Science instructional time in low-performing urban elementary schools is often limited and tightly regulated due to the urgency of developing basic literacy and numeracy in the context of high-stakes assessment and accountability policies (Lee and Luykx 2005; Settlage and Meadows 2002; Shaver et al. 2007).
Furthermore, urban elementary school teachers often do not receive sufficient support from school administrators or colleagues for teaching science to nonmainstream students (Knapp and Plecki 2000; Spillane et al. 2001).