Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology teachers, misinformation about evolution persist. Pop science nonsense has led people to think that biologists don't believe in evolution.
This rich website - companion to the PBS series It provides teachers with materials which support evolution education and help avoid the kinds of myths that hinder it. It's laid out in a "bread crumb" format to facilitate navigation and orientation.
Definitions
It is difficult to teach evolution well. It is often misunderstood by non-scientists, and even some scientists have been guilty of using an interpretation that is confusing the issue. This is especially relevant when discussing the nature of the words themselves.
As such, it is crucial to define the terms used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website does this in a straightforward and useful way. It is an accompanying site for the 2001 series, and also a resource on its own. The content is organized in a manner that makes it easier to navigate and comprehend.
The site defines terms like common ancestor, gradual process, and adaptation. These terms help to define the nature and significance of evolution to other scientific concepts. The website provides a summary of the ways that evolution has been tested. This information can help dispel the myths created by 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 hereditary traits to become more suitable to their environment. This is a result of natural selection. Organisms that have better-adapted traits are more likely than those with less-adapted traits to survive and reproduce.
Common ancestor (also called common ancestor) is the most recent ancestor that is shared by two or more species. By analyzing the DNA from these species it is possible to determine the common ancestor.
Deoxyribonucleic acid: A large biological molecule that holds the information necessary for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences which are strung into long chains known as chromosomes. Mutations are the basis for new genetic information in cells.
Coevolution is a relationship between two species where evolutionary changes in one species are affected by changes in evolutionary processes in the other. Coevolution can be seen through the interaction between predator and prey, or parasite and hosts.
Origins
Species (groups of individuals that can interbreed) change through an array of natural changes in the traits of their offspring. The changes can be caused by a variety that include natural selection, genetic drift and mixing of gene pools. The evolution of new species can take thousands of years. Environmental conditions, such as climate change or competition for food and habitat can impede or accelerate the process.
에볼루션 바카라사이트 traces the emergence of various groups of animals and plants over time and focuses on the most significant shifts that occurred throughout the history of each group. It also explores human evolution as a subject that is of particular interest to students.
Darwin's Origin was written in 1859, at a time when only a few antediluvian fossils of humans were discovered. The famous skullcap, along with the bones that accompanied it, was discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto of Germany. It is now regarded as an early Homo neanderthalensis. It is unlikely that Darwin knew about the skullcap, which was published in 1858, which was a year after the first edition of The Origin.
The site is mostly an online biology resource however, it also has many details on paleontology and geology. Among the best features on the site are a series of timelines which show how climatic and geological conditions have changed over time, as well as an outline of the distribution of a few of the fossil groups featured on the site.
Although the site is a companion to a PBS television show, it also stands on its own as a great resource for teachers and students. The site is well-organized and offers easy links to the introductory information of Understanding Evolution (developed under the National Science Foundation's funding) and the more specialized features of the museum's website. These hyperlinks make it easy to transition from the cartoon-style Understanding Evolution pages into the more sophisticated worlds of research science. There are 에볼루션 바카라사이트 to John Endler's experiments with guppies. They demonstrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life has produced a variety of animals, plants and insects. Paleobiology, the study of these creatures within their geological environment, has many advantages over the current observational or experimental methods of studying evolutionary phenomena. Paleobiology focuses on not just the processes and events that occur regularly or over time but also the relative abundance and distribution of different species of animals in space throughout geological time.
The website is divided into various paths to learning evolution that include "Evolution 101," which takes the user on a linear path through the scientific process and the evidence to support the theory of evolution. The path also reveals the most common misconceptions about evolution, as well as the evolution theory's history.
Each of the other sections of the Evolution site is similarly constructed, with materials that support a variety of educational levels and pedagogical styles. In addition to the standard textual content, the site offers an array of multimedia and interactive content, such as videos, animations, and virtual labs. The breadcrumb-like structure of the content helps with navigation and orientation on the vast Web site.
The page "Coral Reef Connections", for example, provides a comprehensive overview of the coral's relationships and interactions with other organisms and then zooms in to one clam, which can communicate with its neighbours and respond to changes in the water conditions that occur on the reef level. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary, multimedia and interactive pages on the site, offer an excellent introduction to a wide variety of topics in evolutionary biology. The material includes an overview of the significance of natural selectivity and the concept of phylogenetics as a key method for understanding the evolution of change.
Evolutionary Theory
For biology students evolution is a crucial thread that weaves together all branches of the field. A wide range of resources helps teachers teach about evolution across all life sciences.
One resource, a companion to the PBS television series Understanding Evolution, is an exceptional example of an Web site that offers both the depth and breadth of its educational resources. The site features a wealth of interactive learning modules. It also has a "bread crumb structure" that assists students in moving away from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution and onto elements of this vast website that are closely connected to the worlds of research science. An animation that introduces the concept of genetics, which links to a page that highlights John Endler's experiments with artificial selection using guppies on native ponds in Trinidad.
The Evolution Library on this website is a vast multimedia library of resources that are associated with evolution. The content is organized according to curriculum-based paths that parallel the learning objectives set out in biology standards. It contains seven videos designed specifically for use in classrooms, and can be streamed for free or purchased on DVD.
Evolutionary biology is still an area of study that poses many important questions, such as what triggers evolution and how fast it happens. This is especially true in the case of human evolution which was a challenge to reconcile religious beliefs that held that humanity has a special place in creation and a soul with the idea that innate physical traits were derived from Apes.
In addition there are a myriad of ways that evolution can be triggered with natural selection being the most widely accepted theory. However, scientists also study other types of evolution such as mutation, genetic drift and sexual selection, among others.
Although many scientific fields of study have a conflict with literal interpretations found in religious texts, evolution biology has been a source of intense debate and resistance from religious fundamentalists. Some religions have reconciled their beliefs with evolutionary biology, but others haven't.