Speak "Yes" To These 5 Evolution Site Tips
Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology educators, misinformation about evolution remain. People who have been exposed to the nonsense of pop science often believe that biologists do not believe in evolution.
This rich Web site - companion to the PBS series It provides teachers with materials which support evolution education and help avoid the kinds of myths that hinder it. It's arranged in a nested "bread crumb" format to make it easy for navigation and orientation.
Definitions
It's difficult to effectively teach evolution. Non-scientists often misunderstand the subject and some scientists use a definition which confuses it. This is especially relevant when discussing the nature of the words themselves.
It is therefore essential to define the terms used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website provides this in a straightforward and useful manner. The site is a companion to the show which first aired in 2001, but also functions as an independent resource. The material is organized in a way that makes it easy to navigate and comprehend.
The site defines terms such as common ancestor, the gradual process and adaptation. These terms help to define the nature and relationship of evolution with other scientific concepts. The website provides a summary of the ways that evolution has been examined. This information can be used to dispel myths that have been engendered by the creationists.
It is also possible to get the glossary of terms used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation is the tendency of heritable traits to become better suited to an environment. This is the result of natural selection. Organisms with better-adapted characteristics are more likely than those with less adapted traits to reproduce and survive.
Common ancestor (also known as common ancestor): The most recent ancestor that is shared by two or more species. By studying the DNA of these species it is possible to determine the common ancestor.
Deoxyribonucleic acid: A large biological molecule that holds the information required for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences which are strung into long chains called chromosomes. Mutations are the cause of new genetic information in cells.
Coevolution: A relationship between two species in which evolutionary changes in one species are dependent on evolutionary changes in the other. Coevolution can be observed through the interaction between predator and 에볼루션사이트 [schwartz-hesselberg-2.technetbloggers.de] prey, or parasite and 에볼루션바카라 hosts.
Origins
Species (groups that can interbreed) change through a series of natural changes in the traits of their offspring. The changes can be caused by a variety of factors that include natural selection, genetic drift, and gene pool mixing. The evolution 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 follows the evolution of different species of plants and animals and focuses on major changes in each group's history. It also focuses on the evolutionary history of humans which is particularly important for students to know.
Darwin's Origin was written in 1859, when just a few antediluvian fossils of humans were discovered. One of them was the infamous skullcap and associated bones found in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto in Germany which is now believed as an early Homo neanderthalensis. While the skullcap wasn't published until 1858, which was 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 includes a good deal of information about geology as well as paleontology. One of the most appealing features on the site are a series of timelines that illustrate how geological and climatic conditions changed over time, as well as an interactive map of the distribution of some fossil groups listed on the site.
The site is a companion for the PBS TV series but it could also be used as a source for teachers and students. The site is well-organized and offers clear links to the introduction material of Understanding Evolution (developed under the National Science Foundation's support) as well as the more specialized features of the museum's website. These hyperlinks make it easier to transition from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution pages into the more sophisticated worlds of research science. There are links to John Endler’s experiments with guppies, which illustrate 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 within their geological context offers many advantages over the current observational or 에볼루션카지노사이트 experimental methods of studying evolutionary processes. Paleobiology can examine not just the processes and events that happen frequently or over time, but also the distribution and frequency of various animal groups across the geological time.
The site is divided up into different paths that can be chosen to gain knowledge about evolution. One of the paths, "Evolution 101," walks the reader through the complexities and evidence of evolution. The path also reveals common misconceptions about evolution as well as the history of evolutionary thought.
Each of the other sections of the Evolution site is similarly constructed, with materials that support a variety of different pedagogical levels and curriculum levels. The site has a range of multimedia and interactive resources which include video clips, animations and virtual laboratories in addition to general textual content. The breadcrumb-like arrangement of the content helps with navigation and orientation on the large website.
The page "Coral Reef Connections", for example, provides an overview of coral relationships, their interaction with other organisms and then zooms in to a single clam, which is able communicate with its neighbors and respond to changes in conditions of the water at the reef level. This page, along with the other multidisciplinary interactive and multimedia pages offers a great introduction to the many areas of evolutionary biology. The information also includes an overview of the importance of natural selection and the concept of phylogenetic analysis which is a key tool in understanding evolutionary changes.
Evolutionary Theory
For biology students, evolution is a key thread that weaves together all branches of the field. A rich collection supports teaching evolution across all life science disciplines.
One resource, which is the companion to PBS's television series Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of an Web site that provides the depth and the breadth in terms of its educational resources. The site features a wide range of interactive learning modules. It also features a nested "bread crumb" structure that allows students to transition from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this large Web site more closely linked to the field of research science. For instance, an animation introducing the notion of genetic inheritance leads to a page that highlights John Endler's experiments in artificial selection using guppies in the ponds of his native country of Trinidad.
Another useful resource is the Evolution Library on this Web website, which includes an extensive collection of multimedia resources related to evolution. The content is organized into curricula-based paths that correspond to the learning objectives outlined in biology standards. It contains seven videos specifically designed for use in classrooms. They can be streamed or purchased as DVDs.
Evolutionary biology is still a field of study that has many important questions to answer, 에볼루션 슬롯게임 (Www.Bitsdujour.Com) such as what causes evolution and how fast it occurs. This is especially true in the case of human evolution, where it was difficult to reconcile religious beliefs that held that humanity has a special position in the universe and a soul with the notion that our physical traits evolved from Apes.
There are a variety of other ways evolution can occur and natural selection being the most well-known theory. However scientists also study different types of evolution such as genetic drift, mutation, and sexual selection, among others.
While many fields of scientific inquiry conflict with the literal interpretations of religious texts, 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.