Despite the best efforts of biology educators, misconceptions about evolution remain. Pop science nonsense has led many people to think that biologists don't believe in evolution.This site, which is a companion to the PBS program that provides teachers with resources which support evolution education, while avoiding the kinds of misconceptions that can undermine it. It's organized in a "bread crumb" format to aid in navigation and orientation.
Definitions
It's not easy to properly teach evolution. It is often misunderstood by non-scientists, and even scientists are guilty of using an interpretation that is confusing the issue. This is particularly applicable to debates about the nature of the word.
Therefore, it is important to define terms used in evolutionary biology. The website for the PBS show, Understanding Evolution, does this in a simple and efficient manner. It is a companion for the 2001 series, and also a resource on its own. The content is presented in a structured way that makes it easy to navigate and understand.
The site defines terms such as common ancestor, gradual process and adaptation. These terms help frame the nature of evolution and its relationship to evolution with other scientific concepts. The site then offers an overview of how the concept of evolution has been vetted and validated. This information can help dispel myths created by creationists.
You can also access a glossary that contains terms that are used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation: The tendency for hereditary traits to become more suited to a particular environment. This is a result of natural selection. It occurs when organisms with better-adapted traits are more likely survive and reproduce than those with less adaptable characteristics.
Common ancestor: The latest common ancestor of two or more distinct species. By studying the DNA of these species it is possible to identify the common ancestor.
Deoxyribonucleic acid: A massive biological molecule that contains information required for cell replication. The information is stored in sequences of nucleotides that are strung together to form long chains, called chromosomes. Mutations are the source of new genetic information in cells.
Coevolution is a relationship between two species in which evolutionary changes in one species are affected by changes in evolutionary processes in the other. Coevolution can be observed through the interaction between predator and prey, or parasite and hosts.
Origins
Species (groups of individuals that can interbreed) change through natural changes in the characteristics of their offspring. The changes can be triggered by a variety of factors that include natural selection, genetic drift and mixing of gene pools. The evolution of a new species could take thousands of years and the process can be slowed down or accelerated by environmental factors like climate change or the competition for food or habitat.
The Evolution site follows the emergence of various animal and plant groups, focusing on major transitions in each group's past. It also explores human evolution, which is a topic that is of particular interest to students.
Darwin's Origin was published in 1859, at a time when only a few antediluvian fossils of humans were discovered. The skullcap that is famous, along with the bones associated with it were discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto of Germany. It is now regarded as an early Homo neanderthalensis. It is unlikely that Darwin was aware of the skullcap, which was first published in 1858, one year after the first edition of The Origin.
While the site focuses on biology, it also offers a lot of information on geology and paleontology. Among the best features of the website are a timeline of events that illustrate how climatic and geological conditions have changed over time and an outline of the distribution of a few fossil groups listed on the site.
The site is a companion for a PBS television series, but it could also be used as an educational resource for teachers and students. The site is well-organized and offers easy links to the introductory content of Understanding Evolution (developed under the National Science Foundation's funding) as well as the more specialized features of the museum's website. These links facilitate the transition from the cartoon-like style of the Understanding Evolution pages to the more sophisticated world of research science. In particular, there are links 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 is the study of these creatures in their natural environment and has numerous advantages over the current observational and experimental methods for analyzing evolutionary processes. Paleobiology can examine not only processes and events that happen regularly or over time but also the distribution and frequency of various animal groups in space throughout geological time.
The website is divided into several optional pathways to understanding evolution, including "Evolution 101," which takes the viewer on a line through the science of nature and the evidence that supports the theory of evolution. The path also explores common misconceptions about evolution and the history of evolutionary thought.
Each of the main sections of the Evolution website is equally well-designed, with materials that can be used to support a variety of curriculum levels and teaching styles. In addition to the general textual content, the site features a wide range of interactive and multimedia resources, such as videos, animations and virtual laboratories. The breadcrumb-like structure of the content assists with navigation and orientation on the vast web site.
The page "Coral Reef Connections", for example, provides a comprehensive overview of the relationships between corals and their interactions with other organisms and then zooms in on one clam, which can 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 wide variety of topics in evolutionary biology. The content also includes a discussion on the role of natural selectivity and the concept of phylogenetics as a key tool to understand evolutionary change.
Evolutionary Theory
For biology students evolution is a crucial thread that weaves together all the branches of the field. A wide selection of resources helps teachers teach evolution across the disciplines of life science.
One resource, which is a companion to the PBS television series Understanding Evolution, is an exceptional example of an Web site that provides the depth and breadth of its educational resources. The site features a wide range of interactive learning modules. It also features an embedded "bread crumb" structure that helps students move from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this huge site that are more closely linked to the field of research science. Animation that introduces the concept of genetics links to a page that highlights John Endler's artificial-selection experiments with guppies on native ponds in Trinidad.
The Evolution Library on this website contains a large multimedia library of materials that deal with evolution. The content is organized according to curricula-based pathways that correspond to the learning objectives outlined in 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 to answer, 에볼루션 사이트 (evolutionkr.Kr) such as what triggers evolution and how fast it takes place. This is particularly true for humans' 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 idea that innate physical traits originated from Apes.
Additionally there are a myriad of ways in which evolution could be triggered with natural selection being the most popular theory. However, scientists also study other kinds of evolution like mutation, genetic drift, and sexual selection, among other things.
While many fields of scientific study conflict with literal interpretations in religious texts, evolution biology has been a source of intense controversy and opposition from religious fundamentalists. While certain religions have managed to reconcile their beliefs with the theories of evolution, other religions have not.
