How To Tell The Good And Bad About Evolution Site
Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology teachers, misinformation about evolution remain. Pop science nonsense has led many people to believe that biologists aren't believers in evolution.
This rich Web site, which is a companion to the PBS program offers teachers resources which support evolution education while avoiding the types of misconceptions which undermine it. It's organized in a "bread crumb" format to facilitate navigation and orientation.
Definitions
Evolution is a complex and difficult subject to teach effectively. People who are not scientists often have a difficult time understanding the subject, and some scientists even employ a definition that confuses it. This is especially relevant when it comes to the nature of the words themselves.
Therefore, it is crucial to define the terms that are used in evolutionary biology. The website for the PBS show, Understanding Evolution, does this in a simple and efficient way. The site is both an accompaniment to the 2001 series, but it is also a resource on its own. The content is presented in a nested fashion which aids navigation and orientation.
The site defines terms such as common ancestor, gradual process and so on. These terms help frame the nature of evolution and its relationship to evolution to other scientific concepts. The website then provides an overview of how the concept of evolution has been tested and validated. This information can be used to dispel misconceptions that have been propagated by the creationists.
You can also access a glossary that includes terms that are used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation is the tendency of heritable traits to become more suitable to their environment. This is a result of natural selection. Organisms with more adaptable traits are more likely than those with less adapted characteristics to survive and reproduce.
Common ancestor: The most recent common ancestor of two or more different species. The common ancestor can be identified by studying the DNA of those species.
Deoxyribonucleic acid: A massive biological molecule that contains the information required for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotides arranged in sequences that are strung together into long chains, referred to as chromosomes. Mutations are the basis for new genetic information in cells.
Coevolution: A relationship between two species where evolutionary changes in one species are dependent on evolutionary changes in the other. Examples of coevolution are the interactions between predator and prey, or the parasite and the host.
Origins
Species (groups of individuals who can interbreed) change through a series of natural changes in the characteristics of their offspring. These 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 circumstances, such as climate changes or competition for 바카라 에볼루션에볼루션 바카라 사이트 (published on Nlvbang) food or habitat can impede or accelerate the process.
The Evolution site tracks through time the evolution of various animal and plant groups, focusing on major transitions in each group's history. It also explores human evolution, which is a topic that is particularly important to students.
Darwin's Origin was published in 1859, when just a few antediluvian fossils of humans had been found. Among them was the famous skullcap and bones that were discovered in 1856 at the Little Feldhofer Grotto in Germany which is now believed as an early Homo neanderthalensis. While the skullcap wasn't published until 1858, just a year before the first edition of the Origin was published, it is extremely unlikely that Darwin had heard or seen of it.
While the site is focused on biology, it includes a good deal of information on geology and paleontology. The most impressive features on the site are a timeline of events which show how climatic and geological conditions have changed over time and an outline of the distribution of a few of the fossil groups featured on the site.
While the site is a companion to a PBS television show but it also stands on its own as a great resource for teachers and students. The site is very well-organized and has clear links between the introduction material in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more specific elements of the museum's web site. These links facilitate the transition from the engaging cartoon style of the Understanding Evolution pages to the more sophisticated world of research science. There are also links to John Endler's experiments with guppies, 에볼루션 카지노 which demonstrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life has produced a variety of plants, animals and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures within their geological environment is a superior method of study over the current observational or experimental methods of studying evolutionary processes. Paleobiology is able to study not only processes and events that take place regularly or over time but also the relative abundance and distribution of different species of animals across geological time.
The site is divided up into various paths that can be chosen to gain knowledge about evolution. One of the paths, "Evolution 101," guides the user through the nature and evidence of evolution. The course also focuses on the most common misconceptions about evolution, as well as the evolution theory's history.
Each of the main sections on the Evolution website is equally well-developed, and includes materials that are suited to a variety of curriculum levels and teaching styles. The site has a range of interactive and multimedia content which include video clips, animations and virtual labs in addition to general textual content. The breadcrumb-like organization of the content assists with navigation and orientation on the large web site.
The page "Coral Reef Connections" For instance, it provides a comprehensive overview of the coral's relationships and their interactions with other organisms, and then zooms in to a single clam, which can communicate with its neighbours and respond to changes in water conditions that occur on the reef level. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary, multimedia, and interactive pages on the site, provide an excellent introduction to a wide range of topics in evolutionary biology. The content also includes an overview of the importance of natural selection and the concept of phylogenetic analysis, which is a crucial tool in understanding evolutionary changes.
Evolutionary Theory
Evolution is an underlying thread that connects all branches of biology. 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 excellent example of a Web site that provides the depth and breadth of its educational resources. The site features a wealth of interactive learning modules. It also has an "bread crumb structure" that allows students to move away from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution and onto elements of this vast website that are closely connected to the realms of research science. Animation that introduces the concept of genetics is linked to a page highlighting John Endler's artificial-selection experiments with Guppies living in ponds native to Trinidad.
The Evolution Library on this website is a vast multimedia library of materials that deal with evolution. The content is organized according to courses that are based on curriculum and follow the learning objectives set out in the standards for biology. It contains seven videos designed specifically for classroom use, which can be streamed for no cost or purchased on DVD.
Many important questions remain in the midst of evolutionary biology, such as the factors that trigger evolution and how fast it happens. This is especially true for human evolution, which has made it difficult to reconcile the notion that the physical characteristics of humans were derived from apes with religions that believe that humans are unique in the universe and has an enviable place in creation with a soul.
In addition, there are a number of ways in which evolution could be triggered, with natural selection being the most popular theory. However, scientists also study other kinds of evolution, such as mutation, genetic drift and sexual selection, among others.
While many scientific fields of study are in conflict with the literal interpretations of religious texts, evolution biology has been the subject of intense debate and resistance from religious fundamentalists. While certain religions have managed to reconcile their beliefs with the notions of evolution, other religions haven't.