CER: Is it Relevant Outside of School?

CER is an acronym for claim, evidence, and reasoning; a basic writing format taught to students in schools. It's one of several acronyms used for teaching students to construct a written argument or answer. Students start with CER and then add additional components such as a counterargument (CERC).

Why do we put so much emphasis on writing in our schools? After all it's only one subject among many right? Actually writing is a skill that is needed across all subject areas in school and in order to be successful in life. We need to be able to write so we can communicate with others and express our ideas effectively.

Recently my CT and I gave a CERC assignment in our Connections class that was designed by the school counselors. The students had to write about whether they thought Instagram should get rid of "likes".

The students didn't like having to write but enjoyed discussing the subject so participation was good. There was some healthy debate in class which helped the students form their counterarguments. They also asked lots of questions about what the different terms meant as they grappled with identifying those components in the reading.

This exercise of writing CERCs during Connections class is done regularly and students' progress is tracked. Overall our students are improving in their writing which is indicated in their scores.