Angela Stancar Johnson
I have been an educator for nearly twenty years, in both US and international contexts. For most of that time, I have worked within the IB framework. I currently teach at an IB World School in London, where I have held a variety of leadership roles — Head of Year, MYP Projects Coordinator, Head of Faculty (English), and, from August 2021, MYP Coordinator. Externally, I have served as an IB Diploma examiner, MYP moderator and eAssessment author and have published several textbooks to support students and teachers in the MYP and DP.
After over a decade teaching the IB Middle Years and Diploma Programmes, I was “doing” what I thought I was supposed to be doing as an IB teacher, getting good results from students, but I still felt like something was missing. I didn’t want to just tick the boxes in my unit planners; I wanted to focus on developing my students’ — and my own — conceptual understandings. I wanted to have an answer to the question “Why do we have to learn this?” (and “Why do I have to teach this?”). I was aware of H. Lynn Erickson, but mainly as a reference in the IB MYP guides and documents. When I dug deeper into the work of Erickson, Lois Lanning, and other leaders in concept-based learning, things really clicked. It was like a whole new way of teaching and learning opened up to me. I started this blog as a way to document my professional reflections as I “upgraded” my teaching and hope that other educators can gain some inspiration — and practical advice — from my experiences.
Education:
- M.Ed. Educational Leadership
- M.A. English
- B.A. English
Certifications:
- Erickson and Lanning Certified Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction Trainer
- Learning That Transfers Endorsed Educator (Level 2)
- Google Certified Educator Level 1
- IB certificate in teaching and learning (MYP)
- ECIS International Teacher Certificate
- Qualified Teacher Status (UK)
- Professional Educator’s License (Grades 9-12 English, NC, USA)
Conceptually Driven 