Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER) In The Science Classroom

What You Will Learn

If you want your students to think like a scientist and apply reasoning and evidence to classroom activities, then the process of Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER) as a writing framework is a great place to start! You will learn how to apply a CER strategy to science concepts for any K-12 science-based activity. Learn to plan for student claims, design evidence aligned to a guiding question for your activity, as well as plan for the student reasoning responses. You will also learn how to apply design scaffolds and modifications to your lessons to better teach and communicate the CER process, and you will be provided with all the student tools and worksheets you need to effectively implement CER. This course can help future and new teachers learn the systematic design process of CER so that science activities are rigorous and promote critical thinking as well as experienced teachers who can benefit from the resources and strategies to ensure their well-developed activities are effective.

You Will Learn:

• Design rigorous science activities that support the CER process
• Learn a Step-By-Step Approach & access all the worksheets, templates, and resources needed to implement the CER writing framework within your classroom
• Learn how to assess CER using rubrics, and how to support students in the CER process using science templates and worksheets

Course Guiding Question:

How can I design a lesson to best support the CER writing process, so that my science students can use evidence and reasoning to formulate claims supported by well- structured activities in my classroom?

Professional Development Credits

At the conclusion of the course, you will receive a certificate for 12 Professional Development Hours (Clock Hours, CPEs).

Model Teaching Professional Development Courses are pre-approved in many states and we provide easy approval forms to submit to your license granting authority if required.

If you are a teacher seeking license renewal and wish to verify acceptance of our Professional Development Courses, please view our PD STATE REQUIREMENTS PAGE to learn more about your state’s requirements.

Also, consider taking our UNIVERSITY-PARTNERED, ACADEMIC CREDIT COURSES to earn regionally accredited units or credits, accepted by most states for teacher re-licensing and salary advancement.

Approval Information About This Course for Teaching License Renewal & Continuing Education

Model Teaching has helped thousands of teachers across the country meet their relicensing requirements.

This course is Pre-Approved in the following states for License Renewal and Continuing education:

• Texas – CPE’s, TEA-Approved
• New York CTLE’s – NYSED-Approved
• Pennsylvania DOE – ACT 48-Approved
• Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI) – Approved
• Nevada DOE
• Tennessee
• Other States As Well

If you do not see your state listed here, this course may be pre-approved in your state as well. Chat with us or leave a ticket for our recommendations.

For More Information About Your Specific State Requirements, Please View Your State Requirements

Please confirm your specific district or state requirements for license renewal prior to registering and feel free to reach out to us with any questions you may have about our courses.

Topics Covered and General Course Outline

Section 1 – Introduction to Claim, Evidence, Reasoning & Scientific Argumentation

• Learn the meaning of CER, the three components of CER and how to use CER as a writing framework in the science classroom.

Section 2.1 – The Claim

• Learn what makes a solid claim, how to introduce claim writing to your students, and how to create an activity that supports a strong claim. Then, using the CER activity template, reflect on how you could take an activity at your grade level to align to specific claims students can make.

Section 2.2 – The Evidence

• Learn what is included in the evidence component of CER, how to identify and define relevant evidence, and how to verify the evidence in labs and activities will support the claim. Then, using the Evidence Reference Guide and the CER Evidence Template resource, reflect on the specific data that could be generated for your chosen activity.

Section 2.3 – The Reasoning

• Learn what is included in the reasoning component of CER, how to introduce reasoning to students, and challenges your students may face when writing their reasoning. Then, using the Reasoning Challenges Reference Sheet and Reasoning Template, reflect on the anticipated challenges your students may have when designing reasoning statements.

Section 3 – How to Write an Appropriate Question for CER Responses

• Learn how to write an effective CER question and how to modify and edit ineffective CER questions so they will lead to strong claim writing. Then, utilize the Question Checklist Tool and the Question Writing template to reflect on how to design well- aligned questions that will produce a strong claim.

Section 4 – Modifications for CER

• Learn why CER assignments may need to be modified and ways to modify the CER process. Then, refer to the CER Modification Reference Guide and the CER Modification template and reflect on way you can edit you CER lesson to better fit the needs of students in your class.

Section 5 – CER Implementation

• Learn how to introduce CER into your classroom, some teaching strategies you can use to implement CER, and how to grade and provide feedback on CER responses. Then, reflect on which instructional strategies you can use to best implement CER into a classroom of your grade level.

Helpful Resources & Templates Included With the Course

The course comes with 21 templates, tools, and graphic organizers ready to be used in your classroom!

These Include:

• CER Reference
• Activity Alignment Checklist
• Student Reasoning Organizer
• Question Checklist Tool
• CER Modification Template
• CER Grading Rubric
• CER Activity Template
• CER Card Sort Tool
• Reasoning Challenges Reference Sheet
• Question Writing Template
• CER Student Graphic Organizer
• CER Lesson Plan Template
• Evidence Reference Guide
• CER Evidence Template
• Reasoning Template
• CER Modification Reference Guide
• CER Discussion Guide
• Effectiveness Rubric
• Unit Assessments Overview Plan and Sample

Register for the course Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER) In The Science Classroom now.