CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) in Biology

Summary

The speaker reflects on personal growth and curiosity, using the example of red-eared sliders' winter behavior to illustrate the CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) framework for scientific explanations. They discuss the process of scientific investigation, emphasizing the importance of peer-reviewed sources and the role of brumation in turtle survival during icy winters, ultimately encouraging viewers to apply CER to everyday life to critically assess claims.

Takeaways

• 🍳 The speaker admits to not being skilled in cooking, organizing, or crafts, and acknowledges a lack of interest in developing these skills.
• 🌱 They maintain a growth mindset, recognizing that with interest and effort, they could improve in various areas, as evidenced by the progress in their art and audio over time.
• 🤔 The speaker values curiosity and questions, noting that as people age, they may ask fewer questions, but they personally continue to be inquisitive.
• 🐢 A childhood memory of red-eared sliders disappearing in winter from a pond in Texas sparks curiosity about their behavior and survival strategies.
• ❄️ The speaker ponders the survival of these semi-aquatic turtles during winter, especially when the pond surface freezes, affecting their ability to breathe.
• 🔍 The script introduces the CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) framework as a tool for scientific explanations and reliable conclusions after an investigation.
• 📚 The CER framework is applicable to various subjects and is popular in science classrooms, helping to develop conclusions from data collected during investigations.
• 📷 The speaker discusses the importance of gathering evidence through observation and research, emphasizing the need for careful observation and peer-reviewed sources.
• 🧩 The concept of brumation is introduced as a survival strategy for red-eared sliders during winter, involving physiological changes that allow them to handle low oxygen environments.
• 📝 The speaker uses the CER framework to formulate a conclusion about the turtles' behavior, providing a claim supported by evidence and reasoned explanation.
• 🔬 The script highlights the importance of considering the source of information in scientific research, advocating for peer-reviewed and expert sources over anecdotal evidence.
• 🌐 The CER framework is suggested as a method not only for academic use but also for evaluating claims in daily life, promoting critical thinking and skepticism.

Q & A

What are the three activities the speaker admits they are not good at?

The speaker is not good at cooking, organizing, and crafts.

What does the speaker believe about maintaining a growth mindset?

The speaker believes in maintaining a growth mindset by acknowledging that with interest and practice, they could develop skills in areas they are currently not proficient in.

How has the speaker's art and audio skills improved over time?

The speaker's art and audio skills have improved over time through years of practice and effort, as evidenced by their videos.

What is the speaker's personal trait that they believe they have developed?

The speaker believes they have developed the trait of being curious about things.

What childhood memory does the speaker share about turtles in Texas?

The speaker shares a memory of observing semi-aquatic turtles, specifically red-eared sliders, that would disappear every winter from a pond near their house in Texas.

Why does the speaker question the disappearance of the turtles during winter?

The speaker questions whether the turtles migrate like birds or hibernate, and how they manage to breathe when the pond surface freezes over since they don't have gills.

What is the scientific framework the speaker introduces for developing explanations?

The speaker introduces the CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) framework as a tool for developing scientific explanations.

How does the speaker plan to use the CER framework in their investigation about the turtles?

The speaker plans to use the CER framework to help develop a reliable conclusion after conducting an investigation, by stating the claim, providing evidence that supports it, and giving reasoning for how the evidence supports the claim.

What observations does the speaker make about the turtles during their investigation?

The speaker observes that the turtles remain in the water when the pond freezes over, show inactivity at the bottom of the pond, and are still present after the winter is over.

What is the term the speaker finds in their research about how red-eared sliders handle the winter?

The term the speaker finds is 'brumation,' which is a state of inactivity similar to hibernation that ectotherms like red-eared sliders can enter to survive in low oxygen environments.

How does the speaker apply the CER framework to their conclusion about the turtles?

The speaker applies the CER framework by stating their claim that the turtles remain in the water and brumate during winter, providing evidence from their observations and peer-reviewed research, and giving reasoning that explains how the evidence supports the claim.

Why is the speaker emphasizing the importance of considering the source when gathering information for research?

