Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology educators, misconceptions persist regarding evolution. Pop science nonsense has led many people to believe that biologists aren't believers in evolution.
This rich website - companion to the PBS series It provides teachers with materials that promote evolution education and avoids the kinds of myths that hinder it. It's laid out in a "bread crumb" format to facilitate navigation and orientation.
Definitions
Evolution is a complicated and difficult subject to teach effectively. Non-scientists often misunderstand the subject, and some scientists even use a definition that confuses it. This is especially relevant when discussing the definition of the words.
It is therefore important to define the terms that are used in evolutionary biology. The website for the PBS show, Understanding Evolution, does this in a clear and useful way. It is an accompaniment to the 2001 series, but also a resource of its own. The content is presented in a nested fashion which aids navigation and orientation.
Going In this article defines terms such as common ancestor, the gradual process and adaptation. These terms help frame the nature of evolution and its relationship to other scientific concepts. The site gives a comprehensive overview of the manner the concept of evolution has been examined. This information can be used to dispel the myths that have been propagated by the creationists.
You can also access a glossary that includes terms that are used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation: The tendency for heritable traits to become better suitable to a particular setting. This is the result of natural selection. Organisms with better-adapted traits are more likely than those with less adapted characteristics to survive and reproduce.
Common ancestor: The latest common ancestor of two or more different species. The common ancestor can be identified by studying the DNA of the species.
Deoxyribonucleic acid: A large biological molecule that contains the information needed for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences, which are strung into long chains, referred to as chromosomes. Mutations are the reason behind the creation of new genetic information within cells.
Coevolution: A relationship between two species in which evolutionary changes in one species are affected by changes in evolutionary processes in the other. Examples of coevolution are the interactions between predator and prey, or the parasite and the host.
Origins
Species (groups that can crossbreed) change through a series of natural changes in the traits of their offspring. These changes are caused by a variety such as natural selection, genetic drift, and gene pool mixing. The development of new species can take thousands of years. Environmental conditions, like climate change or competition for food resources and habitat can impede or accelerate the process.
The Evolution site follows the evolution of different groups of animals and plants with a focus on major changes in each group's history. It also examines the human evolutionary roots and humans, a subject that is crucial for students to understand.
Darwin's Origin was written in 1859, at a time when only a handful of antediluvian fossils of humans were discovered. Among them was the famous skullcap and associated bones found in 1856 at the Little Feldhofer Grotto in Germany, which is now known as an early Homo neanderthalensis. While the skullcap wasn't published until 1858, a year before the first edition of the Origin appeared, it is highly unlikely that Darwin had heard or seen of it.
The site is mostly a biology site however it also includes many details on geology and paleontology. The Web site has a number of aspects that are quite impressive, such as an overview of how climate and geological conditions have changed over time. It also has an interactive map that shows the location of fossil groups.
The site is a companion for the PBS television series, but it can also be used as a resource for teachers and students. The site is well-organized, and provides clear links to the introductory content of Understanding Evolution (developed under the National Science Foundation's support) and the more specialized features of the museum's website. These links facilitate the transition from the engaging cartoon style of the Understanding Evolution pages to the more sophisticated world of research science. Particularly there are links to John Endler's research with Guppies that demonstrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life has resulted in a variety of animals, plants and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures in their natural environment and has numerous advantages over modern observational and experimental methods in its exploration of evolutionary processes. In addition to studying processes and events that take place regularly or over a long period of time, paleobiology can be used to analyze the relative abundance of different groups of organisms and their distribution throughout the geological time.
The website is divided into different routes that can be taken to study the subject of evolution. One of the paths, "Evolution 101," walks the reader through the complexities and evidence of evolution. The path also explores common misconceptions about evolution and the evolution of thought.
Each of the main sections of the Evolution website is equally well-developed, with materials that are suited to a variety of curriculum levels and teaching styles. The site offers a wide array of interactive and multimedia content which include video clips, animations and virtual labs as well as general textual content. The content is laid out in a nested bread crumb-like fashion that helps with navigation and orientation within the large web site.
For instance, the page "Coral Reef Connections" provides a comprehensive overview of the relationships between corals and their interactions with other organisms, then narrows down to a single clam that can communicate with its neighbors and react to changes in the water conditions that occur at the level of the reef. This page, along with the other multidisciplinary multimedia and interactive pages, provides an excellent introduction to the many areas of evolutionary biology. The material also provides an explanation of the role of natural selection as well as the concept of phylogenetic analysis which is a key tool in understanding evolutionary change.
Evolutionary Theory
For biology students evolution is a crucial thread that binds all the branches of the field. A wide range 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 an Web page that offers both the depth and the broadness in terms of educational resources. The site features a wide range of interactive learning modules. It also has a nested "bread crumb" structure that helps students 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. For instance an animation that introduces the idea of genetic inheritance connects to a page highlighting John Endler's artificial selection experiments with guppies in native ponds of Trinidad.
Another helpful resource is the Evolution Library on this web site, which contains an extensive multimedia library of assets that are related to evolution. The content is organized in curriculum-based pathways that correspond to the learning objectives set out in the biology standards. It contains seven videos designed specifically for use in classrooms, and can be streamed at no cost or purchased on DVD.
Many important questions remain in the midst of evolutionary biology, such as what causes evolution to occur and how fast it occurs. This is particularly true for the evolution of humans which was a challenge to reconcile religious beliefs that humans have a distinct place in the creation and a soul with the idea that innate physical traits evolved from apes.
There are a variety of other ways in which evolution could occur, with natural selection as the most widely accepted theory. Scientists also study different types such as genetic drift, and sexual selection.
Many fields of inquiry have a conflict with literal interpretations of religious texts, evolutionary biology has been the subject of particularly fierce debate and opposition from religious fundamentalists. While some religions have been able to reconcile their beliefs with the theories of evolution, others have not.
