Teaching Evolution in a Creation Nation

Author: Adam Laats
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022633144X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 137

Book Description
No fight over what gets taught in American classrooms is more heated than the battle over humanity’s origins. For more than a century we have argued about evolutionary theory and creationism (and its successor theory, intelligent design), yet we seem no closer to a resolution than we were in Darwin’s day. In this thoughtful examination of how we teach origins, historian Adam Laats and philosopher Harvey Siegel offer crucial new ways to think not just about the evolution debate but how science and religion can make peace in the classroom. Laats and Siegel agree with most scientists: creationism is flawed, as science. But, they argue, students who believe it nevertheless need to be accommodated in public school science classes. Scientific or not, creationism maintains an important role in American history and culture as a point of religious dissent, a sustained form of protest that has weathered a century of broad—and often dramatic—social changes. At the same time, evolutionary theory has become a critical building block of modern knowledge. The key to accommodating both viewpoints, they show, is to disentangle belief from knowledge. A student does not need to believe in evolution in order to understand its tenets and evidence, and in this way can be fully literate in modern scientific thought and still maintain contrary religious or cultural views. Altogether, Laats and Siegel offer the kind of level-headed analysis that is crucial to finding a way out of our culture-war deadlock.

Evolution

Author: Brian Charlesworth
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198804369
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 169

Book Description
This text is about the central role of evolution in shaping the nature and diversity of the living world. It describes the processes of natural selection, how adaptations arise, and how new species form, as well as summarizing the evidence for evolution

Teaching About Evolution and the Nature of Science

Author: National Academy of Sciences
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309063647
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 150

Book Description
Today many school students are shielded from one of the most important concepts in modern science: evolution. In engaging and conversational style, Teaching About Evolution and the Nature of Science provides a well-structured framework for understanding and teaching evolution. Written for teachers, parents, and community officials as well as scientists and educators, this book describes how evolution reveals both the great diversity and similarity among the Earth's organisms; it explores how scientists approach the question of evolution; and it illustrates the nature of science as a way of knowing about the natural world. In addition, the book provides answers to frequently asked questions to help readers understand many of the issues and misconceptions about evolution. The book includes sample activities for teaching about evolution and the nature of science. For example, the book includes activities that investigate fossil footprints and population growth that teachers of science can use to introduce principles of evolution. Background information, materials, and step-by-step presentations are provided for each activity. In addition, this volume: Presents the evidence for evolution, including how evolution can be observed today. Explains the nature of science through a variety of examples. Describes how science differs from other human endeavors and why evolution is one of the best avenues for helping students understand this distinction. Answers frequently asked questions about evolution. Teaching About Evolution and the Nature of Science builds on the 1996 National Science Education Standards released by the National Research Councilâ€"and offers detailed guidance on how to evaluate and choose instructional materials that support the standards. Comprehensive and practical, this book brings one of today's educational challenges into focus in a balanced and reasoned discussion. It will be of special interest to teachers of science, school administrators, and interested members of the community.

Introducing Evolution

Author: Dylan Evans
Publisher: Icon Books Ltd
ISBN: 1848319738
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 408

Book Description
In 1859, Charles Darwin shocked the world with a radical theory - evolution by natural selection. One hundred and fifty years later, his theory still challenges some of our most precious beliefs. Introducing Evolution provides a step-by-step guide to 'Darwin's dangerous idea' and takes a fresh look at the often misunderstood concepts of natural selection and the selfish gene. Drawing on the latest findings from genetics, ecology and animal behaviour- as well as the work of best-selling science writers such as Richard Dawkins and Steven Pinker- this book reveals how the evidence in favour of evolutionary theory is stronger than ever.

Human Evolution

Author: Bernard A. Wood
Publisher: Chapman & Hall
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 84

Book Description

An Introduction to Methods and Models in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology

Author: Stanton Braude
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400835453
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 288

