Tracking the Course of Evolution

• ORDER A COPY of The Paleontological Society's special publication #9, Evolution: Investigating the Evidence (J. Scotchmoor and D.A. Springer, eds. 1999. 406 p.) for $25. Also of interest is volume 2 in The Paleontological Society's Papers series: Learning From the Fossil Record (J. Scotchmoor and F. K. McKinney, eds. 1996. 329 p.) for $20. Postage and handling is $3.50. Ordering information for both publications can be found at http://www.uic.edu/orgs/paleo/publicat.html.
  Also visit our Learning From the Fossil Record web site which features a number of paleo-related activities for the classroom, as well as articles on scientific literacy, educational resources and more.

• BE SURE TO READ the March 8 article "Evolution-creation debate grows louder with Kansas controversy" on CNN's web site at http://www.cnn.com/2000/US/03/08/creationism.vs.evolution/index.html. The site also provides links to other related pages on evolution and creationism.
  Then check out the results of the Gallup Poll on Creationism ("Americans Support Teaching Creationism as Well as Evolution in Public Schools") at http://www.gallup.com/poll/releases/pr990830.asp.

• LARRY FLAMMER'S PRESENTATION from Sunday's workshop, Footsteps in Time (Laetoli Footprints), can be found on the web at http://www.indiana.edu/~ensiweb/lessons/footstep.html.

• If you are not already familiar with NCSE, the National Center for Science Education, you should definitely check out their web site at http://www.natcenscied.org/. NCSE is (as stated on their home page) "a nonprofit, tax-exempt membership organization working to defend the teaching of evolution against sectarian attack. We are a nationally-recognized clearinghouse for information and advice to keep evolution in the science classroom and "scientific creationism" out . . . we also work to increase public understanding of evolution and science "as a way of knowing." We also have programs to help teachers who want to improve their teaching of evolution. Here you'll find information and resources for all these activities."

• SEVERAL TEACHERS commented on the quality of a particular video: The Private Universe. It was broadcast last November by PBS channel 60 (KCSM) as part of a series entitled "Minds of Our Own." The series is a production of the Private Universe Project of the Science Education Department of Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Videotapes and information are available at The Annenberg/CPB Math and Science Collection, P. O. Box 2345, South Burlington, VT 05403-2345; (800) 965-7373.
  Short course participant Kathleen Burnham, who provided us with this information, says:

  "(The series) was one of the most insightful presentations on the subject of education that I have ever seen. It's truly a series that no teacher should miss. It demonstrates, with videotaped sessions, teaching children and the misconceptions the best students retain afterward. It illustrates concretely how children have very good reasons for believing what they believe, that it is unreasonable to expect people to abandon an idea which makes sense to them for an idea that someone tells them but which does not make sense to them, and that unless a teacher leads students to find out FOR THEMSELVES which ideas of science are correct and which are incorrect, by guiding students in building a bridge or transition between the incorrect ideas they begin with and the correct ideas, then learning of the subject matter is superficial or non-existent."

  Kathleen provided us with several more tips and resources of interest to teachers. When we get our Evolution Forum site up and going, we'll be sure to post these there. Stay tuned!

• HERE'S A BIT OF LEVITY provided by Dr. Tiffney:

  (AP) — The Ebola Virus, speaking from its headquarters somewhere in Africa, today thanked the Kansas Board of Education for its recent decision to remove evolution from the state's science curriculum. The virus pointed out that the resulting eventual loss of evolutionary biologists would make life easier for it and many other emerging diseases, as health workers would not be able to distinguish lethal and nonlethal strains that had evolved from one or the other. In its two recent visits to the U.S., the Ebola strains involved were those that had evolved from the deadly human strains into strains that kill monkeys, not people. "If they hadn't known, we could really have inspired hysteria" commented Ebola. "More fun next time."
  Meanwhile, Hantavirus, Cholera, AIDS and Influenza announced that they had no intention of stopping their own evolution and looked forward to even more successful world tours in the future. Although none of them expressed much interest in visiting Kansas, they denied they had plans to boycott the state.
  Finally, stock futures for a variety of "old fashioned" diseases (such as diphtheria and streptococcus), malaria, and tuberculosis went up, as it appears that humans now are increasingly prepared to ignore the evolution of antibiotic resistance for diseases that have long been held in check by modern medicines. Diphtheria, speaking from its exile in poorer parts of the former U.S.S.R., commented "The lack of new antibiotics seems to reflect a human arrogance that assumes we can't evolve and come back." It pointed out that malaria and TB had already evolved forms that were immune to all known antibiotics. "Without understanding how we evolve, humans are turning themselves into fodder." Asked to comment on the Kansas decision, Diphtheria smiled and said: "Thanks, Kansas, we'll be seeing you . . ."