Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution

Despite the best efforts of biology teachers, there are still misconceptions about the evolution. Pop science nonsense has led many people to believe that biologists don't believe evolution.

This site, which is a companion to the PBS program, provides teachers with materials that promote evolution education, while avoiding the kinds of misconceptions that can hinder it. It's organized in a nested "bread crumb" format to make it easy for navigation and orientation.

Definitions

Evolution is a complicated and difficult subject to teach effectively. Many non-scientists are unable to grasp the concept and some scientists use a definition which confuses it. This is especially true when discussing the meaning of the words themselves.

Therefore, it is important to define terms that are used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website helps you define these terms in a simple and efficient way. The website is a companion to the show which first aired in 2001, but it is also an independent resource. The content is presented in a way 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 to other scientific concepts. The site gives a comprehensive overview of the ways in which evolution has been examined. This information can be used to dispel myths that have been created by the creationists.

It is also possible to access a 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 the result of natural selection. Organisms with more adaptable characteristics are more likely than those with less-adapted traits to survive and reproduce.

Common ancestor (also called common ancestor): The most recent ancestor 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 containing the information required for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotides arranged in sequences that are strung together into long chains, referred to as chromosomes. Mutations are responsible for the creation of new genetic information within cells.

Coevolution is the relationship between two species where evolution of one species are influenced by evolutionary changes in the other. Coevolution can be seen in the interaction of predator and prey, or parasites and hosts.

Origins

Species (groups of individuals that are able to interbreed) evolve through natural changes in the characteristics of their offspring. Changes can be caused by many factors, such as natural selection, gene drift, and mixing of the gene pool. The development of a new species may take thousands of years, and the process may be slowed down or speeded up by environmental conditions such as climate change or the competition for food or habitat.

The Evolution site follows the evolution of different species of plants and animals, focusing on major transitions within each group's past. It also examines the evolutionary history of humans which is crucial for students to understand.

Darwin's Origin was published in 1859, when only a handful of antediluvian fossils of humans were discovered. One of them was the infamous skullcap and bones that were discovered in 1856 at 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 before the first edition of the Origin appeared, it is highly unlikely that Darwin had heard or seen of it.

The site is primarily a biology site, but it also contains many details on geology and paleontology. The website has numerous features that are especially impressive, such as a timeline of how climate and geological conditions have changed over the course of time. It also features maps that show the locations of fossil groups.

The site is a companion to the PBS television series, but it can also be used as a source for teachers and students. The site is extremely well-organized and offers clear links between the introduction material in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more specific elements of the museum's 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. There are also links to John Endler's experiments with guppies that illustrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.

Diversity

The evolution of life has resulted in an array of animals, plants and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures within their natural environment offers many advantages over modern observational or experimental methods for studying evolutionary processes. In addition to exploring processes and events that occur frequently or over a long period of time, paleobiology is able to examine the relative abundance of various groups of organisms and their distribution across the geological time.

The Web site is divided into various paths to learning evolution which include "Evolution 101," which takes the user on a linear path through the nature of science and the evidence that supports the theory of evolution. The path also reveals common misconceptions about evolution and the evolution of thought.

Each of the other 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 videos, animations, and virtual laboratories in addition to general textual content. The breadcrumb-like structure of the content assists with navigation and orientation on the vast web site.

The page "Coral Reef Connections" For instance, it provides an overview of the coral's relationships, their interaction with other organisms and then zooms in on a single clam, Evolutionkr.Kr which can communicate with its neighbors and react to changes in conditions of the water that occur at the reef level. This page, along with the other multidisciplinary multimedia and interactive pages, provides an excellent introduction to the many areas of evolutionary biology. The content includes an explanation of the importance of natural selection and the concept of phylogenetics, an important 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 the disciplines of life science.

One resource, the companion to PBS's television show Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of a Web page that provides the depth and the broadness in terms of educational resources. The site features a wide range of interactive learning modules. It also has an "bread crumb structure" that helps students move away from the cartoon style used in Understanding Evolution and onto elements of this vast website that are closely linked to the realms of research science. For instance an animation that introduces the notion of genetic inheritance leads to a page highlighting John Endler's experiments with artificial selection with guppies in native ponds of Trinidad.

The Evolution Library on this website has a huge multimedia library of materials that deal with evolution. The contents are organized into curricula-based pathways that correspond to the learning objectives set out in the standards for biology. It contains seven short videos specifically designed for classroom use. They can be streamed or purchased as DVDs.

Evolutionary biology is a field of study with a lot of important questions, including what causes evolution and how fast it happens. This is particularly relevant for the evolution of humans where it was a challenge to reconcile religious beliefs that held that humanity has a special place in creation and a soul, with the idea that innate physical traits were derived from apes.

Additionally there are a myriad of ways that evolution could be triggered and natural selection is the most popular theory. Scientists also study other types such as genetic drift and sexual selection.

While many scientific fields of inquiry have a conflict with the literal interpretations of religious texts, evolutionary biology has been the subject of particularly intense controversy and resistance from religious fundamentalists. While certain religions have been able to reconcile their beliefs with the notions of evolution, others aren't.