Five Evolution Site Lessons From The Professionals

Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution

Despite the best efforts of biology teachers, misinformation about evolution persist. Pop science fiction has led a lot of people to believe that biologists aren't believers in evolution.

This site, which is a companion to the PBS series offers teachers with resources that support evolution education and help avoid the kinds of misinformation that can hinder it. It's laid out in the "bread crumb" format to make navigation and orientation easier.

Definitions

It's not easy to effectively teach evolution. It is often misunderstood by non-scientists, and even scientists use an interpretation that is confusing the issue. This is particularly relevant to discussions about the meaning of the word itself.

It is therefore essential to define the terms that are used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website does this in an easy and helpful way. It is an accompanying site for the 2001 series, but also a resource of its own. The material is presented in an organized way that makes it easy to navigate and comprehend.

The site defines terms such as common ancestor, gradual process and so on. These terms help to define the nature and relationship of evolution with other scientific concepts. The site gives a comprehensive overview of the manner the concept of evolution has been tested. This information can help dispel myths created by creationists.

You can also access a glossary which includes terms used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:

Adaptation is the tendency of heritable traits to become more suited to the environment. This is the result of natural selection. It occurs when organisms that are better-adapted traits are more likely survive and reproduce than those with less adaptable traits.

Common ancestor (also called common ancestor) is the most recent ancestor shared by two or more species. By studying the DNA of these species it is possible to determine the common ancestor.

Deoxyribonucleic acid: A massive biological molecule that holds the information necessary for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences which are strung into long chains called chromosomes. Mutations are the reason behind the creation of new genetic information within cells.

Coevolution: A relationship between two species in which 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 of individuals that can interbreed) evolve through a series of natural changes in the characteristics of their offspring. Changes can be caused by many factors, such as natural selection, gene drift, and mixing of the gene pool. The development of new species can take thousands of years. Environmental circumstances, such as climate change or competition for food or habitat can slow or speed up the process.

The Evolution site tracks through time the evolution of various animal and plant groups, focusing on major transitions within each group's past. It also explores human evolution and is a subject of particular importance to students.

Darwin's Origin was written in 1859, when only a handful of 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 known as an early Homo neanderthalensis. Although the skullcap was not published until 1858, just one year before the first edition of the Origin was published, it's extremely unlikely that Darwin had ever heard of it.

The site is primarily one of biology, but it also contains lots of information about geology and paleontology. One of the most appealing features of the website are a timeline of events that show 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.

While the site is a companion to a PBS television series, it also stands on its own as a great source for teachers and students. The site is very well-organized and has clear links between the introduction information in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more specialized components of the museum's Web site. These hyperlinks facilitate the 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 on Earth has led to a wide variety of animals, plants, and insects. Paleobiology, the study of these creatures in their geological environment offers many advantages over modern observational or experimental methods of studying evolutionary processes. Paleobiology can examine not only processes and events that take place regularly or over time but also the relative abundance and distribution of different groups of animals in space throughout geological time.

The site is divided into various ways to learn about evolution, including "Evolution 101," which takes the user on a linear path through the nature of science and the evidence supporting the theory of evolution. The path also explores misconceptions about evolution and the background of evolutionary thinking.

Each of the other major sections of the Evolution site is equally well constructed, with materials that support a variety of curriculum levels and pedagogical styles. The site has a range of interactive and multimedia resources that include video clips, animations and virtual laboratories as well as general textual content. The breadcrumb-like organization of the content assists with navigation and orientation on the vast web site.

For example the page "Coral Reef Connections" provides an overview of the relationships between corals and their interaction with other organisms. It then narrows down to a single clam that can communicate with its neighbors and respond to changes in the water conditions at the reef level. This page, along with the other multidisciplinary interactive and multimedia pages, offers a great introduction to a variety of topics in evolutionary biology. The material also provides an explanation of the role of natural selection and the concept of phylogenetic analysis which is a crucial tool in understanding evolutionary change.

Evolutionary Theory

Evolution is an underlying thread that connects all branches of biology. A vast collection of books helps in teaching evolution across all disciplines of life sciences.

One resource, the companion to PBS's TV series Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of an Web page that offers both depth as well as broadness in terms of educational resources. The site features a wealth of interactive learning modules. It also has a nested "bread crumb" structure that helps students move from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this huge site that are closer to the field of research science. For example an animation that explains 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.

Another useful resource is the Evolution Library on this website, which includes an extensive multimedia library of assets that are related to evolution. The content is organized according to curricula-based paths that correspond to the learning objectives set out in the standards for 에볼루션 슬롯 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 is still a field of study with a lot of important questions, such as what triggers evolution and how fast it occurs. This is especially true for human evolution, where it has been difficult to reconcile the notion that the physical characteristics of humans derived from apes with religious beliefs that claim that humanity is unique among living things and holds a an exclusive place in the creation, with soul.

There are a myriad of other ways in which evolution can occur and natural selection being the most popular theory. Scientists also study other kinds such as 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 controversial debate and 에볼루션 슬롯게임 에볼루션 바카라 체험 무료체험 (discover this info here) resistance from religious fundamentalists. While certain religions have been able to reconcile their beliefs with the ideas of evolution, other religions have not.