Page 7 - RVO Senior Expo August 2017

RIVER VALLEY & OZARK EDITION OF THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRATGAZETTE • SENIOR EXPO
SUNDAY, AUGUST 20, 2017
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Having maintained the same passion for learning that she had in the first grade, Webster earned a doctorate in educational psychology and research from the University of Memphis. Although she left class at 9 p.m., she said she was exhilarated, rather than exhausted, after learning skills she could apply to the real world.
“I wanted to understand and to learn about theories, models and philosophies that allowed all students to learn, and to learn about school environments that served all students well,” she said.
Being both educational and business savvy served her well as founding principal of two independent schools and designer of a public charter school. She based her first school on a design she created as a class project while earning her master’s degree. Serving as principal of that school was a learning experience, she said.
“I learned that school can be a haven for children so that no matter what’s happening at home, no matter what’s happening in their neighborhoods, they could have a safe haven, and that safe haven could be filled with love from the teachers and volunteers,” she said. “That environment could connect and relate to them personally.”
After designing the schools, Webster stopped to consider her next step. She had always wanted to live abroad, she said, so she began researching opportunities online. After reading about Effat University, Saudi Arabia’s first private institution of higher education for women, she applied for and received a position there.
“It was nothing less than phenomenal,” she said. “I believe in diversity. I really enjoy learning about other cultures and people unlike myself, so I threw myself into that environment, believing it would be OK, and I met some of the most amazing women ever.”
She added that her time at the university reinforced the idea that despite cultural differences, people can connect through their shared human experiences.
“It just resonated even more that no matter how culturally different someone is, people have the same aspirations and desires for themselves and their families,” she said. “They woke up every morning to get an education, wanting to make a difference in the world.”
During her career, Webster also taught at an art university, as well as at both predominantly white and historically black
Everybody says this is going to be a revolutionary learning year for me, which is why I was so excited to be a part of it because if nothing else,
I am a learner.”
— Angela Webster, associate vice president for institutional diversity at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway
institutions. In any classroom, she said, her teaching method hinges on finding ways to connect students to the content.
“We know that in order for students to not just memorize something but to learn it, they have to be able to connect with the material,” she said. “You have to start with what they know to connect them to something they don’t know, and that’s important, no matter who you’re teaching.”
It can be a challenge, however, even connecting with students in a neighboring state. During her first year at UCA, she said, she did not feel like she was successfully connecting with students.
“It was a learning, growing and stretching opportunity for me, so I would go to more conferences on the art and science of teaching,” she added, “but I would also invest more time in learning about Arkansas.”
One way she did so was by hiking in The Natural State so that she and her students could bond over that shared experience. She also asked for input from her students. During lessons, she would present a problem and explain how educators solved it in urban areas like Memphis, then ask how students might solve the same problem in rural or suburban Arkansas.
“The courses really became environments
SEE LEARNER, PAGE 8VV
World class entertainment in your own backyard!
Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. - Sept. 25 The Charlie Daniels Band - Sept. 28 Jack Hanna - Oct. 27 America - Nov. 4
The Wizard of Oz - Nov. 12 Christmas with BJ Thomas - Dec. 3 A Christmas Carol - Dec. 19
501.450.3265 uca.edu/reynolds