Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology educators, misconceptions persist regarding evolution. People who have taken in pop science nonsense often assume that biologists do not believe in evolution.
This rich Web site, a companion to the PBS program, provides teachers with materials that support the evolution of education, while avoiding the kinds of misconceptions which undermine it. It's organized in a nested "bread crumb" format for ease of navigation and orientation.
Definitions
It's difficult to effectively teach evolution. People who are not scientists often have a difficult time understanding the subject, and some scientists even use a definition which confuses it. This is particularly true when it comes to discussions on the nature of the word.
It is essential to define terms that are used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website provides this in a simple and efficient way. The website is a companion to the show which first aired in 2001, but it can also function as an independent resource. The material is organized in a manner that makes it simpler to navigate and understand.
The site defines terms such as common ancestor (or common ancestor), gradual process and adaptation. These terms help frame the nature of evolution as well as its relation to other scientific concepts. The site then offers an overview of how the concept of evolution has been researched and validated. 에볼루션 슬롯게임 will help to dispel the myths created by creationists.
It is also possible to access the glossary of terms 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 with better-adapted traits are more likely than those with less adapted traits to survive and reproduce.
Common ancestor: The most recent common ancestor of two or more species. The common ancestor can be identified through analyzing the DNA of those species.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid: A large biological molecular that holds the information needed for cell replication. The information is contained in nucleotides arranged in sequences that are strung together to form long chains, also known as chromosomes. Mutations are the reason behind the creation of new genetic information within cells.
Coevolution is a relationship between two species in which the evolutionary changes of one species influence evolutionary changes 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) develop through a series of natural changes in the traits of their offspring. Changes can be caused by numerous factors, like natural selection, gene drift, and mixing of the gene pool. The evolution of new species could take thousands of years. Environmental conditions, such as changes in the climate or competition for food or habitat can impede or accelerate the process.
The Evolution site traces the emergence of a variety of animal and plant groups through time, focusing on the major transitions that occurred in each group's history. It also examines the human evolutionary roots and humans, a subject that is especially important for students to know.
Darwin's Origin was published in 1859, when just a few antediluvian fossils of humans were discovered. The famous skullcap, along with the bones associated with it, was 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, which was a year after the publication of the first edition of The Origin. Origin.
The site is primarily a biology site however, it also has many details on paleontology and geology. The site offers numerous features that are particularly impressive, such as the timeline of how geological and climate conditions have changed over time. It also includes an interactive map that shows the location of fossil groups.
The site is a companion to the PBS TV series but it can also be used as an educational resource for teachers and students. The site is extremely well organized and provides clear links between the introduction content in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more specific components of the museum's Web site. These links make it easier to move from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution pages into the more sophisticated realms of research science. Particularly, there are links to John Endler's experiments with Guppies, which demonstrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life has produced many species of animals, plants and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures within their geological context and has a number of advantages over the modern observational and research methods for analyzing evolutionary processes. Paleobiology is able to study not only the process and events that take place regularly or over time, but also the relative abundance and distribution of different groups of animals across geological time.
The website is divided into various paths to learning evolution which include "Evolution 101," which takes the viewer on a liner path through the nature of science and the evidence supporting the theory of evolution. The course also focuses on misconceptions about evolution, and the background of evolutionary thinking.
Each of the other major sections of the Evolution site is similarly developed, with materials that support a variety of curriculum levels and pedagogical styles. In addition to the standard textual content, the site features an extensive selection of multimedia and interactive content like video clips, animations, and virtual laboratories. The content is organized in a nested, bread crumb style that facilitates navigation and orientation within the large Web site.
The page "Coral Reef Connections" For instance, it provides a comprehensive overview of the coral's relationships, their interaction with other organisms and zooms in to a single clam, which is able communicate with its neighbours and respond to changes in the conditions of the water that occur at the reef level. This page, along with the other multidisciplinary interactive and multimedia pages provides an excellent introduction to a 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 for understanding evolutionary change.
Evolutionary Theory
For biology students the concept of evolution is a major thread that connects all branches of the field. A vast collection of resources supports teaching about evolution across the life sciences.
One resource, which is a companion to the PBS television series Understanding Evolution, is an exceptional example of an Web site that offers both depth and a variety of educational resources. The site features a wide range of interactive learning modules. It also has a "bread crumb structure" that allows students to move away from the cartoon style used in Understanding Evolution and onto elements on this site that are more closely related to the worlds of research science. For instance an animation that introduces the idea of genetic inheritance connects to a page that focuses on John Endler's artificial selection experiments with guppies in native ponds of Trinidad.
The Evolution Library on this website has a huge multimedia library of resources that are associated with evolution. The content is organized according to curriculum-based pathways that correspond to the learning goals set forth in the biology standards. It includes seven short videos designed specifically for use in classrooms, and can be streamed for free or purchased on DVD.
Evolutionary biology is still a field of study that has many important questions, such as the causes of evolution and the speed at which it takes place. This is particularly true for humans' evolution which was a challenge to reconcile religious beliefs that held that humans have a distinct position in the universe and a soul, with the idea that innate physical traits were derived from the apes.
Additionally there are a myriad of ways in which evolution could be triggered and natural selection is the most widely accepted theory. Scientists also study other types like mutation, genetic drift, and sexual selection.
Many fields of inquiry conflict with 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 notions of evolution, others aren't.