Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology teachers, misinformation about evolution remain. People who have absorbed popular science myths often assume that biologists do not believe in evolution.
This site, which is a companion to the PBS program, provides teachers with materials that promote evolution education while avoiding the types of misconceptions that hinder it. It's laid out in a nested "bread crumb" format to facilitate navigation and orientation.
Definitions
It is difficult to teach evolution well. Non-scientists often misunderstand the subject and some scientists use a definition which confuses it. This is especially applicable to debates about the nature of the word.
It is essential to define terms that are used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website helps you define these terms in an easy and helpful way. The site is both an accompanying site for the 2001 series, but it is also a resource on its own. The content is presented in a nested manner which aids navigation and orientation.
The site defines terms such as common ancestor and the gradual process. These terms help define the nature of evolution and its relationship to evolution with other scientific concepts. The website then provides an overview of how the concept of evolution has been vetted and verified. This information will help to dispel the myths that are created by the creationists.
You can also access a glossary that contains terms that are used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
The process of adaptation is the tendency of heritable traits to be more suitable to their environment. This is the result of natural selection. It occurs when organisms with better-adapted traits are more likely survive and reproduce than those with less adaptable characteristics.
Common ancestor (also called common ancestor) The most recent ancestor that is shared by two or more species. By analyzing DNA from these species, it is possible to identify the common ancestor.
Deoxyribonucleic acid: A massive biological molecule that contains information necessary for cell replication. The information is stored in sequences of nucleotides that are strung together into long chains, called chromosomes. Mutations are responsible for the creation of new genetic information inside cells.
Coevolution is the relationship between two species, where the evolutionary changes of one species influence evolutionary changes of the other. Examples of coevolution are the interactions between predator and prey, or parasite and host.
Origins
Species (groups that can crossbreed) develop through a series 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 development of a new species could take thousands of years and the process can be slowed down or accelerated by environmental factors like climate change or the competition for food or habitat.
The Evolution site tracks through time the evolution of different animal and plant groups with a focus on major changes in each group's history. It also examines the human evolutionary roots and humans, a subject that is especially important for students to comprehend.
Darwin's Origin was written in 1859, when only a few antediluvian fossils of humans had been found. The skullcap that is famous, along with the bones that accompanied it, was discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto of Germany. It is now recognized as an early Homo neanderthalensis. While the skullcap wasn't published until 1858, one year after the first edition of the Origin was published, it is very unlikely that Darwin had seen or heard of it.
While the site focuses on biology, it also includes a good deal of information about geology as well as paleontology. Among the best features of the Web site are a set of timelines which show the way in which climatic and geological conditions have changed over time, as well as an interactive map of the distribution of a few of the fossil groups featured on the site.
The site is a companion to a PBS TV series but it can be used as a resource by teachers and students. The site is well-organized and offers easy links to the introductory material of Understanding Evolution (developed under the National Science Foundation's funding) and the more specialized features on the museum's website. These hyperlinks help users move from the enthralling cartoon style of the Understanding Evolution pages to the more sophisticated world of research science. In particular, there are links to John Endler's experiments using Guppies, 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 in their natural environment and has a number of advantages over modern observational and experimental methods of examining evolutionary processes. In addition to examining processes and events that take place regularly or over a lengthy period of time, paleobiology allows to examine the relative abundance of different kinds of organisms as well as their distribution across geological time.
The Web site is divided into a variety of ways to learn about 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. The path also examines myths about evolution, and the background of evolutionary thought.
Each of the other main sections of the Evolution site is equally constructed, with materials that support a variety of educational levels and pedagogical styles. The site offers a wide array of interactive and multimedia resources which include animations, video clips and virtual labs in addition to general textual content. The content is presented in a nested bread crumb fashion that aids navigation and orientation within the vast web site.
For instance the page "Coral Reef Connections" provides a comprehensive overview of the relationships between corals and their interactions with other organisms. It then concentrates on a specific clam that is able to communicate with its neighbors and react to changes in water conditions at the reef level. This page, along with the other multidisciplinary, multimedia, and interactive pages on the website, provide an excellent introduction to a broad spectrum of topics in evolutionary biology. The material includes an overview of the role of natural selectivity and the concept of phylogenetics analysis as a key tool for understanding evolutionary change.
Evolutionary Theory
For biology students, evolution is a key thread that connects all branches of the field. A rich 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 a Web page that provides the depth and the wide range of educational resources. The site has a variety of interactive learning modules. It also has an embedded "bread crumb" structure that allows students to move from the cartoon-like style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this large Web site more closely tied to the world of research science. An animation that introduces students to the concept of genetics links to a page that highlights John Endler's artificial-selection experiments with guppies on native ponds in Trinidad.
Another helpful resource is the Evolution Library on this site, which has an extensive collection of multimedia assets that are related to evolution. The content is organized according to curricula-based paths that correspond to the learning goals set forth in the standards for biology. It contains seven short videos specifically designed for classroom use. They can be viewed online or purchased as DVDs.
Evolutionary biology remains an area of study that poses many important questions, including what causes evolution and how quickly it occurs. This is especially true for human evolution, which has made it difficult to reconcile that the physical traits of humans were derived from apes and religions that believe that humanity is unique among living things and has a special place in creation with a soul.
In addition there are a variety of ways that evolution can occur with natural selection being the most widely accepted theory. However scientists also study other kinds of evolution like genetic drift, mutation, and sexual selection, among other things.
While many fields of scientific study conflict with the literal interpretations of religious texts, evolution biology has been a subject of intense debate and opposition from religious fundamentalists. Certain religions have reconciled their beliefs to evolution but others haven't.