Target Inquiry (TI) is a 2½-year program designed to improve the quality and frequency of inquiry-based instruction. It meets the professional development needs of high school chemistry teachers while responding to the National Science Education Standards' call for programs that focus on inquiry integrated with learning, pedagogy, and student knowledge.

Launched in 2006 at Grand Valley State University (GVSU) by developers, Ellen Yezierski and Deborah Herrington, TI has served 22 teachers and thousands of high school chemistry students. A 5-year NSF funded study of TI (Award DRL-0553215) has shown that the program significantly improves instructional quality and student achievement in Chem I and AP Chem. You can learn more about Target Inquiry at GVSU and download high-quality teacher-designed inquiry activities across all scientific disciplines.

Another 5-year NSF grant (Award DRL-1118749) supported the implementation of Target Inquiry at Miami University (TIMU). This program is comprised of 15 graduate chemistry credits. For teachers with an M.Ed., TIMU provided professional growth and credits for salary advancement. For teachers without an M.Ed., TIMU provided professional growth and met the content and elective credit requirements for the M.Ed. at Miami. 

Although we are no longer recruiting teachers for the TIMU program and study, our TIMU teacher cohort (N = 10) completed the program in 2015 and produced 19 new high-quality, teacher-designed inquiry activities for high school chemistry. Please visit the Target Inquiry site at GVSU and download these materials as well those from three GVSU teacher cohorts.  These teacher-tested activities are easy to access; registration is quick and FREE.