Notes

What Evolution Site Experts Want You To Learn
Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution

Despite the best efforts by biology educators, there are still a lot of misconceptions about evolution. Pop science nonsense has led many people to believe that biologists aren't believers in evolution.

This rich Web site - companion to the PBS series It provides teachers with materials that support evolution education and avoids the kinds of misconceptions that hinder it. It's laid out in a "bread crumb" format to make navigation and orientation easier.

Definitions

Evolution is a complex and difficult subject matter to teach well. It is often misunderstood even by non-scientists, and even some scientists are guilty of using an interpretation that is confusing the issue. This is particularly relevant when discussing the meaning of the words themselves.

Evolution KR 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 simple and efficient manner. The website is a companion to the show which first aired in 2001, but also functions as an independent resource. The content is presented in a structured manner that makes it simpler to navigate and comprehend.


The site defines terms like common ancestor, gradual process, and adaptation. These terms help frame the nature of evolution as well as its relation to other scientific concepts. The site then offers an overview of how the concept of evolution has been vetted and validated. This information will help to dispel the myths created by creationists.

You can also access a glossary that includes terms used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:

Adaptation: The tendency of hereditary traits to become more suitable to a particular setting. This is a result of natural selection. Organisms with more adaptable characteristics are more likely than those with less-adapted traits to survive and reproduce.

Common ancestor: The most recent common ancestor of two or more distinct species. By analyzing the DNA from these species it is possible to determine the common ancestor.

Deoxyribonucleic Acid: A massive biological molecular that holds the information needed for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences that are strung into long chains known as chromosomes. Mutations are the basis for new genetic information in cells.

Coevolution: A relationship between two species where evolutionary changes in one species are dependent on evolutionary changes in the other. Coevolution can be observed 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. 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 may take thousands of years and the process could be slowed down or accelerated by environmental factors like climate change or the competition for food or habitat.

The Evolution site traces through time the evolution of different species of plants and animals, focusing on major transitions in each group's history. It also examines the evolution of humans and is a subject that is of particular interest for students.

When Darwin wrote the Origin in 1859, only a handful of antediluvian human fossils had been discovered. 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. Although the skullcap was not published until 1858, one year after the first edition of the Origin was published, it is highly unlikely that Darwin had seen or heard of it.

While the site is focused on biology, it contains a wealth of information on geology and paleontology. The website has a number of features that are especially impressive, such as the timeline of how climate and geological conditions have changed over time. It also features 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 a source for teachers and students. The site is well-organized and has clear links between the introduction information in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more specific elements of the museum's web site. These links make it easier to move 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 produced a diversity of animals, plants, and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures within their natural environment offers many advantages over the current observational or experimental methods of studying evolutionary processes. Paleobiology is able to study not only processes and events that happen regularly or over time, but also the relative abundance and distribution of various animal groups in space throughout the geological time.

The site is divided up into different options to learn about evolution. One of the paths, "Evolution 101," takes the viewer through the nature and evidence of evolution. The path also examines myths about evolution, and also the history of evolutionary thinking.

Each of the other major sections of the Evolution site is equally constructed, with materials that support a variety of curriculum levels and pedagogical styles. The site has a range of multimedia and interactive resources which include video clips, animations and virtual labs in addition to general textual content. The breadcrumb-like structure of the content aids in navigation and orientation on the large website.

For example the page "Coral Reef Connections" provides an overview of coral relationships and their interactions with other organisms. Then, it zooms in on a single clam that is able to communicate with its neighbors and respond to changes in water conditions that occur at the level of the reef. This page, along with the other multidisciplinary interactive and multimedia pages offers a great introduction to a variety of topics in evolutionary biology. The information also includes an overview of the importance of natural selection as well as the concept of phylogenetic analysis which is a crucial tool in understanding evolutionary change.

Evolutionary Theory

For biology students, evolution is a key thread that connects all branches of the field. A wide range of resources helps teachers teach about evolution across the life sciences.

One resource, the companion to PBS's television series Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of an Web page that provides depth as well as wide range of educational resources. The site has a variety of interactive learning modules. It also features a nested "bread crumb" structure that allows students to move from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this massive website that are more closely linked to the world of research science. For instance an animation that explains the concept of genetic inheritance links to a page highlighting John Endler's artificial selection experiments with guppies from the native ponds of Trinidad.

The Evolution Library on this website contains a large multimedia library of materials that deal to evolution. The content is organized into courses that are based on curriculum and follow the learning objectives set out in the 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 happens. This is especially true for human evolution, where it's been difficult to reconcile the notion that the physical traits of humans derived from apes with religious beliefs that hold that humanity is unique among living things and holds a a special place in creation, with a soul.

There are a myriad of other ways evolution could occur including natural selection, which is the most well-known theory. Scientists also study other kinds such as genetic drift, and sexual selection.

Many fields of inquiry are in conflict with literal interpretations of religious texts Evolutionary biology has been the subject of controversial debate and resistance from religious fundamentalists. While certain religions have managed to reconcile their beliefs with the notions of evolution, other religions aren't.

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