The speaker emphasizes the importance of considering the source to ensure that the information is factual, peer-reviewed, and comes from credible experts in the field, rather than personal opinions or unreliable sources.

How can the CER framework be applied beyond the context of a biology course?

The CER framework can be applied to daily life when evaluating claims made by others or found online, by considering whether there is evidence to support the claim and if the reasoning for how the evidence supports the claim is valid.

Outlines

00:00

🤔 Embracing Curiosity and the Scientific Method

The speaker acknowledges their lack of proficiency in certain skills such as cooking, organizing, and crafts, and admits that while they maintain a growth mindset, these areas have not sparked their interest enough to develop expertise. They emphasize the importance of curiosity, using their childhood experience with red-eared sliders in a Texas pond as an example. The turtles' disappearance during winter raises questions about their survival, leading to a discussion on the scientific method and its non-linear nature. The speaker introduces the CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) framework as a tool for scientific explanations, particularly in classrooms, and suggests its use in forming conclusions after an investigation.

05:01

🔍 Investigating Turtle Brumation with CER Framework

Building on the curiosity about the turtles' winter survival, the speaker delves into the concept of brumation, a hibernation-like state for ectothermic animals like red-eared sliders. They describe how, during brumation, turtles can survive in low oxygen environments with slowed metabolic rates and physiological changes. The speaker outlines the steps of their investigation, including qualitative observations of the turtles' behavior and research from peer-reviewed science journals. They use the CER framework to organize their findings, formulating a claim that the turtles remain in the pond and brumate during winter, supported by evidence from their observations and cited research. The reasoning section explains how the evidence corroborates the claim, demonstrating the turtles' survival and physiological adaptations to winter conditions.

Keywords

💡Growth Mindset

A growth mindset is the belief that one's abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication and hard work. In the video, the speaker admits to not being naturally skilled in certain areas but emphasizes the importance of maintaining a growth mindset to improve and learn over time. This concept is central to the video's theme of curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge.

💡Curiosity

Curiosity is the desire to learn or know more about something or someone. The speaker highlights the importance of staying curious as a way to drive personal growth and scientific inquiry. Curiosity is portrayed as a fundamental trait that can lead to asking questions and seeking answers, which is a key part of the scientific process discussed in the video.

💡Red-eared Sliders

Red-eared sliders are a species of semi-aquatic turtles native to the United States. In the script, they serve as a real-world example that sparks the speaker's curiosity about their behavior during winter. The mystery of their disappearance and survival strategies in a frozen pond is a central narrative that drives the scientific investigation in the video.

💡Brumation

Brumation is a state of inactivity and metabolic depression in ectothermic animals, similar to hibernation in mammals. The concept is introduced in the video as the likely survival strategy of red-eared sliders during the winter when their pond freezes over. It is an essential part of the scientific explanation the speaker is developing, illustrating how animals adapt to environmental changes.

💡Scientific Investigation

A scientific investigation is a systematic approach to exploring questions and acquiring knowledge. The video discusses the non-linear nature of scientific investigations and the importance of considering various factors when planning one. The speaker uses the investigation of red-eared sliders as an example to demonstrate how to apply the CER framework in formulating a scientific explanation.

💡Claim, Evidence, Reasoning (CER)

CER is a framework used for constructing scientific explanations. It involves making a claim, supporting it with evidence, and providing reasoning for how the evidence supports the claim. The video uses the CER framework to guide the development of a conclusion about the behavior of red-eared sliders in winter, emphasizing its applicability across various subjects.

💡Hypothesis

A hypothesis is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon, made as a starting point for further investigation. Although not explicitly detailed in the script, the development of a hypothesis is implied as part of the scientific investigation process. The speaker's curiosity about the turtles' winter behavior could lead to the formation of a hypothesis to be tested.

💡Metabolism

Metabolism refers to the chemical processes that occur within a living organism to maintain life. In the context of the video, the speaker mentions that red-eared sliders' metabolic needs slow down during brumation, indicating a physiological adaptation to low oxygen environments in winter.

