Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology educators, there are still a lot of misconceptions about the evolution. Pop science nonsense has led people to think that biologists don't believe in evolution.
This site, which is a complement to the PBS program offers teachers resources that promote evolution education, while avoiding the kinds of misconceptions which hinder it. It's arranged in a nested "bread crumb" format for ease of navigation and orientation.
Definitions
It's not easy to teach evolution well. It is often misunderstood even by non-scientists, and even scientists are guilty of using definitions that confuse the issue. This is particularly relevant when discussing the meaning of the words themselves.
It is crucial to define the terms used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website does this in a straightforward and useful way. The site is a companion site to the show which first aired in 2001, but can also function as an independent resource. The information is presented in a structured manner that makes it easier to navigate and understand.
The site defines terms like common ancestor (or common ancestor), gradual process, and adaptation. These terms help to frame the nature of evolution and its relation to other concepts in science. The site provides an overview of the ways that evolution has been examined. This information will help to dispel the myths created by creationists.
It is also possible to find a glossary of terms that are used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation: The tendency of hereditary traits to become more suited to a particular environment. This is the result of natural selection. Organisms that have better-adapted characteristics are more likely than those with less adaptable traits to reproduce and survive.
Common ancestor: The most recent common ancestor of two or more species. The common ancestor can be identified by studying the DNA of the species.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid: A huge biological molecular that contains the necessary information for cell replication. The information is contained in nucleotides arranged in sequences that are strung together into long chains, called chromosomes. Mutations are the cause of new genetic information within cells.
Coevolution: 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 the parasite and the host.
Origins
Species (groups that can interbreed) change by a series of natural variations in the traits of their offspring. These changes are caused by a variety of causes such as natural selection, genetic drift and mixing of genes. The development of a new species can take thousands of years and the process could be slowed down or accelerated due to environmental conditions, such as climate change or the competition for food or habitat.
The Evolution site tracks through time the evolution of various species of plants and animals and focuses on major changes in each group's history. It also focuses on human evolution, which is a topic of particular importance for students.
When Darwin wrote the Origin, only a handful of antediluvian human fossils had been found. One of them was the infamous skullcap and associated bones found in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto in Germany which is now believed as an early Homo neanderthalensis. It is unlikely that Darwin knew about the skullcap when it was published in 1858, which was a year following the initial edition of The Origin. Origin.
While the site is focused on biology, it also contains a wealth of information about geology as well as paleontology. The Web site has numerous features that are especially impressive, including a timeline of the way that climate and geological conditions have changed over time. 에볼루션 바카라 체험 has a map showing the distribution of fossil groups.
The site is a companion to a PBS television series, but it could also be used as a resource for teachers and students. The site is well-organized, and provides clear links to the introductory information of Understanding Evolution (developed under the National Science Foundation's funding) and the more specific features of the museum website. These hyperlinks help users move from the cartoon-like style of the Understanding Evolution pages to the more sophisticated world of research science. Particularly, there are links to John Endler's research with Guppies that demonstrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life has resulted in an array of plants, animals and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures within their geological context offers many advantages over modern observational or research methods for exploring evolutionary phenomena. In addition to studying the processes and events that happen regularly or over a lengthy period of time, paleobiology is able to analyze the diversity of species of organisms and their distribution across geological time.
The site is divided into various routes that can be taken to learn about evolution. One of these paths, "Evolution 101," guides the user through the complexities and evidence of evolution. The path also explores misconceptions about evolution, as well as the history of evolutionary thought.
Each of the main sections of the Evolution website is equally well-developed, with materials that can be used to support a variety of curriculum levels and teaching styles. The site includes a variety of multimedia and interactive resources that include videos, animations, and virtual laboratories as well as general textual content. The breadcrumb-like arrangement of the content assists with navigation and orientation on the massive web site.
The page "Coral Reef Connections", for example, gives a brief overview of the coral's relationships and their interactions with other organisms and zooms in on one clam, which is able to 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, provide an excellent introduction to a broad variety of topics in evolutionary biology. The material includes an explanation of the importance of natural selection 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 vast collection of books helps in teaching evolution across all life science disciplines.
One resource, a companion to the PBS television series Understanding Evolution, is an outstanding example of a Web site that offers both depth and a variety of educational resources. The site has a variety of interactive learning modules. It also has an embedded "bread crumb" structure that allows students to move from the cartoon-like style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this huge site that are more closely linked to the field of research science. 에볼루션 슬롯 that introduces the concept of genetics, which links to a page highlighting John Endler's experiments in artificial selection using guppies on native ponds in Trinidad.
Another resource that is worth mentioning is the Evolution Library on this web site, which has an extensive collection of multimedia items related to evolution. The content is organized according to the form of curriculum-based pathways that are in line with the learning objectives outlined in the standards for biology. It includes seven short videos specifically designed for use in the classroom, and can be streamed for no cost or purchased on DVD.
Evolutionary biology remains a field of study that has many important questions to answer, such as what triggers evolution and how quickly it takes place. This is especially true for humans' evolution where it was a challenge to reconcile religious beliefs that humans have a distinct place in the creation and a soul, with the idea that innate physical traits originated from apes.
Additionally there are a myriad of ways that evolution could be triggered, with natural selection being the most popular theory. However, scientists also study other kinds of evolution, such as mutation, genetic drift and sexual selection, among others.
Many fields of inquiry conflict with the literal interpretations of religious texts Evolutionary biology has been the subject of particularly intense controversy and resistance from religious fundamentalists. While some religions have been able to reconcile their beliefs with the ideas of evolution, other religions have not.