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.

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.

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

Introducing Evolution

Author: Dylan Evans
Publisher: Icon Books
ISBN: 1840469110
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 175

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 - a string of brilliant examples, superbly illustrated by Howard Selina, reveals how the evidence in favour of evolutionary theory is stronger than ever. With wit and clarity, Dylan Evans addresses many puzzling issues: Did life first evolve on other planets? What's the advantage of having sex? Why do your parents look after you? And what good to a bird is half a wing? From the death of the dinosaurs to the development of digital organisms, "Introducing Evolution" brings Darwin up-to-date with the latest scientific discoveries. This is the ideal guide to the most important idea ever to appear in the history of science.

Introducing Darwin

Author: Jonathan Miller
Publisher: Icon Books Ltd
ISBN: 1848319703
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 332

Book Description
Progress in genetics today would not be possible without Darwin's revolution, but the mysterious man who laid the rational basis for undermining belief in God's creation was remarkable timid. He spent most of his life in seclusion; a semi-invalid, riddled with doubts, fearing the controversy his theories might unleash. In this brilliantly lucid book - a classic originally published in 1982 - Jonathan Miller unravels Darwin's life and his contribution to biology, and traces the path from his scientific predecessors to the later modifications that his own evolutionary theories required. Introducing Darwin brings alive the difficult progress from pre-Darwinian thinking to modern genetics and the devastatingly important impact of one man on our fundamental understanding of biology, life and ourselves.

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: Robin Dunbar
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0141975326
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 432

Book Description
What makes us human? How did we develop language, thought and culture? Why did we survive, and other human species fail? The past 12,000 years represent the only time in the sweep of human history when there has been only one human species. How did this extraordinary proliferation of species come about - and then go extinct? And why did we emerge such intellectual giants? The tale of our origins has inevitably been told through the 'stones and bones' of the archaeological record, yet Robin Dunbar shows it was our social and cognitive changes rather than our physical development which truly made us distinct from other species.

Human Evolution

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

Book Description

The Tangled Bank

Author: Carl Zimmer
Publisher: Macmillan Higher Education
ISBN: 1319268765
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 804

Book Description
Used widely in non-majors biology classes, The Tangled Bank is the first textbook about evolution intended for the general reader. Zimmer, an award-winning science writer, takes readers on a fascinating journey into the latest discoveries about evolution. In the Canadian Arctic, paleontologists unearth fossils documenting the move of our ancestors from sea to land. In the outback of Australia, a zoologist tracks some of the world’s deadliest snakes to decipher the 100-million-year evolution of venom molecules. In Africa, geneticists are gathering DNA to probe the origin of our species. In clear, non-technical language, Zimmer explains the central concepts essential for understanding new advances in evolution, including natural selection, genetic drift, and sexual selection. He demonstrates how vital evolution is to all branches of modern biology—from the fight against deadly antibiotic-resistant bacteria to the analysis of the human genome.