5 Must-Know-How-To Evolution Site Methods To 2024
Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts by biology teachers, there are still misconceptions regarding evolution. Pop science nonsense has led many people to believe that biologists don't believe evolution.
This site, which is a companion to the PBS program offers teachers resources which support evolution education, while avoiding the kinds of misconceptions that can undermine it. It's arranged in a nested "bread crumb" format to facilitate navigation and orientation.
Definitions
Evolution is a complicated and difficult subject matter to teach effectively. People who are not scientists often have a difficult time understanding the subject and some scientists use a definition that confuses it. This is particularly relevant to discussions about the meaning of the word itself.
It is therefore essential 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 way. The site is both an accompaniment to the 2001 series, and also a resource of its own. The content is presented in a way that aids navigation and orientation.
The site defines terms such as common ancestor, gradual process and so on. These terms help to define the nature of evolution as well as its relationship to other scientific concepts. The site provides an overview of the way that evolution has been tested. This information can be used to dispel the myths that have been engendered by creationists.
You can also access a glossary that contains terms that are used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation is the tendency of heritable traits to be more suitable to their environment. This is due to natural selection, which happens when organisms with better adapted traits are more likely 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. The common ancestor can be identified by analyzing the DNA of those species.
Deoxyribonucleic acid: A large biological molecule that contains the information necessary for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences that are strung into long chains known as chromosomes. Mutations are the basis for new genetic information in cells.
Coevolution: 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 in the interactions between predator and prey, or parasites and hosts.
Origins
Species (groups that can crossbreed) develop through a series of natural changes in their offspring's traits. These changes are caused by a variety of factors that include natural selection, genetic drift, and gene pool mixing. The evolution of new species could take thousands of years. Environmental conditions, like changes in the climate or competition for food resources and habitat, can slow or accelerate the process.
The Evolution site tracks through time the emergence of various species of plants and animals and focuses on major changes within each group's past. It also focuses on human evolution and is a subject that is of particular interest to students.
When Darwin wrote the Origin of Species, only a handful of antediluvian human fossils had been discovered. The famous skullcap, along with the associated bones were 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 when it was published in 1858, a year after the publication of the first edition of The Origin.
The site is mostly one of biology however, it also has many details on geology and paleontology. One of the most appealing features on the site are a series of timelines that show how geological and climatic conditions have changed over time and an outline of the distribution of a few fossil groups that are featured on the site.
Although the site is a companion piece to a PBS television series but it also stands on its own as an excellent resource for teachers and students. The site is extremely well-organized and has clear links between the introductory information in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more specialized elements of the museum Web site. These hyperlinks make it easy to move from the cartoon-style Understanding Evolution pages into the more sophisticated worlds of research science. Particularly there are hyperlinks to John Endler's research with Guppies, which demonstrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life has resulted in an array of plants, animals and insects. Paleobiology, the study of these creatures in their geological context is a superior method of study over the current observational or experimental methods of studying evolutionary phenomena. In addition to examining the processes and events that happen regularly or over a long period of time, paleobiology is able to study the diversity of kinds of organisms as well as their distribution in space over geological time.
The site is divided into several optional ways to learn about evolution which include "Evolution 101," which takes the user on a linear path through the nature of science and the evidence supporting the theory of evolution. The path also examines myths about evolution, as well as the history of evolutionary thinking.
Each of the other sections of the Evolution site is similarly constructed, with materials that can be used to support a range of different pedagogical levels and curriculum levels. In addition to general textual content, the site offers an extensive selection of multimedia and interactive content like videos, animations and virtual labs. The breadcrumb-like arrangement of the content assists with navigation and orientation on the vast Web site.
For example, the page "Coral Reef Connections" gives a brief overview of the relationships between corals and their interaction with other organisms. Then, it zooms in on a single clam that can communicate with its neighbors and react to changes in water conditions that take place at the reef level. This page, along with the other multidisciplinary, multimedia and interactive pages on the site, provide an excellent introduction to a broad variety of topics in evolutionary biology. The material includes a discussion on the significance of natural selectivity and the concept of phylogenetics as a key tool for understanding evolutionary change.
Evolutionary Theory
For biology students, evolution is a key thread that weaves together all the branches of the field. A rich collection supports teaching evolution across the life science disciplines.
One resource, which is the companion to PBS's television show Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of an Web page that provides depth and breadth in terms of its educational resources. The site has a wide array of interactive learning modules. It also features a "bread crumb structure" that helps students move away from the cartoon-like style that is used in Understanding Evolution and onto elements on this large website more closely related to the fields of research science. For example an animation that introduces the concept of genetic inheritance links to a page highlighting John Endler's artificial selection experiments with guppies from the native ponds of Trinidad.
Another helpful resource is the Evolution Library on this Web website, which includes an extensive collection of multimedia resources related to evolution. The content is organized according to courses that are based on curriculum and follow the learning objectives set out in the biology standards. evolutionkr includes seven short videos designed specifically for use in classrooms, and can be streamed for no cost or purchased on DVD.
Evolutionary biology is still an area of study with a lot of important questions, including what triggers evolution and how fast it occurs. This is particularly true for human evolution, which has made it difficult to reconcile the idea that the innate physical characteristics of humans evolved from apes with religious beliefs that claim that humans are unique in the universe and has an enviable place in creation. It is soul.
There are a myriad of other ways evolution could occur, with natural selection as the most popular theory. Scientists also study different types such as mutation, genetic drift and sexual selection.
Many fields of inquiry have a conflict with the literal interpretations of religious texts Evolutionary biology has been the subject of intense controversy and resistance from religious fundamentalists. Certain religions have embraced their beliefs with evolutionary biology, while others haven't.