Target Inquiry at Miami University (TIMU) is a 2.5-year, intensive professional development program designed to meet the needs of high school chemistry teachers. The program is centered on implementing high-quality inquiry teaching in the chemistry classroom through immersion in authentic science practices, the design and implementation of inquiry activities, and an action research project. Data presented are from students whose teachers completed the first two years of TIMU. Results show the relationships between measured variables (scientific reasoning, chemistry conceptual understanding, metacognition, and self-efficacy) for the students of the TIMU teachers and comparison teachers. Additionally, few observed differences on cognitive and affective measures were found between TIMU and comparison teachers due to the time it takes to change teachers’ beliefs and then have those beliefs transform their practices. However, exploring the affective domain of high school students gives a finer grained description of how students’ attitudes and orientations toward chemistry influence achievement in the course. Qualitative data discussing the role of the summer research experience and the effects it had on teachers’ content knowledge and beliefs about scientific inquiry and teaching will also be presented. The extent to which these interview data was found to explain the relationships observed in the student data can provide valuable insights into the effect of teachers’ beliefs on their students’ beliefs. Implications are abundant for professional development programs and high school chemistry instruction.

Target Inquiry at Miami University (TIMU): Uncovering novel relationships among affective and cognitive measures of high school chemistry students

249th National Meeting (2015)

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