Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology teachers, misinformation about evolution persist. Pop science nonsense has led many people to believe that biologists don't believe evolution.
This site, a companion to the PBS program, provides teachers with materials that promote evolution education while avoiding the types of misconceptions that can make it difficult to understand. It's arranged in a nested "bread crumb" format to make it easy for navigation and orientation.
Definitions
It is difficult to teach evolution well. Many non-scientists are unable to grasp the concept, and some scientists even employ a definition that confuses it. This is especially true when it comes to discussions about the nature of the word.
Therefore, it is crucial to define the terms used in evolutionary biology. The website for the PBS show, Understanding Evolution, does this in a clear and helpful way. The site is a companion site to the series that first aired in 2001, but also functions as an independent resource. The content is presented in a nested fashion that assists in navigation and orientation.
The site defines terms like common ancestor, gradual process and adaptation. These terms help frame the nature and significance of evolution with other scientific concepts. The site then offers an overview of how the concept of evolution has been tested and validated. This information can help dispel the myths that are created by the creationists.
It is also possible to find a glossary of terms that are used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation is the process of changing heritable traits to be more suitable to their environment. This is the result of natural selection. Organisms that have better-adapted traits are more likely than those with less adaptable traits to reproduce and survive.
Common ancestor (also called common ancestor): The most recent ancestral ancestor shared by two or more species. The common ancestor can be identified by studying the DNA of those species.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid: A large biological molecular that contains the information needed for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences, which are strung into long chains, referred to as chromosomes. Mutations are the source of new genetic information within cells.
Coevolution is the relationship between two species in which the evolutionary changes of one species are influenced by evolutionary changes in the other. Coevolution can be observed in the interaction of predator and prey, or parasite and hosts.
Origins
Species (groups of individuals who can interbreed) change through an array of natural changes in the traits of their offspring. The changes can be triggered by a variety such as natural selection, genetic drift, and mixing of genes. The evolution of new species could take thousands of years. Environmental conditions, such as climate changes or competition for food or habitat, can slow or accelerate the process.
The Evolution site follows the emergence of various species of plants and animals and focuses on major changes in each group's history. It also examines the evolution of humans, which is a topic that is particularly important for students.
Darwin's Origin was written in 1859, when just a handful of antediluvian fossils of humans had been found. The skullcap that is famous, along with the associated bones, was discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto of Germany. It is now known as an early Homo neanderthalensis. It is unlikely that Darwin knew about the skullcap, which was first published in 1858, one year after the first edition of The Origin.
While the site is focused on biology, it offers a lot of information about geology and paleontology. The website has a number of aspects that are quite impressive, including an overview of the way that climate and geological conditions have changed over time. It also has a map showing the distribution of fossil groups.
While the site is a companion piece to a PBS television series however, it can stand on its own as an excellent source for teachers and students. The site is very well-organized and offers clear links between the introductory information in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more specialized components of the museum's Web site. These links make it easier to transition from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution pages into the more sophisticated realms of research science. There are also links to John Endler's experiments with guppies, which illustrate the importance 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 natural environment is a superior method of study over modern observational or experimental methods of studying evolutionary phenomena. Paleobiology focuses on not only the process and events that occur regularly or over time, but also the relative abundance and distribution of various animal groups in space over the course of the geological time.
The site is divided into a variety of paths to learning evolution which include "Evolution 101," which takes the viewer on a liner 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 main sections of the Evolution site is similarly constructed, with materials that support a variety of curriculum levels and pedagogical styles. The site offers a wide array of multimedia and interactive resources that include videos, animations, and virtual labs in addition to general textual content. The breadcrumb-like structure of the content assists with navigation and orientation on the massive website.
The page "Coral Reef Connections" For instance, the page "Coral Reef Connections" provides a comprehensive overview of the coral's relationships and their interactions with other organisms and is enlarged to show a single clam, which is able to communicate with its neighbors and react to changes in water conditions that occur on the reef level. This page, along with the other multidisciplinary, multimedia and interactive pages on the website, provide an excellent introduction to the broad spectrum of topics in evolutionary biology. The material also provides a discussion of the role of natural selection as well as the concept of phylogenetic analysis which is a key tool for understanding the evolution of changes.
Evolution ary 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 helps teachers teach about evolution across the life sciences.
One resource, a companion to the PBS television series Understanding Evolution, is an outstanding example of an Web site that provides the depth and breadth of its educational resources. The site offers a variety of interactive learning modules. It also features a "bread crumb structure" that helps students move away from the cartoon style that is used in Understanding Evolution and onto elements on this site that are more closely connected to the fields of research science. For example an animation that introduces the notion of genetic inheritance leads to a page highlighting John Endler's experiments with artificial selection with guppies from the native ponds of Trinidad.
The Evolution Library on this website contains a large multimedia library of resources that are associated with evolution. The content is organized according to curriculum-based pathways that correspond to the learning objectives set out in the biology standards. It includes seven short videos specifically designed for use in the classroom, and can be streamed at no cost or purchased on DVD.
Evolutionary biology is still a field of study with a lot of important questions, such as the causes of evolution and the speed at which it takes place. This is particularly true in the case of human evolution where it was a challenge to reconcile religious beliefs that humanity has a unique place in creation and a soul with the notion that our physical traits were derived from the apes.
There are a myriad of other ways in which evolution could occur and natural selection being the most widely accepted theory. However, scientists also study other kinds of evolution, such as mutation, genetic drift and sexual selection, among other things.
While many fields of scientific inquiry are in conflict with literal interpretations of the Bible, evolutionary biology has been the subject of fierce debate and opposition from religious fundamentalists. While certain religions have been able to reconcile their beliefs with the ideas of evolution, others haven't.