Understanding Evolution: your one-stop source for information on evolution
Resource library Teaching materials Evolution 101

Lesson summary for:
History of evolutionary thought

Overview:
In this section, you will see how study in four disciplinary areas — Earth's history, life's history, mechanisms of evolution, and development and genetics — has contributed to our current understanding of evolution.

Author/Source:
UC Museum of Paleontology

Grade level:
9-12

Time:
varies

Teaching tips:
This series of essays would make a good resource for student research projects on the history of evolutionary thought. Though clear, the writing level is somewhat advanced.

Concepts:

  • A hallmark of science is exposing ideas to testing.

  • Science focuses on natural phenomena and processes.

  • Scientists can test ideas about events and processes long past, very distant, and not directly observable.

  • Scientific knowledge is open to question and revision as we come up with new ideas and discover new evidence.

  • The real process of science is complex, iterative, and can take many different paths.

  • Accepted scientific theories are not tenuous; they must survive rigorous testing and be supported by multiple lines of evidence to be accepted.

  • Science is a human endeavor.

  • Our understanding of life through time is based upon multiple lines of evidence.

Teacher background:

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