💡Peer-Reviewed Sources

Peer-reviewed sources are scholarly articles or papers that have been evaluated and approved by experts in the same field. The video emphasizes the importance of using peer-reviewed sources for scientific research, as they provide reliable and credible evidence to support claims, such as the behavior of red-eared sliders during winter.

💡Quantitative Data

Quantitative data refers to numerical data that can be measured and analyzed statistically. The speaker mentions the potential for obtaining quantitative data to demonstrate physiological changes during brumation, indicating a more precise approach to scientific investigation that can provide concrete evidence.

💡Ectothermic

Ectothermic animals, like red-eared sliders, rely on external sources to regulate their body temperature. The term is used in the video to explain how these animals can survive in cold environments by entering a state of brumation, which allows them to adapt to the changing conditions without the need for internal thermoregulation.

Highlights

The speaker acknowledges their lack of proficiency in cooking, organizing, and crafts, but embraces a growth mindset for skill development.

A growth mindset is emphasized as essential for developing skills over time, as demonstrated by the improvement in art and audio over the years.

Curiousity is highlighted as a key trait the speaker has developed, contrasting with the common decline in curiosity as people age.

A childhood memory of red-eared sliders in Texas serves as a catalyst for the speaker's curiosity about their winter behavior.

The importance of asking questions is underscored as a starting point for curiosity and scientific investigation.

The non-linear nature of the scientific process and the absence of a universal scientific method are discussed.

CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) is introduced as a framework for scientific explanations, applicable across various subjects.

The CER framework is explained as a tool for developing reliable conclusions after an investigation.

An example of using the CER framework is given, focusing on the winter survival of red-eared sliders.

The speaker outlines the steps of a scientific investigation, emphasizing the importance of data collection.

Qualitative data from observations of turtle behavior during winter is described as evidence for the CER framework.

The necessity of peer-reviewed sources for scientific research is stressed to ensure the validity of evidence.

Brumation, a state similar to hibernation, is introduced as a survival strategy for red-eared sliders during winter.

The speaker discusses the physiological changes that occur in turtles during brumation, allowing them to survive in low oxygen environments.

The CER framework is applied to organize a portion of the conclusion, integrating claim, evidence, and reasoning.

The reasoning process is explained, showing how evidence supports the claim about red-eared sliders' winter behavior.

The broader applicability of the CER framework beyond science is mentioned, encouraging its use in daily life for evaluating claims.

The video concludes with a reminder to stay curious, emphasizing the value of curiosity in both scientific and personal growth.

Transcripts

There are many things that I’m not really great at. Cooking. Organizing. Crafts. None

of these really seem to be for me. And you know, I try to keep a growth mindset so I

know that if I truly was interested and wanted to grow my skill, I could. I mean, over time

with our videos, you can see our art and our audio has gotten…better. It’s taken a

lot of years and practice. But to be honest, those three things have never really piqued

my interest so I haven’t really developed a skill for them. Yet.

But one thing I am good at, or at least I think I’ve developed, is being curious about

things. You know, many people start out being very curious from a young age. But for some

reason, as we get older, sometimes, we sort of stop asking as many questions. I think

I just stopped asking them out loud.

I used to have a pond near my house where I grew up in Texas. There would be these semi-aquatic

turtles that would sun themselves on this floating log in the pond. Most of them were

red-eared sliders.

But every winter, they were gone. I don’t know where they went. Did they migrate like

birds? Did they hibernate, and if so, where? I mean these turtles spend their time in the

water, and you usually only see them outside of the water if A) they’re sunning themselves

or B) they’re laying eggs. Since we live in Texas, the pond didn’t completely freeze,

but there was at least an inch of solid ice at the top. I know that red-eared sliders

breathe oxygen by coming to the surface as I’ve seen them do that, and they don’t

have gills. If the pond surface freezes over solid, they would not be able to do that.

So, yes, this is going to leave me with questions, and questions are a a great start to being

curious and can lead to some fascinating scientific investigations. In our Nature of Science video,

we talk about how the science process is often not linear, how there’s not just one universal

scientific method, and we list some important things to consider when planning a scientific

investigation. But after a scientific investigation, how might we develop a scientific explanation?

