Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology educators, misconceptions about evolution remain. Pop science fiction has led a lot of people to believe that biologists aren't believers in evolution.
This rich website - companion to the PBS series offers teachers with resources which support evolution education and help avoid the kinds of misinformation that can make it difficult to understand. It's laid out in a "bread crumb" format to facilitate navigation and orientation.
Definitions
Evolution is a complex and difficult subject to teach effectively. Many non-scientists are unable to grasp the concept, and some scientists even use a definition which confuses it. This is particularly applicable to debates about the definition of the word itself.
It is essential to define terms used in evolutionary biology. The website for the PBS show, Understanding Evolution, does this in a simple and efficient way. The site serves as an accompaniment to the 2001 series, but it is also a resource on its own. The material is presented in a nested manner which aids navigation and orientation.
The site defines terms like 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 website provides a summary of the way that evolution has been tested. This information can be used to dispel misconceptions that have been engendered by the creationists.
It is also possible to access the glossary of terms used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation: The tendency of heritable traits to become better adaptable to a specific environment. This is a result of natural selection, which occurs when organisms that have better adapted traits are more likely survive and
에볼루션카지노사이트 reproduce than those with less adapted characteristics.
Common ancestor (also called common ancestor) is the most recent ancestor
에볼루션 사이트 shared by two or more species. The common ancestor can be identified by studying the DNA of those species.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid: A large biological molecular that contains the information needed for cell replication. The information is contained in sequences of nucleotides that are strung together to form long chains, referred to as chromosomes. Mutations are the cause of new genetic information within cells.
Coevolution is a relation between two species in which the evolution of one species are influenced evolutionary changes 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 are able to interbreed) change through a series of natural changes in the traits 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 change or competition for
에볼루션 바카라 무료 food resources and habitat, can slow or accelerate the process.
The Evolution site traces through time the emergence of various groups of animals and plants with a focus on major changes in each group's history. It also explores human evolution and is a subject of particular importance for students.
When Darwin wrote the Origin, only a handful of antediluvian human fossils had been found. Among them was the famous skullcap and associated bones found in 1856 at the Little Feldhofer Grotto in Germany that is now thought to be an early Homo neanderthalensis. Although the skullcap was not published until 1858, which was one year before the first edition of the Origin appeared, it is very unlikely that Darwin had heard or seen of it.
The site is mostly an online biology resource however, it also has many details on paleontology and geology. Among the best features on the site are a series of timelines that show how climatic and geological conditions have changed over time, and a map of the distribution of some fossil groups listed on the site.
While the site is a companion piece to the PBS television show but it also stands on its own as a valuable source for teachers and students. The site is extremely well-organized and offers clear links between the introductory content in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more specialized elements of the museum Web site. These links facilitate the transition from the cartoon-like 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, which demonstrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life on Earth has produced a diversity of animals, plants, and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures within their geological environment, has many advantages over modern observational or research methods of studying evolutionary processes. In addition to studying the processes and events that happen frequently or over a long period of time, paleobiology allows to study the diversity of species of organisms and their distribution throughout the course of geological time.
The Web site is divided into various pathways to understanding evolution that include "Evolution 101," which takes the viewer on a liner path through the scientific process and the evidence supporting the theory of evolution. The path also explores misconceptions about evolution as well as the history of evolutionary thought.
Each of the main sections on the Evolution website is equally well-designed, with materials that are suited to a variety of curriculum levels and teaching styles. The site offers a wide array of interactive and multimedia content, including animations, video clips and virtual labs in addition to general textual content. The content is laid out in a nested bread crumb fashion that aids navigation and orientation on the Web site.
For example the page "Coral Reef Connections" provides a comprehensive overview of coral relationships and their interactions with other organisms, then narrows down to a single clam that is able to communicate with its neighbours and respond to changes in water conditions that take place at the level of the reef. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary multimedia and interactive pages, 에볼루션 사이트 (
Http://Bbs.Xiaoditech.Com/Home.Php?Mod=Space&Uid=2149289) offers a great introduction to many topics in evolutionary biology. The content also includes a discussion on the significance of natural selectivity and the concept of phylogenetics, an important method for understanding the evolution of change.
Evolutionary Theory
For biology students evolution is a crucial thread that binds all the branches of the field. A wide selection of resources helps teachers teach evolution across all disciplines of life science.
One resource, the companion to PBS's television series Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of an Web site that provides the depth and the broadness in terms of educational resources. The site features a wealth of interactive learning modules. It also features an encased "bread crumb" structure that helps students move from the cartoon-like style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this large Web site closer to the world of research science. For instance an animation that explains the notion of genetic inheritance leads to a page that highlights John Endler's artificial selection experiments using guppies in the ponds of his native country of Trinidad.
The Evolution Library on this website contains a large multimedia library of assets related to evolution.