Understanding Evolution

Your one-stop source for information on evolution

Understanding Evolution

About

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    About

    Understanding Evolution (UE) is a non-commercial, education website, for teaching and learning about the science of evolutionary biology. This site is here to help you understand what evolution is, how it works, and how it factors into your life. This site is a project of the University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP).

    Understanding Evolution is one of a suite of three educational websites produced by the UCMP that are designed to support teaching and learning about foundational science content:

    Each of these resources connect many disparate concepts to support deep, coherent understandings of Earth and biological sciences, and how we use science to learn more about the world around us. We invite you to explore our sister sites to further enrich your teaching and learning.

    Jump to: Credits | Evaluation | Funding | Collaborating organizations | Recognition 

    Credits

    This site was initially developed as a collaborative project of the UCMP and the National Center for Science Education and first launched in 2004. The site’s undergraduate resources were developed in collaboration with the American Institute of Biological Sciences and the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center. It has since been maintained and expanded by the UCMP and has undergone several transitions and expansions. We are indebted to the following individuals, who have all contributed to its success:

    Current UCMP Project Team
    • Lisa White, Principal Investigator and Team Coordinator
    • Anna Thanukos, Principal Editor and Project Coordinator
    • Trish Roque, Webmaster and Developer
    • Helina Chin, Graphic Design and Project Support
    Current scientific advisors
    • Charles Marshall, UC Berkeley
    • Michael Nachman, UC Berkeley
    • Carl Rothfels, UC Berkeley
    • Caroline Williams, UC Berkeley
    Current educator advisors
    • Betsy Barent, Norris Public Schools
    • Nicoline Chambers, West High School
    • Stephanie Keep, BiteScis
    • Allison Kittay, Redwood High School
    • Andrew Petto, University of Wisconsin
    • Judy Scotchmoor, former Education and Outreach Assistant Director of UCMP
    • Sarah Soule, California Academy of Sciences
    • Calvin Young, Fullerton College
    Current contributors
    • Isaac Krone, Phylogenetics reviewer
    • Emali Brophy, Content management system support
    • Colin Chamberlain, Content management system support
    • Lauren Fowler, Content management system support
    Past UCMP Team members
    • Roy Caldwell, Principal Investigator
    • David Lindberg, Co-Principal Investigator
    • Judy Scotchmoor, Project Coordinator
    • Josh Frankel, Webmaster and Graphic Design
    • Dave Smith, Graphic Design
    Original advisors and content providers
    • Alan D. Gishlick as a Post Doctoral Scholar at the National Center For Science Education
    • Al Janulaw as a Science methods instructor, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA
    • Eric Meikle as Outreach Coordinator at the National Center for Science Education
    • Eugenie C. Scott as Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education
    • Caroline A.E. Strömberg as a postdoctoral fellow at the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm
    • Anna Thanukos as a Postdoctoral Research Assistant of UCMP
    • Colleen Whitney as initial site web webmaster
    • Carl Zimmer as an author of the section entitled History of evolutionary thought
    Original teacher advisors
    • Jennifer Collins as a secondary life science teacher in Alexandria, VA
    • Scott Hays as a retired science educator and provider of teacher professional development
    • Sharon Janulaw as a Science methods instructor, Sonoma State University, Santa Rosa, CA
    • Anne Monk as a Middle school science teacher at the Katherine Delmar Burke School, San Francisco, California
    • Mark Stefanski as a Science teacher at Marin Academy, San Rafael, CA
    • Mark Terry as a Science teacher and Department Chair at Northwest School, Seattle, WA
    Postdoctoral and graduate students

    These individuals contributed content to the UE site as students.

    • Crissy Huffard, Ph.D. 2005, Department of Integrative Biology, UC Berkeley
    • Andrew Lee, Ph.D. 2007, Department of Integrative Biology, UC Berkeley
    • Elizabeth Perotti, Ph.D. 2008, Department of Integrative Biology, UC Berkeley
    • Judy Sheen, Ph.D. 2001, Department of Integrative Biology, UC Berkeley
    • Jennifer Skene, Ph.D. 2009, Department of Integrative Biology, UC Berkeley
    UE advisory board

    These individuals joined the UE team in 2008 to provide guidance for the expansion of the UE site, resulting in the successful submission of an NSF CCLI grant proposal in 2009.

