Claim, Evidence, Reasoning aka CER
In addition to designing and performing a laboratory experiment, students must be able to communicate their results, findings, and explanations.
A Claim, Evidence, Reasoning (CER) is a short writing piece that allows the students to succinctly discuss their lab activities.
The CER must always begin with a Claim (C). The Claim should be a concise statement that summarizes the main point or idea of the laboratory experiment. For instance, "Armada is a great place to live." is an example of a Claim. It is concise - short and to the point, nor does it not provide any details or supporting facts. A great way to start would be, "In this lab, I claim that if XXX occurred then YYY was the result". This may not be applicable to all labs, though.
The Evidence (E) may be several pieces of evidence that can be used to support the Claim. For example, "Armada is a small town. The schools are excellent. The Armada Fair provides excitement unique to surrounding towns. Everybody loves eating at Papa's Family Restaurant." These are all facts related to Armada without any interpretation from the person writing. A perfect way to begin this section would be, "My Claim was based on...(listing the qualitative and quantitative data)".
The Reasoning (R) provides the interpretation of the Evidence using your own thoughts to determine an opinion. Reasoning may include "Small rural towns are always a better place to live and with only 1700 people, Armada is considered a small town. The schools are award winning and rank among the top in state testing in the county. Great towns must always have a strong school district to produce responsible adults." The goal of the Reasoning should be to connect the Evidence to the Claim. A perfect way to start this section would be, "Based on the Evidence, I believe my Claim is accurate because...".
Science Scope magazine "Helping students write scientific explanations" by Ann Novak, Katherine McNeill, and Joseph Krajcik
A Claim, Evidence, Reasoning (CER) is a short writing piece that allows the students to succinctly discuss their lab activities.
The CER must always begin with a Claim (C). The Claim should be a concise statement that summarizes the main point or idea of the laboratory experiment. For instance, "Armada is a great place to live." is an example of a Claim. It is concise - short and to the point, nor does it not provide any details or supporting facts. A great way to start would be, "In this lab, I claim that if XXX occurred then YYY was the result". This may not be applicable to all labs, though.
The Evidence (E) may be several pieces of evidence that can be used to support the Claim. For example, "Armada is a small town. The schools are excellent. The Armada Fair provides excitement unique to surrounding towns. Everybody loves eating at Papa's Family Restaurant." These are all facts related to Armada without any interpretation from the person writing. A perfect way to begin this section would be, "My Claim was based on...(listing the qualitative and quantitative data)".
The Reasoning (R) provides the interpretation of the Evidence using your own thoughts to determine an opinion. Reasoning may include "Small rural towns are always a better place to live and with only 1700 people, Armada is considered a small town. The schools are award winning and rank among the top in state testing in the county. Great towns must always have a strong school district to produce responsible adults." The goal of the Reasoning should be to connect the Evidence to the Claim. A perfect way to start this section would be, "Based on the Evidence, I believe my Claim is accurate because...".
Science Scope magazine "Helping students write scientific explanations" by Ann Novak, Katherine McNeill, and Joseph Krajcik