tHE GOAL OF THIS WORK IS TO IDENTIFY AND DEVELOP INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES SO THAT URBAN AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS, WHO HISTORICALLY HAVE NOT ACHIEVED AT HIGH LEVELS, CAN MEET SCIENCE EDUCATION STANDARDS. FOR THIS PROJECT, WE DEFINE INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES AS SCAFFOLDS AND CONTENT REPRESENTATIONS OF ABSTRACT SCIENTIFIC IDEAS. SCAFFOLDS INCLUDE STRATEGIES LIKE MODELING THINKING, STRUCTURING AND SEQUENCING TASKS, SUCH AS DATA ANALYSIS, SO THAT LEARNERS CAN EVENTUAOLLY TAKE RESPONSIBILITIY FOR THIE WORK (COLLINS, BROWN AND NEWMAN; 1989). CONTENT REPRESENTATION OF ABSTRACT SCIENTIFIC IDEAS WILL INCLUDE EXAMPLES, METAPHORS, AND ACTIVIEIS TO HELP STUDENTS LEARN IDEAS SUCH AS SCIENTIFIC MODELING AND CAUSE AND EFFECT RELATIONSHIP.
