Evolution Site's History Of Evolution Site In 10 Milestones
Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology educators, misconceptions about evolution persist. People who have absorbed the nonsense of pop science often believe that biologists are saying they do not believe in evolution.
This site, a companion to the PBS program offers teachers resources which support evolution education, while avoiding the kinds of misconceptions which hinder it. It's laid out in a "bread crumb" format to make navigation and orientation easier.
Definitions
Evolution is a complex and difficult subject matter to teach well. It is often misunderstood by non-scientists, and even some scientists are guilty of using a definition that confuses the issue. This is especially applicable to discussions on the definition of the word itself.
It is crucial to define the terms that are used in evolutionary biology. The website for the PBS show, Understanding Evolution, does this in a clear and helpful manner. The website is a companion to the show that premiered in 2001, but it can also function as an independent resource. The material is presented in a nested manner that aids navigation and orientation.
The site defines terms such as common ancestor and gradual process. These terms help frame the nature and relationship of evolution to other concepts in science. The site also provides an overview of how the concept of evolution has been vetted and validated. This information can be used to dispel misconceptions that have been propagated by the creationists.
It is also possible to get the glossary of terms used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation: The tendency for hereditary traits to become more adaptable to a specific environment. 에볼루션코리아 is the result of natural selection. Organisms that have better-adapted characteristics are more likely than those with less adaptable characteristics to survive and reproduce.
Common ancestor (also known as common ancestor): The most recent ancestral ancestor shared by two or more species. By analyzing the DNA from these species, it is possible to determine the common ancestor.
Deoxyribonucleic acid: A massive biological molecule that contains information necessary for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences that are strung into long chains, referred to as chromosomes. Mutations are responsible for the creation of new genetic information inside cells.
Coevolution is a relationship between two species where evolutionary changes in one species are affected by changes in evolutionary processes in the other. Examples of coevolution include the interactions between predator and prey or host and parasite.
Origins
Species (groups of individuals who can interbreed) change through an array of natural changes in the traits of their offspring. The causes of these changes are many factors, such as natural selection, gene drift and mixing of the gene pool. The development of a new species may take thousands of years, and the process may be slowed down or speeded up by environmental factors like climate change or the competition for food or habitat.
The Evolution site traces the emergence of various animal and plant groups through time and focuses on the most significant transitions that occurred in each group's history. It also explores the evolutionary origin of humans which is particularly important for students to comprehend.
Darwin's Origin was published in 1859, when only a few antediluvian fossils of human beings 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 known as an early Homo neanderthalensis. While the skullcap wasn't published until 1858, just one year after the first edition of the Origin was published, it's highly unlikely that Darwin had seen or heard of it.
The site is mostly an online biology resource however, it also has many details on paleontology and geology. The most impressive features of the Web site are a timeline of events that illustrate how climatic and geological conditions changed over time, as well as an interactive map of the distribution of some fossil groups that are featured on the site.
Although the site is a companion to a PBS television series however, it can stand on its own as a great resource for teachers and students. The site is well-organized and provides clear links to the introduction content of Understanding Evolution (developed under the National Science Foundation's assistance) and the more specialized features of the museum website. These hyperlinks help users move from the enthralling cartoon 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 illustrate the importance ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life on Earth has led to a wide variety of plants, animals, and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures in their natural environment and has a number of advantages over the modern observational and research methods for analyzing evolutionary processes. Paleobiology focuses on not only the process and events that happen frequently or over time, but also the distribution and frequency of different groups of animals across the geological time.
The Web site is divided into a variety of paths to learning evolution which include "Evolution 101," which takes the viewer on a line through the scientific process and the evidence to support the theory of evolution. The path also explores the most common misconceptions about evolution, as well as the evolution theory's history.
Each of the other main sections of the Evolution site is equally well constructed, with materials that can be used to support a range of different pedagogical levels and curriculum levels. In addition to the standard textual content, the site offers a wide range of interactive and multimedia resources including video clips, animations, and virtual labs. The content is presented in a nested bread crumb-like fashion that helps with navigation and orientation on the Web site.
The page "Coral Reef Connections", for example, provides an overview of the coral's relationships and interactions with other organisms, and then zooms in on one clam, which is able communicate with its neighbors and react to changes in the conditions of the water that occur at the reef level. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary, multimedia and interactive pages on the website, provide an excellent introduction to a broad spectrum of topics in evolutionary biology. The content includes an explanation of the significance of natural selectivity and the concept of phylogenetics, an important tool to understand evolutionary change.
Evolutionary Theory
For biology students, evolution is a key thread that connects all branches of the field. A vast collection of books helps in teaching evolution across all disciplines of life sciences.
One resource, which is a companion to the PBS television series Understanding Evolution, is an excellent 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 features an "bread crumb structure" that helps students move away from the cartoon-like style that is used in Understanding Evolution and onto elements on this site that are more closely connected to the realms of research science. For example an animation that explains the notion of genetic inheritance leads to a page highlighting John Endler's experiments in artificial selection with guppies from the native ponds of Trinidad.
Another helpful resource is the Evolution Library on this site, which contains an extensive collection of multimedia assets related to evolution. The content is organized into curricula-based paths that correspond to the learning objectives set out in the standards for biology. It includes seven short videos designed specifically for use in the classroom, and can be streamed for no cost or purchased on DVD.
Evolutionary biology remains an area of study that poses many important questions to answer, such as the causes of evolution and the speed at which it occurs. This is especially true in the case of human evolution, where it was difficult to reconcile religious beliefs that held that humanity has a unique position in the universe and a soul, with the notion that human beings have innate physical traits were derived from apes.
In addition, there are a number of ways that evolution can occur, with natural selection being the most popular theory. Scientists also study different types such as mutation, genetic drift and sexual selection.
While many scientific fields of inquiry conflict with literal interpretations of the Bible evolutionary biology has been the subject of intense controversy and resistance from religious fundamentalists. While some religions have been able to reconcile their beliefs with the theories of evolution, others have not.