8 Tips To Boost Your Evolution Site Game
Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology teachers, misinformation about evolution remain. Pop science nonsense has led people to believe that biologists aren't believers in evolution.
This rich Web site, which is a companion to the PBS program that provides teachers with resources which support evolution education, while avoiding the kinds of misconceptions which undermine it. It's organized in a nested "bread crumb" format to facilitate navigation and orientation.
Definitions
It's difficult to teach evolution well. It is often misunderstood by non-scientists and even some scientists use definitions that confuse the issue. This is particularly true when it comes to debates about the nature of the word.
It is therefore essential to define the terms used in evolutionary biology. The website for the PBS show, Understanding Evolution, does this in a clear and useful manner. It is an accompanying site for the 2001 series, but also a resource on its own. The material is presented in a structured way that makes it easy to navigate and comprehend.
The site defines terms like common ancestor and the gradual process. These terms help to frame the nature of evolution and its relationship to other concepts in science. 에볼루션 사이트 provides a summary of the manner that evolution has been tested. This information will help to dispel the myths created by creationists.
You can also access a glossary which includes terms used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation: The tendency for heritable characteristics to become more suited to a particular environment. This is a result of natural selection. Organisms with more adaptable characteristics are more likely than those with less adaptable traits to survive and reproduce.
Common ancestor (also known as common ancestor) The most recent ancestor shared by two or more species. The common ancestor can be identified through analyzing the DNA of those species.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid: A large biological molecular that contains the information required for cell replication. The information is contained in nucleotides arranged in sequences that are strung together into long chains, also known as chromosomes. Mutations are the cause of new genetic information in cells.
Coevolution is a relationship between two species in which evolutionary changes in one species are influenced by evolutionary changes in the other. Coevolution can be observed in the interaction of predator and prey, or parasites and hosts.
Origins
Species (groups of individuals who can interbreed) evolve through a series of natural changes in the traits of their offspring. These changes are caused by a variety of causes that include natural selection, genetic drift, and mixing of genes. The development of a new species may take thousands of years and the process could be slowed down or accelerated by environmental conditions such as climate change or the competition for food or habitat.
The Evolution site tracks the development of various species of plants and animals over time and focuses on the most significant changes that took place in the history of each group. It also examines the human evolutionary roots, a topic that is crucial for students to comprehend.
Darwin's Origin was published in 1859, at a time when only a few antediluvian fossils of human beings had been discovered. Among them was the famous skullcap and the associated bones discovered in 1856 at the Little Feldhofer Grotto in Germany that is now thought as an early Homo neanderthalensis. It is unlikely that Darwin knew about the skullcap, which was published in 1858, one year after the publication of the first edition of The Origin.
While the site focuses on biology, it also includes a good deal of information about geology as well as paleontology. One of the most appealing features of the website are a series of timelines that show how geological and climatic conditions have changed over time and a map of the distribution of a few fossil groups listed on the site.
The site is a companion to the PBS TV series but it can be used as a resource by teachers and students. The site is well-organized, and provides easy links to the introductory content of Understanding Evolution (developed under the National Science Foundation's funding) and the more specific features on the museum's website. These hyperlinks make it easier to transition from the cartoon-style Understanding Evolution pages into the more sophisticated realms of research science. In particular there are hyperlinks to John Endler's experiments using guppies that illustrate 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 in their geographical context and offers many advantages over the current observational and experimental methods in its exploration of evolutionary processes. In addition to exploring the processes and events that happen frequently or over a long period of time, paleobiology allows to analyze the diversity of species of organisms and their distribution throughout the geological time.
The site is divided into several optional paths to learning evolution that include "Evolution 101," which takes the viewer on a liner path through the science of nature and the evidence supporting the theory of evolution. The course also focuses on 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 levels of curriculum and teaching methods. The site has a range of multimedia and interactive resources, including video clips, animations and virtual laboratories, in addition to its general textual content. The breadcrumb-like organization of the content aids in navigation and orientation on the large web site.
The page "Coral Reef Connections", for example, provides a comprehensive overview of the relationships between corals, their interaction with other organisms and zooms in on one clam, which can communicate with its neighbors and react to changes in conditions of the water at the reef level. This page, along with the other multidisciplinary multimedia and interactive 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 as well as the concept of phylogenetic analysis which is an important method to understand evolutionary changes.
Evolutionary Theory
For biology students, evolution is a key thread that connects all the branches of the field. A rich collection supports teaching evolution across all disciplines of life sciences.
One resource, which is a companion to the PBS television series Understanding Evolution, is an exceptional example of an Web site that provides depth and a variety of educational resources. The site offers a variety of interactive learning modules. It also has a "bread crumb structure" that assists students in moving away from the cartoon-like style that is used in Understanding Evolution and onto elements on this site that are more closely linked to the worlds of research science. An animation that introduces the concept of genetics links to a page that highlights John Endler's experiments with artificial selection using Guppies living in ponds native to Trinidad.
The Evolution Library on this website is a vast multimedia library of assets related with evolution. The content is organized according to curriculum-based paths that parallel the learning goals established in the biology standards. It contains seven videos specifically designed for use in the classroom, and can be streamed for free or purchased on DVD.
Evolutionary biology is an area of study that poses many important questions to answer, such as what triggers evolution and how fast it occurs. This is particularly true for human evolution, where it has been difficult to reconcile the idea that the physical traits of humans were derived from apes, and the religious beliefs that claim that humans are unique in the universe and has an enviable place in creation, with a soul.
There are a myriad of other ways in which evolution could occur, with natural selection as the most widely accepted theory. Scientists also study other kinds like mutation, genetic drift, and sexual selection.
While many fields of scientific inquiry conflict with literal interpretations of religious texts, evolutionary biology has been the subject of intense controversy and resistance from religious fundamentalists. Certain religions have reconciled their beliefs to evolution while others haven't.