    • Paul Beardsley, Center for Curriculum Development at the Biological Science Curriculum Study (BSCS), Colorado Springs, CO
    • Rodger W. Bybee, Director emeritus of the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS Colorado Springs, CO
    • Steven B. Case, Assistant Research Professor in the Center for Research on Learning at the University of Kansas
    • Judy Diamond, Professor and Curator of informal science education at the University of Nebraska State Museum
    • Sam Donovan, Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences — Science Education, at the University of Pittsburg
    • Kristin Jenkins, Education and Outreach Program Specialist, National Evolutionary Synthesis Center in Durham, NC
    • Joe Levine, Author of several biology texts at the high school and college levels
    • Dennis Liu, Senior Program Officer at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute
    • Patricia Morse, Marine biologist and Professor Emeritus of Biology, University of Washington
    • Paul Jean Narguizian, Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at California State University, Los Angeles
    • Richard T. O'Grady, Executive Director, American Institute of Biological Sciences, Washington, DC
    • Eugenie C. Scott, Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education, Inc., Oakland, CA
    • Kirsten Swinstrom, Instructor in the Life Sciences Department at Santa Rosa Junior College, CA
    • Lisa D. White, Professor of Geology and Associate Dean of Graduate Studies at San Francisco State University (SFSU), CA
    • Brian M. Wiegmann, Associate Director for Education and Outreach at the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center in Durham, NC
    UE teacher advisory board

    Funded by the CCLI grant, these individuals joined the UE team in 2009 to provide expertise and content review for the expansion of the UE site at the undergraduate level:

    • Robin Bingham, Professor of Biology at Western State College, Gunnison, CO
    • Jean DeSaix, Senior Lecturer, Department of Biology at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC
    • Nan Ho, Professor of Biology at Las Positas Community College, Livermore, CA
    • Jennifer Katcher, Faculty member at Pima Community College, AZ
    • Kristi Curry Rogers, Assistant Professor of Biology and Geology at Macalaster College, MN
    • Jim Smith, Professor of Biology at Michigan State University, MI
    • Kirsten Swinstrom, Instructor in the Life Sciences Department at Santa Rosa Junior College, CA
    • Lisa Urry, Professor of Biology at Mills College, CA
    • Daniel W. Ward, Professor of Biology at Waubonsee Community College, IL
    • Jason Wiles, Assistant Professor of Biology at Syracuse University, NY
    • Calvin Young, Professor in the Biology Department at Fullerton College, CA
    Project partners

    These individuals led the participation of their organization in collaboration with Understanding Evolution.

    • Kristin Jenkins, Education and Outreach Program Specialist, National Evolutionary Synthesis Center in Durham, NC
    • Susan Musante, Education Programs Manager, American Institute of Biological Sciences
    • Sheri Potter, Manager, Membership and Community Programs, American Institute of Biological Sciences
    External UE advisory board:

    These individuals have served as reviewers of UE resources:

    • Felicitas Avendano
    • Kari Benson
    • Jenny Boughman
    • Marya Czech
    • Jackie Durant
    • Kevin Folta
    • Rene Gillibert
    • Ryan Gregory
    • Laurel Hester
    • Nan Ho
    • Larisa Huiras
    • Stephanie Huiras
    • Cheryl Ann Hollinger
    • Jennifer Katcher
    • Allison Kittay
    • André Lachance
    • Troy Ladine
    • Janet Lee
    • Mary Mulcahy
    • Elaine Ngo
    • Andrew Petto
    • Polly Schulz
    • Kathy Schwab
    • Bernie Shellem
    • Elena Bray Speth
    • Robert Swanson
    • James F. Thompson
    • Martin Tracey
    • Gene Vann
    • Leo Welch
    • Cal Young

    Evaluation

    Rockman et al (REA), an independent research and evaluation group with expertise in technology interventions in education, conducted a thorough, multi-component evaluation of Understanding Evolution, also referred to in the evaluation as WWW.evolution. Over the course of the website’s development, the evaluation explored multiple aspects of the website and its constituent elements, ranging from its appeal and utility, to its ability to help users understand new concepts and acquire strategies for and confidence in teaching evolution. The evaluation included both formative elements intended to help the design team create an appealing, user-friendly, and useful website, and summative elements designed to explore the impact of the site on its target populations.

