Educational Philosophy

ANGELA M. WILLSON
7122 Leawood Street, Portage MI 49024 ! (269) 271-1321 ! angela.m.willson@wmich.edu


My passion for chemistry comes from my curiousity about the world I live in and my desire to
answer Why? or How? to every natural phenomena I come across in my life. As Edwin Powell
Hubble said, equipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him and calls the
adventure Science. My passion as a chemistry teacher comes from the desire to pass this curiousity to
my students so they will have the drive to answer these same Why? or How? questions when they
come across these principles in their every day life. With this desire to encourage the nature of
chemical and scientific discovery in my students and to make it applicable to every day life, I love
teaching students who will not continue chemistry studies beyond my class. In my career as an
instructor this has included students studying to be medical professions, such as nurses, and pre-service
elementary teachers. By reaching pre-service elementary teachers, my hope is that these teachers can
begin a new legacy of science education in their own classrooms for a new, young generation that will
face a world with more science and technology than ever before. Also by these teachers having an
experience with guided-inquiry as a student, they can implement a method like guided-inquiry to
encourage their students scientific curiousity.
However, bringing this element of curiousity and self-discovery into a science classroom is not
always easy, but I have a strong devotion to using guided-inquiry in my classroom. This allows
students to have a hands-on experience with the material and many times students who understand the
material gain an even deeper comprehension by teaching concepts to other group members. Using
guided-inquiry places a unique responsibility on the students, which can come with unique challenges
for an instructor, but there is nothing more rewarding that hearing someone say they finally
understand chemistry in a way they never have before in other traditional chemistry classes.
In addition to teaching a general public of chemically educated young adults, I also truly
believe that science and mathematics hold many answers for our nation because research and
development in fields such as medicine and environmental science will be crucial for us to continue to
flourish as a nation, and also to help other developing countries. To reach these lofty goals, we need
qualified science professors, which will result in students having a good first impression at the college
level of these often challenging fields. With good professors to encourage our students, they will have
more opportunities than they could have ever imagined.
Also as an instructor, having a community of open-discussion about teaching and learning is
very important to me. Keeping a discourse with intra-departmental and inter-departmental instructors
students will benefit from our improved ability in the classroom. To me, professional development is
an under utilized department in many institutions of higher education. I have actively worked to make
development of future faculty a component of my graduate student experience by being a part of fellow
Graduate Teaching Assistants to improve our knowledge of college instruction for students.
My commitment to the teaching of chemistry can be seen by my commitment to give my
students a guided-inquiry experience, especially non-science majors, and in my participation in
professional development communities at Western Michigan University. I am currently pursuing my
Masters degree in Chemistry through a concurrent program for my Doctorate degree in Science
Education. By being a part of this community of science educators, I believe that I am a unique
chemistry instructor with a dedication to best practices in teaching and learning. I am excited about
being part of a faculty that supports and encourages innovative teaching for the betterment of all
students, both chemistry majors, other science majors, and non-science majors alike.