In construction, “scaffolding” means a temporary framework used to support workers and materials during construction. The analogy is consistent with contemporary analogies for learning that describe scaffolding as a construction of knowledge by students as individuals and by students and teachers collectively. By coupling instructional scaffolding as a theory of instruction with constructing knowledge as a theory of learning, scaffolding is understood to mean: helping students to do (or think) what they would be unable to do (or think) without teacher supports. This article illustrates how scaffolding can be used to help science teachers overcome common problems in teaching science as inquiry.