Right now, we want to talk about a framework that is applicable to a lot of subjects – not

just science – and therefore not just biology that I teach. It’s actually cross-curricular.

And that is CER. Claim Evidence Reasoning. However, not necessarily conducted in that

order. CER is a framework that can be used for scientific explanations. Due to this,

it’s very popular in science classrooms. One way to use this CER framework is to help

develop a reliable conclusion after an investigation has already been conducted. A conclusion can

state the claim, evidence that supports it, and reasoning for how or why that evidence

supports the claim. As an example, let me go back to that turtle situation.

So my question: In the winter when the pond surface freezes over, where do all the red-eared

sliders from this pond go to survive? I could launch a full investigation on this, and part

of my investigation is where I would obtain data. I’m not going to show all the steps

of a potential investigation right now: if I did, I might show the steps in developing

my hypothesis and my procedure. But for this short video, we’re going to focus on the

data collected in an investigation, because that data will serve as my evidence and I

cannot have a claim without evidence that supports the claim. I want to use the Claim

Evidence Reasoning framework to help me write a portion of my conclusion – and remember,

that’s only one example of how I could use this CER framework.

So in my investigation, my data includes many observations - whether the turtles are leaving

the pond or staying in the water. I might set up cameras for footage of the pond or

in the pond, observing exactly what they are doing in the water, although I’d need to

be careful not to disturb the turtles in any way. I’d be observing before the winter

and after the winter is over. My observations show that these turtles are remaining in the

water when the pond freezes over. Also, the same turtles are present after the winter

is over. I also observe the turtles’ inactivity in the water at the bottom of the pond when

the pond’s surface freezes over.

My investigation would also include research: information from science papers from science

journals about red-eared sliders. With this research, it’s important to examine where

my source comes from. This is likely beyond what we’d find in a general biology textbook,

because this is a very specific topic about how red-eared sliders handle the winter. Are

the sources I’ve gathered actually peer-reviewed science sources from a science journal? Maybe

it’s written by an expert in the field? Or…is it info from a website your neighbor

Bob made who had a turtle once and has many personal opinions about turtles – which

is not how science theories work by the way – and likes to take pictures of turtles

in his spare time and post them online with random filters? Always, always consider your

source- I am looking for factual, peer-reviewed sources.

Keeping that in mind, I gather science papers that talk about freshwater turtle winter survival,

and I notice these papers discuss brumation. Brumation has similarities to hibernation

- you might be familiar about hibernation in mammals. Brumation can be done by ectotherms

like red-eared sliders. During brumation, red-eared sliders can handle a low oxygen

environment and the turtle's metabolic needs slow down along with other physiological changes.

If I had appropriate equipment and sufficient training, I might obtain quantitative data

demonstrating the physiological changes occurring.

So, if considering the CER framework, I may perhaps use this to help me organize a portion

of my conclusion at the end of my investigation. My claim (which answers the original question)

: In the winter when the pond surface freezes over, red-eared sliders from this pond remain

in the water and brumate. My evidence, which supports my claim: I would provide the qualitative

data consisting of observations of the turtles’ activity and, also, I’d like to include

the research I’ve cited from peer-reviewed sources about red-eared slider brumation.

But I can’t just report my evidence and say, “Here’s my evidence!” and be finished.

I’m going to do my reasoning now which shows how or why my evidence supports my claim.

The evidence supports my claim, because the evidence shows that the turtles stayed in

the water over the winter and that those same turtles survived the entire winter in the

water – they were still alive and in the water after the winter was over. In addition,

the peer-reviewed sources I’ve cited define the general inactivity of the turtles that

I had observed as brumation and how red-eared slider turtles can brumate in the water, and

the physiological changes that happen during brumation even when the surface freezes over

in the winter.

One last thing. As we mentioned earlier, CER is useful for more than your biology course.

You can apply CER to your daily life. Next time you hear a claim from someone or read

a claim online, consider that CER framework. Is there evidence to support the claim? And…can

you provide the reasoning for how or why the evidence supports the claim? Well, that’s

it for the Amoeba Sisters, and we remind you to stay curious!