Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution

Despite the best efforts of biology educators, there are still a lot of misconceptions about the evolution. Pop science fiction has led a lot of people to believe that biologists aren't believers in evolution.

This rich website - companion to the PBS series It provides teachers with materials that support evolution education and avoids the kinds of misinformation that can make it difficult to understand. It's organized in a nested "bread crumb" format to facilitate navigation and orientation.

Definitions

It's not easy to teach evolution well. It is often misunderstood by non-scientists, and even some scientists are guilty of using an interpretation that is confusing the issue. This is especially relevant to debates about the meaning of the word itself.

It is therefore important to define the terms used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website provides this in an easy and helpful way. It is a companion for the 2001 series, and it is also a resource on its own. The material is organized in a manner that makes it simpler to navigate and comprehend.

The site defines terms like common ancestor, the gradual process and adaptation. These terms help to frame the nature of evolution as well as its relation to other scientific concepts. The site also provides an overview of how the concept of evolution has been researched and validated. This information will help to dispel the myths that are created by the creationists.

You can also access a glossary which contains terms that are used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:

The process of adaptation is the tendency of heritable traits to become better suited to an environment. This is the result of natural selection. Organisms with better-adapted traits are more likely than those with less adapted traits to survive and reproduce.

Common ancestor (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 identify the common ancestor.

Deoxyribonucleic Acid: A huge biological molecular that contains the necessary information for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences that are strung into long chains called chromosomes. Mutations are the cause of new genetic information in cells.

Coevolution is a relationship between two species in which evolutionary changes in one species are dependent on evolutionary changes in the other. Coevolution can be seen through the interaction between predator and prey, or parasites and hosts.

Origins

Species (groups that can crossbreed) develop through a series of natural changes in the traits of their offspring. These changes are caused by a variety of factors, including natural selection, genetic drift, and gene pool mixing. The evolution of new species could take thousands of years. Environmental conditions, such as climate change or competition for food or habitat, can slow or accelerate the process.

The Evolution site traces through time the emergence 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 which is particularly important for students to know.

Darwin's Origin was written in 1859, at a time when only a few antediluvian fossils of humans were discovered. Among them was the famous skullcap and bones that were discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto in Germany, which is now known to be an early Homo neanderthalensis. It is unlikely that Darwin was aware of the skullcap when it was published in 1858, a year following the initial edition of The Origin. Origin.

The site is primarily an online biology resource, but it also contains many details on paleontology and geology. The Web site has numerous features that are particularly impressive, including a timeline of the way that climate and geological conditions have changed over the course of time. It also includes a map showing the distribution of fossil groups.

Although the site is a companion piece to the PBS television series but it also stands on its own as a valuable resource for teachers and students. The site is very well organized and provides clear links between the introductory content in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more sophisticated elements of the museum's web site. These links make it easier to move from the cartoon-style Understanding Evolution pages into the more sophisticated realms 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 produced a diversity of animals, plants, and insects. 무료 에볼루션 Links to an external site. is the study of these creatures within their geological context and has a number of advantages over modern observational and experimental methods for analyzing evolutionary processes. In addition to examining the processes and events that happen regularly or over a lengthy period of time, paleobiology allows to study the relative abundance of various species of organisms and their distribution across the geological time.

The website is divided into several optional pathways to understanding evolution that include "Evolution 101," which takes the viewer on a liner path through the scientific process and the evidence that supports the theory of evolution. The path also explores misconceptions about evolution and the background of evolutionary thinking.

Each of the other main sections of the Evolution site is equally developed, with materials that support a variety of curriculum levels and pedagogical styles. The site offers a wide array of multimedia and interactive resources that include video clips, animations and virtual labs in addition to general textual content. The content is presented in a nested bread crumb fashion that aids navigation and orientation on the Web site.

The page "Coral Reef Connections" For instance, the page "Coral Reef Connections" provides a comprehensive overview of coral relationships and their interactions with other organisms and then zooms in on one clam, which is able to communicate with its neighbours and respond to changes in conditions of the water that occur at the reef level. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary, multimedia and interactive pages on the site, provide an excellent introduction to a broad spectrum of topics in evolutionary biology. The material also provides an explanation of the role of natural selection and the concept of phylogenetic analysis which is an important method to understand evolutionary change.


Evolutionary Theory

For biology students the concept of evolution is a major thread that weaves together all branches of the field. A vast collection of resources can help teachers teach about evolution across the life sciences.

One resource, which is the companion to PBS's television show Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of an Web page that provides the depth and the wide range of educational resources. The site features a wide range of interactive learning modules. It also features an embedded "bread crumb" structure that helps students transition from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this large Web site more closely tied to the field of research science. An animation that introduces the concept of genetics, which links to a page about John Endler's experiments in artificial selection using Guppies living in ponds native to Trinidad.

Another helpful resource is the Evolution Library on this site, which has an extensive multimedia library of assets that are related to evolution. The content is organized into curriculum-based pathways that correspond to the learning goals set forth in biology standards. It contains seven short videos specifically intended for use in the classroom. These are available to stream or purchase as DVDs.

Evolutionary biology is still a field of study with a lot of important questions to answer, such as what triggers evolution and the speed at which it takes place. 무료에볼루션 Links to an external site. is particularly relevant to human evolution, where it's been difficult to reconcile the notion that the innate physical characteristics of humans evolved from apes with religions that believe that humans are unique among living things and has an enviable place in creation with soul.

There are a myriad of other ways in which evolution could occur and natural selection being the most widely accepted theory. Scientists also study other types such as genetic drift, and sexual selection.

While many scientific fields of study conflict with the literal interpretations of religious texts, the concept of evolution biology has been the subject of intense debate and resistance from religious fundamentalists. Certain religions have reconciled their beliefs with evolutionary biology, while others haven't.