Book Description
An innovative introduction to ecology and evolution This unique textbook introduces undergraduate students to quantitative models and methods in ecology, behavioral ecology, evolutionary biology, and conservation. It explores the core concepts shared by these related fields using tools and practical skills such as experimental design, generating phylogenies, basic statistical inference, and persuasive grant writing. And contributors use examples from their own cutting-edge research, providing diverse views to engage students and broaden their understanding. This is the only textbook on the subject featuring a collaborative "active learning" approach that emphasizes hands-on learning. Every chapter has exercises that enable students to work directly with the material at their own pace and in small groups. Each problem includes data presented in a rich array of formats, which students use to answer questions that illustrate patterns, principles, and methods. Topics range from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and population effective size to optimal foraging and indices of biodiversity. The book also includes a comprehensive glossary. In addition to the editors, the contributors are James Beck, Cawas Behram Engineer, John Gaskin, Luke Harmon, Jon Hess, Jason Kolbe, Kenneth H. Kozak, Robert J. Robertson, Emily Silverman, Beth Sparks-Jackson, and Anton Weisstein. Provides experience with hypothesis testing, experimental design, and scientific reasoning Covers core quantitative models and methods in ecology, behavioral ecology, evolutionary biology, and conservation Turns "discussion sections" into "thinking labs" Professors: A supplementary Instructor's Manual is available for this book. It is restricted to teachers using the text in courses. For information on how to obtain a copy, refer to: http://press.princeton.edu/class_use/solutions.html

Grandmother Fish

Author: Jonathan Tweet
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
ISBN: 1250134110
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 40

Book Description
Where did we come from? It's a simple question, but not so simple an answer to explain—especially to young children. Charles Darwin's theory of common descent no longer needs to be a scientific mystery to inquisitive young readers. Meet Grandmother Fish. Told in an engaging call and response text where a child can wiggle like a fish or hoot like an ape and brought to life by vibrant artwork, Grandmother Fish takes children and adults through the history of life on our planet and explains how we are all connected. The book also includes comprehensive backmatter, including: - An elaborate illustration of the evolutionary tree of life - Helpful science notes for parents - How to explain natural selection to a child

Introduction to Human Evolution

Author: Gillian Crane-Kramer
Publisher: Cognella Academic Publishing
ISBN: 9781516546145
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

Book Description
Introduction to Human Evolution has been developed in direct response to student feedback on the standard textbook approach to the subject matter. Concise and filled with engaging images, the book makes evolution, primatology, and human variation appealing to today's learners. The book introduces readers to issues surrounding the theory of evolution, sheds light on questions about what evolution is or isn't, and discusses how we know what we think we do about it. Readers will learn about early hominins, the Australopithecines, and the genus Homo. The book also addresses population history and genetics, adaptation and acclimatization, and anatomically modern humans. It concludes with the big question--where will we go from here? Each chapter is a balance of text, exercises, graphs, and visuals. The exercise worksheets support independent learning, and answers are provided to allow for self-assessment. Introduction to Human Evolution is an excellent choice for courses in anthropology and biology. It is accessible to non-majors, but can also be used in introductory courses for science majors.

Human Evolution

Author: Bernard Wood
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0198831749
Category : Fossil hominids
Languages : en
Pages : 161

Book Description
The study of human evolution is advancing rapidly. Newly discovered fossil evidence is adding ever more pieces to the puzzle of our past, whilst revolutionary technological advances in the study of ancient DNA are completely reshaping theories of early human populations and migrations.In this Very Short Introduction Bernard Wood traces the history of paleoanthropology from its beginnings in the eighteenth century to the very latest fossil finds. In this new edition he discusses how Ancient DNA studies have revolutionized how we view the recent (post-550 ka) human evolution, andthe process of speciation. The combination of ancient and modern human DNA has contributed to discoveries of new taxa, as well as the suggestion of "ghost" taxa whose fossil records still remain to be discovered. Considering the contributions of related sciences such as paleoclimatology,geochronology, systematics, genetics, and developmental biology, Wood explores our latest understandings of our own evolution.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, andenthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Plant Evolution

Author: Karl J. Niklas
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022634228X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 590

Book Description
Although plants comprise more than 90% of all visible life, and land plants and algae collectively make up the most morphologically, physiologically, and ecologically diverse group of organisms on earth, books on evolution instead tend to focus on animals. This organismal bias has led to an incomplete and often erroneous understanding of evolutionary theory. Because plants grow and reproduce differently than animals, they have evolved differently, and generally accepted evolutionary views—as, for example, the standard models of speciation—often fail to hold when applied to them. Tapping such wide-ranging topics as genetics, gene regulatory networks, phenotype mapping, and multicellularity, as well as paleobotany, Karl J. Niklas’s Plant Evolution offers fresh insight into these differences. Following up on his landmark book The Evolutionary Biology of Plants—in which he drew on cutting-edge computer simulations that used plants as models to illuminate key evolutionary theories—Niklas incorporates data from more than a decade of new research in the flourishing field of molecular biology, conveying not only why the study of evolution is so important, but also why the study of plants is essential to our understanding of evolutionary processes. Niklas shows us that investigating the intricacies of plant development, the diversification of early vascular land plants, and larger patterns in plant evolution is not just a botanical pursuit: it is vital to our comprehension of the history of all life on this green planet.