5 Evolution Site Lessons Learned From The Professionals

Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution

Despite the best efforts of biology teachers, there are still misconceptions about the evolution. Pop science nonsense has led people to think that biologists don't believe in evolution.

This rich Web site - companion to the PBS series offers teachers with resources that promote evolution education and help avoid the kinds of myths that undermine it. It's laid out in a "bread crumb" format to make navigation and orientation easier.

Definitions

Evolution is a complicated and difficult subject to teach well. It is often misunderstood by non-scientists and even some scientists use an interpretation that is confusing the issue. This is especially true when it comes to discussions on the meaning of the word itself.

Therefore, it is essential to define terms that are used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website helps you define these terms in a straightforward and useful way. It is a companion for the 2001 series, and also a resource on its own. The material is presented in a nested manner that aids navigation and orientation.

The site defines terms such as common ancestor, gradual process and so on. These terms help frame the nature and significance of evolution to other concepts in science. The site provides an overview of the way in which evolution has been examined. This information will help to dispel the myths that are created by the 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 hereditary traits to become more suited to the environment. This is a result of natural selection. It occurs when organisms that are better adapted characteristics are more likely to survive and reproduce than those with less adaptable characteristics.

Common ancestor (also called common ancestor) The most recent ancestral ancestor shared by two or more species. The common ancestor can be identified through analyzing the DNA of these species.

Deoxyribonucleic acid: A huge biological molecule that contains the information needed for 에볼루션사이트 cell replication. The information is contained in a sequence of nucleotides that are strung together to form long chains, called chromosomes. Mutations are the reason behind the creation of new genetic information inside cells.

Coevolution: 에볼루션 카지노 A relationship between two species in which evolutionary changes in one species are dependent on evolutionary changes in the other. Coevolution can be observed in the interaction of predator and prey, or parasites and hosts.

Origins

Species (groups which can interbreed) change through a series natural changes in the traits of their offspring. These changes are caused by a variety, including natural selection, genetic drift, and gene pool mixing. The evolution of a new species may take thousands of years and the process could be slowed or increased by environmental conditions such as climate change or the competition for food or habitat.

The Evolution site traces the emergence of a variety of animal and plant groups through time, focusing on the major changes that took place in the history of each group. It also explores human evolution, which is a topic of particular importance for students.

Darwin's Origin was written in 1859, when only a handful of antediluvian fossils of human beings had been discovered. One of them was the infamous skullcap and the associated bones discovered in 1856 at the Little Feldhofer Grotto in Germany which is now believed to be 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's very unlikely that Darwin had ever heard of it.

While the site focuses on biology, 에볼루션 룰렛 it includes a good deal of information on geology and paleontology. One of the most appealing features on the site are a set of timelines that show how geological and climatic conditions have changed over time as well as an outline of the distribution of a few 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 material in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more sophisticated components of the museum's Web site. These hyperlinks help users move from the enthralling cartoon style of the Understanding Evolution pages to the more sophisticated world of research science. Particularly, there are links to John Endler's experiments using Guppies that demonstrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.

Diversity

The evolution of life has resulted in many species of animals, plants and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures in their geological context and has many advantages over the current observational and experimental methods in its exploration of evolutionary processes. In addition to studying processes and events that take place regularly or over a long period of time, paleobiology can be used to examine the relative abundance of various kinds of organisms as well as their distribution in space over geological time.

The site is divided up into different routes that can be taken to study the subject of evolution. One of the paths, "Evolution 101," walks the reader through the complexities and evidence of evolution. The path also reveals the most common misconceptions about evolution, as well as the evolution theory's history.

Each of the other main sections of the Evolution site is equally developed, with materials that can be used to support a range of curriculum levels and pedagogical styles. In addition to general textual content, the site offers a wide range of multimedia and interactive content including videos, animations and virtual laboratories. The breadcrumb-like arrangement of the content aids in navigation and 무료에볼루션 orientation on the vast web site.

The page "Coral Reef Connections" For instance, it provides a comprehensive overview of coral relationships and their interactions with other organisms and then zooms in to one clam, which is able to communicate with its neighbors and react to changes in the conditions of the water at the reef level. This page, along with the other multidisciplinary interactive and multimedia pages, gives a good introduction to the many areas of evolutionary biology. The material includes an overview of the significance of natural selectivity and the concept of phylogenetics analysis which is a crucial method for understanding the evolution of change.

Evolutionary Theory

Evolution is a common thread that runs through all branches of biology. A wide selection of resources helps teachers teach evolution across the life science disciplines.

One resource, the companion to PBS's television series Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of an Web page that provides the depth and the breadth in terms of its 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 massive website that are more closely tied to the field of research science. For instance an animation that introduces the concept of genetic inheritance links to a page that focuses on John Endler's experiments in artificial selection with guppies in native ponds of Trinidad.

Another helpful resource is the Evolution Library on this web site, which contains an extensive collection of multimedia resources that are related to evolution. The content is organized into curricula-based paths that correspond to the learning goals set forth in the biology standards. It contains seven videos specifically designed for use in classrooms, and can be streamed at no cost or purchased on DVD.

A variety of crucial questions remain at the core of evolutionary biology, including what causes evolution to occur and the speed at which it occurs. This is especially true in the case of human evolution where it 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.

There are a myriad of other ways in which evolution can take place including natural selection, which is the most popular theory. Scientists also study other types like mutation, genetic drift and sexual selection.

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