Are Evolution Site Really As Vital As Everyone Says?
Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology educators, there are still a lot of misconceptions regarding evolution. Pop science fiction has led a lot of people to think that biologists don't believe in evolution.
This rich Web site - companion to the PBS series offers teachers with resources which support evolution education and avoid the kinds of misinformation that can hinder it. It's laid out in the "bread crumb" format to make navigation and orientation easier.
Definitions
It's difficult to teach evolution well. It is often misunderstood by non-scientists and even some scientists use an interpretation that is confusing the issue. This is particularly true when discussing the meaning of the words themselves.
It is important to define terms used in evolutionary biology. The website for the PBS show, Understanding Evolution, does this in a clear and useful way. It is a companion for the 2001 series, and also a resource on its own. The material is presented in a structured manner that makes it easier to navigate and understand.
The site defines terms like common ancestor, the gradual process, and adaptation. These terms help frame the nature of evolution and its relation to other scientific concepts. The website then provides an overview of how the concept of evolution has been tested and confirmed. This information can be used to dispel misconceptions that have been propagated by the creationists.
It is also possible to get a glossary of terms that are used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation is the process of changing hereditary traits to become better suited to an environment. This is the result of natural selection. Organisms that have better-adapted traits are more likely than those with less-adapted traits to survive and reproduce.
Common ancestor (also known as common ancestor): The most recent ancestral ancestor shared by two or more species. By studying the DNA of these species, it is possible to identify the common ancestor.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid: A huge biological molecular that contains the necessary information for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences that are strung into long chains called chromosomes. Mutations are the cause of new genetic information within cells.
Coevolution is a relationship between two species, where the evolution of one species are influenced evolutionary changes of the other. 무료 에볼루션 is evident in the interactions between predator and prey, or parasite and hosts.
Origins
Species (groups of individuals that are able to interbreed) develop through a series of natural changes in the traits of their offspring. Changes can be caused by numerous factors, like natural selection, gene drift, and mixing of the gene pool. The evolution of new species can take thousands of years. Environmental conditions, such as changes in the climate or competition for food and habitat can slow or speed up the process.
The Evolution site traces the emergence of various animal and plant groups through time with a focus on the key transitions that occurred in the history of each group. It also examines the evolution of humans as a subject that is of particular interest for students.
Darwin's Origin was written in 1859, when just a few antediluvian fossils of humans were discovered. Among them was the famous skullcap and associated bones found in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto in Germany which is now believed as an early Homo neanderthalensis. It is highly unlikely that Darwin knew about the skullcap when it was published in 1858, one year following the initial edition of The Origin. Origin.
The site is mostly a biology site, but it also contains lots of information about paleontology and geology. The site offers a number of features that are especially impressive, such as a timeline of how climate and geological conditions have changed over the course of time. It also includes an interactive map that shows the location of fossil groups.
The site is a companion for the PBS TV series but it can also be used as an educational resource by teachers and students. The site is extremely well-organized and has clear links between the introductory material in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more specific elements of the museum Web site. These hyperlinks facilitate the 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 on Earth has led to a wide variety of animals, plants and insects. Paleobiology, the study of these creatures in their geological environment, has many advantages over the current observational or experimental methods for exploring evolutionary processes. Paleobiology focuses on not only processes and events that occur frequently or over time, but also the relative abundance and distribution of various animal groups across geological time.
The site is divided into several optional ways to learn about evolution which include "Evolution 101," which takes the user on a linear path through the science of nature and the evidence supporting the theory of evolution. The course also focuses on the most common misconceptions about evolution, as well as the evolution theory's history.
Each of the other major sections of the Evolution site is equally created, with resources that can support a variety of curriculum levels and pedagogical styles. The site includes a variety of interactive and multimedia resources, including video clips, animations and virtual laboratories, in addition to its general textual content. The breadcrumb-like structure of the content helps with navigation and orientation on the vast Web site.
For example, the page "Coral Reef Connections" provides an overview of coral relationships and their interactions with other organisms, then concentrates on a specific clam that is able to communicate with its neighbours and respond to changes in the water conditions that take place at the level of the reef. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary, multimedia, and interactive pages on the site, provide an excellent introduction to a broad spectrum of topics in evolutionary biology. The content includes an explanation of the significance of natural selectivity and the concept phylogenetics analysis which is a crucial tool to understand evolutionary changes.
Evolutionary Theory
For biology students evolution is a crucial thread that connects all the branches of the field. A wide selection of resources helps teachers teach evolution across all disciplines of life sciences.
One resource, the companion to PBS's TV series Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of an Web page that offers both depth as well as breadth in terms of its educational resources. The site has a wide array of interactive learning modules. It also has an encased "bread crumb" structure that allows students to transition from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this massive website that are more closely tied to the world of research science. An animation that introduces students to the concept of genetics is linked to a page about John Endler's experiments with artificial selection using Guppies living in ponds native to Trinidad.
The Evolution Library on this website has a huge multimedia library of assets related with evolution. The content is organized according to courses that are based on curriculum and follow the learning objectives outlined in biology standards. It contains seven videos designed specifically for classroom use, which can be streamed for free or purchased on DVD.
Evolutionary biology remains a field of study with a lot of important questions to answer, such as the causes of evolution and how quickly it occurs. This is especially true for human evolution, where it has been difficult to reconcile the idea that the physical traits of humans were derived from apes and religious beliefs that claim that humanity is unique among living things and has an enviable place in creation with a soul.
Additionally there are a variety of ways that evolution can occur and natural selection is the most popular theory. However scientists also study different kinds of evolution like mutation, genetic drift and sexual selection, among others.
While 에볼루션 사이트 of scientific inquiry have a conflict with the literal interpretations of the Bible Evolutionary biology has been the subject of particularly fierce debate and opposition from religious fundamentalists. Certain religions have embraced their beliefs with evolution, while others haven't.