Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution

Despite the best efforts of biology educators, misconceptions about evolution remain. Pop science fiction has led a lot of people to think that biologists don't believe in evolution.

This site, which is a companion to the PBS program that provides teachers with resources that support the evolution of education, while avoiding the kinds of misconceptions which hinder it. It's organized in a nested "bread crumb" format for ease of navigation and orientation.

Definitions

Evolution is a complicated and challenging subject to teach effectively. Non-scientists often misunderstand the subject and some scientists employ a definition that confuses it. This is especially relevant when it comes to the nature of the words themselves.

It is therefore important 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 manner. The site is both a companion for the 2001 series, but also a resource on its own. The content is presented in an organized way that makes it easy to navigate and understand.

The site defines terms such as common ancestor, the gradual process, and adaptation. These terms help frame the nature and significance of evolution to other scientific concepts. The website then provides an overview of how the concept of evolution has been researched and confirmed. This information can help dispel the myths created by creationists.

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

Adaptation is the process of changing heritable traits to become better suited to an environment. This is a result of natural selection. It occurs when organisms that are better-adapted traits are more likely to survive and reproduce than those with less adaptable characteristics.

Common ancestor: The most recent common ancestor of two or more species. By studying 에볼루션코리아 of these species it is possible to determine the common ancestor.

Deoxyribonucleic acid: A huge biological molecule that holds the information required for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotides arranged in sequences that are strung together into long chains, also known as chromosomes. Mutations are the source of new genetic information in cells.

Coevolution is the relationship between two species where evolutionary changes of one species are influenced by evolutionary changes in the other. Coevolution can be seen in the interaction of predator and prey, or parasite and hosts.

Origins

Species (groups of individuals who can interbreed) evolve through a series of natural changes in the characteristics of their offspring. 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 changes in the climate or competition for food and habitat can slow or speed up the process.

The Evolution site traces through time the emergence of various species of plants and animals, focusing on major transitions in each group's past. It also focuses on human evolution, which is a topic of particular importance for students.

When Darwin wrote the Origin in 1859, only a handful of antediluvian human fossils had been discovered. The skullcap that is famous, along with the associated bones, was discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto of Germany. It is now recognized as an early Homo neanderthalensis. It is unlikely that Darwin was aware of the skullcap when it was published in 1858, one year after the first edition of The Origin.

While the site focuses on biology, it also contains a wealth of information on geology and paleontology. Among the best features of the Web site are a series of timelines that illustrate how climatic and geological conditions changed over time, and a map of the geographical distribution of some fossil groups that are featured on the site.

While the site is a companion to the PBS television show, it also stands on its own as a valuable resource for teachers and students. The site is well-organized, and provides easy links to the introductory information of Understanding Evolution (developed under the National Science Foundation's funding) and the more specific features of the museum's website. These hyperlinks facilitate the move from the cartoon-like 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. They demonstrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.

Diversity

The evolution of life on Earth has resulted in a variety of plants, animals, and insects. Paleobiology, the study of these creatures within their geological environment, has many advantages over modern observational or experimental methods for studying evolutionary phenomena. Paleobiology is able to study not just the processes and events that happen frequently or over time, but also the distribution and frequency of various animal groups across geological time.

The site is divided up into various routes that can be taken to gain knowledge about evolution. One of the paths, "Evolution 101," takes the viewer through the nature and evidence of evolution. The path also reveals common misconceptions about evolution and the evolution of thought.

Each of the main sections of the Evolution website is equally well-developed, with materials that can be used to support a variety of educational levels and teaching styles. In addition to the general textual content, the site also has an array of interactive and multimedia resources, such as videos, animations and virtual laboratories. The breadcrumb-like arrangement of the content aids in navigation and orientation on the vast web site.

The page "Coral Reef Connections" For instance, the page "Coral Reef Connections" provides an overview of the relationships between corals and their interactions with other organisms, and then zooms in to one clam, which is able to communicate with its neighbors and respond to changes in the conditions of the water that occur at the reef level. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary interactive and multimedia pages offers a great introduction to a variety of topics in evolutionary biology. The content includes an overview of the importance of natural selection and the concept of phylogenetics analysis which is a crucial method for understanding the evolution of change.

Evolutionary Theory

Evolution is an underlying thread that connects all branches of biology. A wide range of resources helps teachers teach 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 variety of interactive learning modules. It also has an embedded "bread crumb" structure that helps students move from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this large Web site more closely linked to the world of research science. For instance an animation that explains the notion of genetic inheritance leads to a page that focuses on John Endler's experiments with artificial selection with guppies in native ponds of Trinidad.

The Evolution Library on this website is a vast multimedia library of assets related with evolution. The content is organized in curricula-based paths that correspond to the learning goals set forth in biology standards. It contains seven videos designed specifically for use in the classroom, and can be streamed at no cost or purchased on DVD.


Evolutionary biology is still an area of study with a lot of important questions to answer, such as what causes evolution and the speed at which it happens. This is particularly true in the case of human evolution, where it was difficult to reconcile religious beliefs that humans have a distinct place in creation and a soul, with the idea that innate physical traits originated from the apes.

There are a myriad of other ways evolution could occur including natural selection, which is the most widely accepted theory. However, scientists also study other kinds of evolution like mutation, genetic drift and sexual selection, among others.

While many scientific fields of inquiry have a conflict with literal interpretations of religious texts evolutionary biology has been the subject of particularly controversial debate and resistance from religious fundamentalists. Some religions have reconciled their beliefs to evolution but others haven't.