Nicole Hester

Teaching Elementary Science

Professor Davis
September 11, 2014

Science Autobiography/ Reflective Personal Narrative

As I recall into my past experiences with my science education, I am realizing that
science has always been apart of my life. My earliest memory of a science experience is when I
was 7 years old. I was riding my scooter around my neighborhood and found an injured bird in
the middle of the road! Frantically, I ran home to get my father to help. He brought gloves and a
shoebox. At this time I had no idea why he brought those items, I was only concerned with the
bird. We ran up to the bird and my father put on his gloves and moved the injured bird into the
shoebox. He did this in a very slow motion. Luckily, we lived on a quiet street so no cars were
on the road. Next, we observed the bird. I observed the birds feather color, smell, and where the
bird was injured. The bird had a cracked wing. After we observed the bird we took him back to
our house so my dad could call someone to help the injured bird. This experience stands out to
me because it is my first memory of exploring nature with my family. I loved observing and
helping that poor animal with my father. I wish I had more memories similar to this to share. My
next memory goes to 4th grade when I made an electrical circuit. It was so fun to build a little
house and see it all light up! As I remember the assignment, we worked for weeks in groups to
build a house and create electricity. I remember bringing in some of my doll toys to help with
decorations. It was an amazing moment when our house was complete! This memory stands out

to me because it makes me think that I was participating in a STEM lesson during my elementary
experience. I remember hating science in 7th grade. My teacher was an old, very bizarre man who
did not make science fun. I hated observing, the homework assignments, and overall the
atmosphere. By me not liking this teacher it set the rest of my science hatred for high school.
Then I took chemistry. I was really good at it! All of my friends always asked me to help them
with their labs and homework assignments and it made me want to work harder in that class to be
the smart girl who understands chemistry! My teacher was so nice and friendly too. She made
science fun by ending every class with a cool, quick experiment! I wanted to be an engineer
because of this class. Then I came to college and took Intro to Astronomy, which I was so
excited for. My professor was not as excited, unfortunately. He just talked the entire time, in a
monotone. It was awful! I did not retain any information from that class. My experiences with
science (both in and out of school) from your earliest memories to the present day stand out
because these experiences are my favorites and my absolute worsts. It makes me the person I am
today, who is in-between loving science and disliking it. Defining my science past is the first
step in becoming an enthusiastic and skilled teacher of science is to reflect upon the experiences
that have shaped your current ideas about science.

Some general characteristics of science experiences that have been meaningful (or a turn
off) for me include, science binders, lousy teachers, and real world connections. To me a science
binder is a huge red flag for wanting to do anything in science. I hated observing, predicating,
writing logs, and summaries. I dont remember a specific reason why I hate it; I just know it
really stresses me. Like having to have a science notebook in school while being a resident I do
not like. I have learned from reading articles in this class the purpose and importance of science
notebooks. For my students I believe in having science notebooks but I need to think of a way to

make them more exciting/fun. Having lousy teachers made my science experiences awful. I
hated science from having teacher I had no connections with and who made me feel dumb.
Having real world connections in science class made my experiences meaningful. For example in
chemistry, I was very successful in that class so I would research what chemist do for a living
and truly considered being a chemical engineer! Also, all of our experiments connected to our
lives in one way or another. I remember making ice pops on a hot day before school went out.
That was so cool! I feel that have been unsuccessful in science because the majority of my
classes I did not enjoy my learning. I disliked the environment I was in, the science binders, the
boring labs, and the uninteresting teachers. I really hope that the ideas and beliefs to learning to
teach- teachers teach as they were taught, are not true for science and me! I want my students
to love and live science because science is growing as a popular career field. I need to be an
exceptional teacher for the future of America!
Science to me is observing, inferring, and investigating to explore and discover new
endeavors. Science involves math, technology, history, and literacy education. My past learning
experiences and my attitudes toward science do not shape my definition of science. As I reflected
on my science education past I realized I do not like science, but I do have a standard definition
of science. I want me definition of science to be positive and have endless opportunities. So
when I am a science teacher I will be the opposite of my bad educators and I will teach my
students how fun science can be! Science is everywhere! We just have to be the teacher who can
show their students the world of science. To define the kind of science teacher I hope to become
I would describe myself as an oh, ah, teacher instead of a yuck! I need to be a scientist role
model to my students. I need to be the teacher that gives positive experiences by having a
community of respectful learners; passion for science, and science lesson plans connecting to my

students lives.