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Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution

Despite the best efforts by biology educators, misconceptions persist about the evolution. Pop science nonsense has led many people to think that biologists don't believe in evolution.

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

Definitions

Evolution is a complex and difficult subject matter to teach well. It is often misunderstood by non-scientists, and even some scientists use an interpretation that is confusing the issue. This is especially applicable to discussions about the definition of the word itself.

It is therefore important to define the terms used in evolutionary biology. The website for the PBS show, Understanding Evolution, does this in a clear and useful way. The site serves as a companion for the 2001 series, but also a resource on its own. The material is presented in a nested manner that assists in navigation and orientation.

The site defines terms like common ancestor and the gradual process. These terms help frame the nature of evolution and its relationship to evolution to other scientific concepts. The website then provides an overview of how the concept of evolution has been tested and confirmed. This information can be used to dispel misconceptions that have been engendered by creationists.

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

Adaptation: The tendency for hereditary traits to become more suited to a particular environment. This is due to natural selection, which happens when organisms that are better-adapted traits are more likely survive and reproduce than those with less adaptable traits.

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 large biological molecule that holds the information necessary for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences that are strung into long chains, referred to as chromosomes. Mutations are the reason behind the creation of new genetic information within cells.


Coevolution: A relationship between two species in which evolutionary changes in one species are influenced by evolutionary changes in the other. Coevolution can be observed through the interaction between predator and prey, or parasite and hosts.

Origins

Species (groups that can crossbreed) change through a series natural changes in their offspring's traits. These changes are caused by a variety of factors such as natural selection, genetic drift and mixing of genes. The development of new species can take thousands of years. Environmental conditions, like climate change or competition for food resources and habitat can slow or speed up the process.

The Evolution site traces the emergence of a number of different species of plants and animals over time and focuses on the most significant changes that took place in the evolution of each group's history. It also examines the evolutionary history of humans, a topic that is especially important for students to understand.

Darwin's Origin was published in 1859, when only a handful of antediluvian fossils of human beings had been discovered. The famous skullcap, 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 highly unlikely that Darwin knew about the skullcap, which was first published in 1858, a year after the first edition of The Origin. Origin.

While the site focuses on biology, it also contains a wealth of information about geology and paleontology. Among the best features of the Web site are a set of timelines which show how geological and climatic conditions changed over time, as well as an interactive map of the distribution of some fossil groups listed on the site.

The site is a companion to the PBS TV series but it could also be used as an educational resource by teachers and students. The site is very well-organized and offers clear links between the introductory material in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more specific components of the museum's Web site. These hyperlinks help users move from the cartoon-like style of the Understanding Evolution pages to the more sophisticated world of research science. There are links to John Endler's experiments with guppies. They demonstrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.

Diversity

The evolution of life has led to many species of animals, plants and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures within their geological context and has many advantages over the modern observational and research methods of examining evolutionary phenomena. Paleobiology can examine not only the process and events that occur frequently or over time, but also the distribution and frequency of different species of animals in space throughout geological time.

The site is divided up into various paths that can be chosen to gain knowledge about evolution. One of the paths, "Evolution 101," walks the reader through the evolution of nature and the evidence of evolution. The path also explores common misconceptions about evolution as well as the evolution theory's history.

Each of the other main sections of the Evolution site is equally constructed, with materials that support a variety of different pedagogical levels and curriculum levels. In addition to the general textual content, the site offers an extensive selection of multimedia and interactive content like videos, animations, and virtual laboratories. The content is laid out in a nested bread crumb style that facilitates navigation and orientation on the Web site.

For example the page "Coral Reef Connections" provides a comprehensive overview of coral relationships and their interactions with other organisms, then concentrates on a specific clam that can communicate with its neighbours and respond to changes in water conditions that occur at the level of the reef. This page, along with the other multidisciplinary multimedia and interactive pages, offers a great introduction to many topics in evolutionary biology. The content includes an explanation of the significance of natural selectivity and the concept phylogenetics analysis which is a crucial tool to understand evolutionary changes.

Evolutionary Theory

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

One resource, which is a companion to the PBS television series Understanding Evolution, is an excellent example of an Web site that provides depth and breadth in its educational resources. The site features a wide range of interactive learning modules. It also has a nested "bread crumb" structure that allows students to move from the cartoon-like style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this large Web site more closely linked to the world of research science. An animation that introduces the concept of genetics, which links to a page highlighting John Endler's artificial-selection experiments with Guppies in native ponds in Trinidad.

Another useful resource is the Evolution Library on this web site, which has an extensive multimedia library of assets related to evolution. Recommended Website is organized in curricula-based paths that correspond to the learning objectives set out in biology standards. It contains seven videos specifically designed for classroom use, which can be streamed at no cost or purchased on DVD.

Evolutionary biology is a field of study that has many important questions, including what triggers evolution and how fast it occurs. This is especially true in the case of human evolution where it was a challenge to reconcile religious beliefs that held that humanity has a special place in creation and a soul, with the notion that human beings have innate physical traits evolved from Apes.

There are a variety 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, such as mutation, genetic drift and sexual selection, among others.

Although many scientific fields of study are in conflict with the literal interpretations of religious texts, the concept of evolution biology has been the subject of intense controversy and opposition from religious fundamentalists. While certain religions have managed to reconcile their beliefs with the notions of evolution, others have not.

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