    Funding

    External support for Understanding Evolution has been provided by The National Science Foundation (under grant nos. 0096613, 0841757, and 0918741). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Additional funding was provided by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (under grant no. 51003439). Our 2021 overhaul of the site was funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (under award no. MA-10-19-0539-19). The views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this website do not necessarily represent those of the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Acknowledgement of grants that funded specific resources within this website are provided in footnotes on those pages. In addition, the UCMP provides ongoing financial support for the site and its maintenance.

    Collaborating organizations

    The following organizations have worked with UCMP to develop resources for the Understanding Evolution website and to support the teaching of evolution.

    The National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT) is a sponsor of the Understanding Evolution website.

     

    Recognition

    Read how others have recognized the Understanding Evolution:

    Read what our users have said about this site:

    I am writing, not as a teacher or educator, but as a mere “passer-by” who is awestruck at the simple yet powerful demonstration and learning tool you have created about evolution. What a remarkable thing you have assembled!

    Having what I believe to be a firm grasp of evolution, and understanding the difficulties involved with explaining it in a concise and understandable way to others, I am ecstatic at having discovered such an immensely useful resource. I can’t tell you how impressed I am with the manner and non-technical tone in which you have produced such a wide review of evolutionary theory. It’s truly fantastic and deserving of a wider audience.

    I only wish I could be so succinct and capable with my own words and explanations. Now I don’t need to worry about such things! All I have to do is pass along: https://evolution.berkeley.edu. Brilliant!

    Thanks for your time,
    D.W.

    —

    Just wanted to offer high praise on the best education site I have ever seen on the web. An expertly organized and presented two speed mini-course on evolution. If you haven’t already, you should get some type of award for it.

    L.C.

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    My husband and I have really enjoyed reading the Understanding Evolution Website. As a teacher, I especially appreciate the funny graphics and clear delivery. The information is given in small chunks, but it is still evident how these smaller concepts fit into the larger theory of evolution. Thank you.

    Sincerely,
    G.B.

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    A sincere thank to you and your colleagues for creating such a fantastic, easy-to-navigate, and organized site for teachers! Please relay my appreciation to the creators of the materials and lesson plans.

    Best regards,
    J.D.

    —

    As a school board member in Salina, Kansas, I appreciate your site, which gives clear and understandable answers to some difficult questions. Keep it up.

    G.D.

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    I just encountered this website. I teach a 100-level evolution class at the university of Oregon and would be very interested in using your understanding phylogenies material in a lecture. All the graphics would be very helpful.

    Thank you–great website!
    B.A.R.

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    I greatly appreciate and enjoy the Understanding Evolution website, which I am now using in a one semester course on evolution at Lehman High School, Bronx, NY.

    R.K.

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    Your website is wonderful! As a Christian who seeks to be a science teacher, I wish more Christians would bother to confront their issues with evolution by really learning the misconceptions they believe. I read over the misconceptions area and I loved it! Simply designed, but thorough enough to cover the big questions. Thank you, I hope to let others know about this material.

    Sincerely,
    S.S.

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    Thank you for creating this fantastic resource for teaching evolution. It will be a big bonus for my courses. It is so hard to get the outrageous amounts of evidence for evolution across to students in short periods of time, and this website is a big step in the right direction.

    I plan to use it in my introductory biology course next fall and I hope to contribute to it in the future if possible.

    Well done!
    S.K.

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    Fantastic job! The https://evolution.berkeley.edu/ site is great. Wonderful design, wonderful architecture, great content! I appreciate that the navigation is intuative and that even the graphics load quickly on a dial-up connection.

    Everyone did a fantastic job! I wish all educational sites were this good.

    P.C.

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    Hi! I am an undergrad studying biology at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, TX. I just wanted to fly you a quick comment about your site:

    Excellent job!!!!! 🙂 I really do enjoy it! There’s lots of cool hidden humor — I especially like some of the students questions on those ‘quick quiz’ parts.

    Evolution really is something that people have soooo many misconceptions about, and your site really helps clear up a bunch of those misconceptions. So thanks so much for the great site and keep up the great work!!! 🙂

    S.K.