It's The Perfect Time To Broaden Your Evolution Site Options

Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution

Despite the best efforts of biology educators, misconceptions about evolution remain. People who have taken in popular science myths often assume that biologists claim they do not believe in evolution.

This site, which is a companion to the PBS series - provides teachers with materials that support evolution education and avoids the kinds of myths that make it difficult to understand. It's organized in a "bread crumb" format to aid in navigation and orientation.

Definitions

Evolution is a complex and challenging subject to teach effectively. People who are not scientists often have a difficult time understanding the subject and some scientists employ a definition that confuses it. This is especially true when discussing the nature of the words themselves.

It is important to define terms that are used in evolutionary biology. The website for the PBS show, Understanding Evolution, does this in a clear and useful way. The website is a companion to the show that premiered in 2001, but it can also function as an independent resource. The information is presented in a structured way that makes it easy to navigate and comprehend.

The site defines terms like common ancestor (or 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 researched and confirmed. This information will help to dispel the myths created by creationists.

You can also access a glossary that contains terms used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:

The process of adaptation is the tendency of heritable traits to be better suited to an environment. This is the result of natural selection. It occurs when organisms that are better adapted traits are more likely to survive and reproduce than those with less adapted characteristics.

Common ancestor: The most recent common ancestor of two or more species. By analyzing DNA from these species it is possible to identify the common ancestor.

Deoxyribonucleic Acid: A massive biological molecular that contains the information needed for cell replication. The information is stored in a sequence of nucleotides that are strung together to form long chains, also known as chromosomes. Mutations are the source of new genetic information within cells.

Coevolution: A relationship between two species in which evolutionary changes in one species are influenced by evolutionary changes in the other. Coevolution is evident through the interaction between predator and prey, or parasites and hosts.

Origins

Species (groups that can interbreed), evolve through a series of natural changes in their offspring's traits. The changes can be caused by a variety that include natural selection, genetic drift and mixing of gene pools. The evolution of a new species may take thousands of years and the process may be slowed down or accelerated by environmental factors like climate change or competition for food or habitat.

The Evolution site tracks through time the evolution of different species of plants and animals with a focus on major changes within each group's past. It also focuses on the human evolutionary roots, a topic that is especially important for students to know.

Darwin's Origin was published in 1859, when just a few antediluvian fossils of human beings had been discovered. One of them was the infamous skullcap and the associated bones discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto in Germany which is now believed as an early Homo neanderthalensis. Although the skullcap was not published until 1858, which was one year after the first edition of the Origin was published, it is extremely unlikely that Darwin had seen or heard of it.

While the site is focused on biology, it also offers a lot of information about geology and paleontology. The most impressive features on the site are a set of timelines that illustrate how geological and climatic conditions have 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 piece to a PBS television series however, it can stand on its own as a valuable source for teachers and students. The site is well-organized and has clear links between the introductory content in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more specific components of the museum's Web site. These hyperlinks make it easy to move from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution pages into the more sophisticated worlds of research science. In particular there are links to John Endler's experiments using guppies that illustrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.

Diversity

The evolution of life has resulted in a variety of plants, animals and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures within their geological environment, has many advantages over the current observational or experimental methods for 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 different species of animals in space over the course of the geological time.

The Web site is divided into various paths to learning evolution, including "Evolution 101," which takes the user on a linear path through the science of nature and the evidence that supports the theory of evolution.  바카라 에볼루션  explores the most common misconceptions about evolution, as well as the evolution of thought.

Each of the main sections of the Evolution website is equally well-designed, with materials that support a variety curriculum levels and teaching styles. In addition to the standard textual content, the site also has an extensive selection of multimedia and interactive resources including videos, animations and virtual labs. The breadcrumb-like arrangement of the content aids in navigation and orientation on the large web site.

For example the page "Coral Reef Connections" provides an overview of coral relationships and their interaction with other organisms. It then narrows down to a single clam that can communicate with its neighbors and react to changes in water conditions at the level of the reef. This page, along with the other multidisciplinary interactive and multimedia pages, offers a great introduction to a variety of topics in evolutionary biology. The content also includes an explanation of the significance of natural selectivity and the concept of phylogenetics as a key method for understanding the evolution of changes.

Evolutionary Theory

For biology students evolution is a crucial thread that connects all branches of the field. A vast collection of resources can help teachers teach about evolution across all life sciences.

One resource, which is the companion to PBS's television series Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of an Web page that offers both depth and wide range of educational resources. The site offers a variety of interactive learning modules. It also features an encased "bread crumb" structure that allows students to move from the cartoon-like style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this huge site that are closer to the field of research science. For instance an animation that introduces the notion of genetic inheritance leads to a page that focuses on John Endler's experiments with artificial selection with guppies from the native ponds of Trinidad.

Another resource that is worth mentioning is the Evolution Library on this site, which contains an extensive collection of multimedia resources that are 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 biology standards. It contains seven videos designed specifically for classroom use, which can be streamed at no cost or purchased on DVD.

Evolutionary biology is an area of study that has many important questions, including the causes of evolution and how fast it takes place. This is especially applicable to human evolution which has made it difficult to reconcile the idea that the innate physical characteristics of humans derived from apes and religious beliefs that hold that humans are unique among living things and holds a a special place in creation. It is a soul.

Additionally, there are a number of ways that evolution could be triggered, with natural selection being the most widely accepted theory. Scientists also study other types such as genetic drift, and sexual selection.

While many scientific fields of inquiry conflict with literal interpretations of religious texts evolutionary biology has been the subject of controversial debate and resistance from religious fundamentalists. Certain religions have embraced their beliefs with evolution, while others haven't.