Handouts are available below.

Big Idea

How can we teach CER in a more organic way? When we teach CER, I used to go over what a claim is, what evidence is, and what reasoning is and how that differs from evidence. Then, we’d work through some examples. This works, but I think it can be done better – in a way that is less prescribed and more organic – because if it’s more organic, it comes from them – the students – and if it comes from them, then they’ll remember it more. So, I did this – when I introduced CER this year – and I think it went quite well – especially since students got to do science.

Episode Notes

Here are a couple of big ideas from the video:

1. When getting students to practice using our triple beam balances, I gave them an initial research question to answer: for example, is a flask that is 2X bigger by volume also 2X bigger by mass? Students use the balances to find the mass of the two Erlenmeyer flasks, and then,I tell them to write a conclusion for the research question. The next day, I go around and checked their responses.
2. I show them how I would write a strong conclusion using some sample data. I tell students that all strong conclusions or claims have 3 things: (1) the answer to the question directly (2) a summary of the measurements and data that support my answer, and (3) an explanation.
3. Lastly, I give students another simple question to answer – a question that, again, gets students to practice using our lab equipment. Here’s the question: “is the mass of 100ml of water measured in a small beaker the same as the mass of 100ml of water measured in a large beaker?” And, I get them to write another conclusion and I’ll check it again to see how well they took in the feedback I provided in the first research question.

Resource

Handout(s): Ep103 Handouts – A More Organic Way to Teach CER

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