ideas of evolution, others have not.