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Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution

Despite the best efforts of biology educators, misinformation about evolution remain. Pop science nonsense has led people to believe that biologists aren't believers in evolution.

This rich Web site, which is a companion to the PBS program offers teachers resources that support the evolution of education while avoiding the types of misconceptions that undermine it. It's laid out in a nested "bread crumb" format to facilitate navigation and orientation.

Definitions

Evolution is a complex and difficult subject matter to teach well. Non-scientists often misunderstand the subject and some scientists employ a definition that confuses it. This is particularly relevant when it comes to the meaning of the words themselves.

Therefore, it is important to define terms used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website helps you define these terms in a simple and efficient way. The website is a companion to the series that first aired in 2001, but also functions as an independent resource. The material is presented in a way which aids navigation and orientation.

The site defines terms such as common ancestor, gradual process, and adaptation. These terms help to define the nature and significance of evolution to other concepts in science. The site gives a comprehensive overview of the manner in which evolution has been tested. This information will help to dispel the myths created by creationists.

It is also possible to get the glossary of terms used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:

Adaptation: The tendency of heritable traits to become better adaptable to a specific environment. This is due to natural selection, which occurs when organisms with better-adapted traits are more likely to survive and reproduce than those with less adapted characteristics.

Common ancestor (also known as common ancestor): The most recent ancestral ancestor shared by two or more species. By studying the DNA of these species it is possible to identify the common ancestor.

Deoxyribonucleic acid: A huge biological molecule that holds the information needed for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences, which are strung into long chains known as chromosomes. Mutations are responsible for the creation of new genetic information inside cells.

Coevolution is the relationship between two species where evolution of one species are influenced evolutionary changes in the other. Coevolution is evident through the interaction between predator and prey, or parasites and hosts.

Origins

Species (groups that can interbreed) change by a series of natural variations in the traits of their offspring. more.. can be caused by a variety such as natural selection, genetic drift and mixing of gene pools. The evolution of new species could take thousands of years. Environmental conditions, such as changes in the climate or competition for food resources and habitat can slow or speed up the process.

The Evolution site tracks the development of a number of different species of plants and animals over time, focusing on the major shifts that occurred throughout each group's history. It also focuses on the evolutionary origin of humans and humans, a subject that is crucial for students to know.

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 bones associated with 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 was published, it's very unlikely that Darwin had ever heard of it.

While the site focuses on biology, it also includes a good deal of information about geology and paleontology. One of the most appealing features of the website are a set of timelines that show how climatic and geological conditions have changed over time, and a map of the geographical distribution of some of the fossil groups featured on the site.

The site is a companion for a PBS television series, but it could also be used as an educational source for teachers and students. The site is well organized and provides clear links between the introductory content in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more specific components of the museum's Web site. These hyperlinks make it easy to transition from the cartoon-style Understanding Evolution pages into the more sophisticated realms of research science. In particular there are links to John Endler's research with 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 modern observational and research methods in its exploration of evolutionary phenomena. In addition to examining processes and events that occur regularly or over a lengthy period of time, paleobiology is able to examine the relative abundance of different kinds of organisms as well as their distribution throughout the course of geological time.

The Web site is divided into several optional ways to learn about evolution, including "Evolution 101," which takes the viewer on a liner path through the nature of science and the evidence to support the theory of evolution. The path also explores misconceptions regarding evolution, and also the history of evolutionary thought.

Each of the main sections of the Evolution website is equally well-developed, and includes materials that support a variety curriculum levels and teaching styles. The site has a range of multimedia and interactive resources which include video clips, animations and virtual laboratories, in addition to its general textual content. The breadcrumb-like organization of the content assists with navigation and orientation on the massive Web site.


For example, the page "Coral Reef Connections" provides a comprehensive overview of coral relationships and their interaction with other organisms. It then narrows down to a single clam that can communicate with its neighbors and respond to changes in water conditions that occur at the reef level. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary multimedia and interactive pages, gives a good introduction to the many areas of evolutionary biology. The information also includes an explanation of the role of natural selection as well as the concept of phylogenetic analysis which is a crucial method to understand evolutionary change.

Evolutionary Theory

For biology students evolution is a crucial thread that weaves together all branches of the field. A wide selection of resources helps teachers teach evolution across the disciplines of life science.

One resource, which is a companion to the PBS television series Understanding Evolution, is an outstanding example of a Web site that offers both depth and breadth in its educational resources. The site has a wide array of interactive learning modules. It also has an "bread crumb structure" that allows students to move away from the cartoon style that is used in Understanding Evolution and onto elements on this large website more closely related to the fields of research science. Animation that introduces the concept of genetics links to a page highlighting John Endler's experiments in artificial selection using Guppies in native ponds in Trinidad.

The Evolution Library on this website contains a large multimedia library of assets related to evolution. The content is organized into curriculum-based paths that parallel the learning objectives set out in the biology standards. It includes seven short videos specifically designed for classroom use, which can be streamed for free or purchased on DVD.

Evolutionary biology remains an area of study with a lot of important questions, including what triggers evolution and how fast it takes place. This is especially applicable to human evolution which has made it difficult to reconcile the notion that the physical characteristics of humans were derived from apes, and the religious beliefs that claim that humanity is unique among living things and holds a an exclusive place in the creation. It is a soul.

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

While many scientific fields of inquiry conflict with the literal interpretations of religious texts evolutionary biology has been the subject of particularly fierce debate and opposition from religious fundamentalists. While some religions have been able to reconcile their beliefs with the notions of evolution, others have not.

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