Gary Johnston

Applicant: Middle School Science Position

Email: gjohnston@ssis.edu.vn
Skype: gary.johnston2
Website: Teaching Ahead of the Curve
November 25th, 2014
Mr. Razidlo,
My name is Gary Johnston and Im applying for the position of Secondary Technology and Learning Facilitator. I
have a Certificate of Educational Technology and Information Literacy (COETAIL) and am also a Google Certified
Teacher. In the last few years, I have developed a strong background in developing educational technology programs
in my classroom, division, school and region. I have also developed a reputation as a transformative leader of
educational technology and spokesperson for such tools through conferences, online blogs and journals.
My career started off as a mathematics and science teacher. Over time, I learned the importance of sharing my practice
to parents and professionals to help better refine my teaching practice and share eduwins with others. As I started my
COETAIL and Google Programs, my educational blog grew to a one of the most respected sources of information for
educators in the world with hundreds of followers and hundreds of thousands of visits. I have presented regularly at
the annual Vietnam Tech Conference, Google Summits and local schools in Ho Chi Minh City. At my school, I have
regularly worked with our technology resource facilitator to present to staff internally during team meetings, divisional
meetings and through in-service activities such as Teachers Teaching Teachers.
Most of this work has focused on using technology for assessment, content creation, curriculum alignment and
collaborative work. For example, my presentations to the faculty on Doctopus has given teachers the means for
assessing work, integrating rubrics, and being able to seamlessly send descriptive feedback to guide student learning.
Other tools like Flubaroo and Superquiz give easy analytics for formative assessment to drive student growth. Some
other work involves maximizing teachers efficiency and core competencies with Chrome browsers and Google Drive to
assist with developing literacy initiatives with web-based content and managing workflow. My work with student
blogging and authentic assessment has helped share our students learning with the world and connect with other
students on different continents, helping put our school on the map! In the science classroom alone, weve partnered
up with classes around the world to map and analyze pollution levels, give peer review to experiments on differentiated
interests, or engineer devices to help the poor and elderly. Other platforms with which I have experience are Atlas
Rubicon, Javascript, Powerschool, Wordpress, Moodle, and Ipads.
Attached is a letter of reference from our divisional Technology resource facilitator, Robert Appino and our curriculum
director, Tina Fossgreen. My wife and I are planning to visit the Search Associates job fair in Bangkok in early January,
so I have additional letters of reference from my head of school and MS principal on the Search website. Feel free to
visit my website or classroom blog to see the amazing work that I believe teachers and students can do. The American
International School of Vienna sounds like an amazing place and I would love to be considered for a position!

Most Sincerely,
Gary Ryan Johnston

GARY R.
Johnston
PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

We need to educate students to be problem solvers of the future. Through innovative learning and inquiry based questions,
we can ignite our students passion for learning and focus it
in purposeful and meaningful ways.

CONTACT ME
Email
gjohnston@ssis.edu.vn
Skype
gary.johnston2

TEACHING EXPERIENCE
SAIGON SOUTH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM

2006-PRESENT

Grade 6 Science-Microbiology, Simple Machines, Introduction to

Chemistry and Inside Earth
Grade 7 Science-Chemical Bonds, Electricity, Comparative Systems
and Watersheds
Grade 6 & 7 Math-Pre Algebra, Rational Numbers, Exponents and
Roots, Functions, Percents, Geometry, Data and Statistics and Multistep Equations

LANNA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

CHIANG MAI, THAILAND

2002-2006

Grade 7 Science-Body Systems, Chemical Reactions, The Rock

Cycle, Science Inquiry
Grade 6 Math-Introduction to Algebra, Graphing Lines, Geometric
Concepts, Data, Fractions to Percents and Exponents

PROFESSIONAL
INTERESTS
robotics club l e a r n i n g 2 . 0 Design

Assessment thinking
myp
coaching

project
based
l e a r n i n g
Advisoryblues
guitar
scientific

club

Networks

student

design

technology

IPADS

blogging

brain-based learning

Chess club

EDUCATION
The College of New Jersey

Iowa State university

Primary and
Middle School
Education

Primary and
Middle School
Education

Landscape
Architecture

Teaching credential

2006

2005

service

authentic learning

learning

learningADVISORY

Flipped

learning

3.0visible thinking

Google apps

Bachelor of Arts

1999

CERTIFICATIONS AND TRAINING

STEM

Differentiation

The College of New Jersey

Master of Arts

method

c o n n e c t e d
classrooms
Social

Google Certified Teacher

TECHNICAL
SKILLS
0

Science Certification (MYP)

Certificate of Educational Technology

and Information Literacy (COETAIL)

Moodle
Powerschool
Wordpress
Google Apps
Apple
Blogger

Critical Friends Group (CFG)

Rubicon Atlas

10

Mr. J doesnt teach us science, he teaches

us how to use science. Weve engineered
projects to help solve real problems and
have worked with other students around
the world. Being his student for the last
two years has been so awesome!
-Liam (Grade 7)

PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

PORTFOLIO

Curriculum Development

Created 50 curriculum maps on ATLAS rubicon integrating essential

questions, assessments and links
Designed daily enrichment and remediation activities for mixed ability
classrooms based on Decartes MAP analysis
Created tiered assessments differentiated for readiness for mixed ability
classrooms using Challenge by Choice
Served on committees devoted to WASC accreditation, science curriculum
alignment, technology integration and data driven instruction
Presented at divisional and whole school meetings on effective uses of
technology for assessment and supporting mixed ability learners.

Teaching and Leadership

Professional Blog
http://teachingaheadofthecurve.blogspot.com/
Science and Math Instruction
http://www.youtube.com/user/garyjohnston1976
Contributor: Fractus Learning
http://www.fractuslearning.com/
Classroom Blog
http://blog.ssis.edu.vn/gjohnston/

1:1 Teacher-Taught in a 1:1 learning environment through wikis, Ipads,

Google apps, and other web 2.0 tools
Critical Friends Facilitator-Led whole school and team discussions on
professional issues such as assessment, differentiation and student work
Team Leader-Served as liason between grade level teachers and
administration planning grade level events and field trips
Basketball Coach-Coached middle school boys basketball within city and
MRISA tournaments
Special Events Organizer-Organized divisional events such as Reading Week,
Earth Week and International Day
Club Instructor-Taught various after school clubs such as robotics, blues and
rock guitar and chess club
E Portfolios-Facilitated the use of student blogs to document learning
journeys for parent teacher conferences

REFERENCES

Presentations and Workshops

Hes been an avid

volunteer and done
so much for the
middle school
-Molly Burger
Middle school
Principal

Scripts-Google Education Summit

Mapping Our World-Global Issues Conference
Google Research-Vietnam Tech Conference
Meeting Caine-Petcha Kutcha Ho Chi Minh City
Building Classroom Blogs-Teachers Teaching Teachers
Assessment with Google Forms-Vietnam Tech Conference
Formative Assessment in the Math Classroom-Teachers Teaching Teachers

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Next Generation Science Standards Coursera

2014

Vietnam Tech Conference United National International School

2014

Common Rubrics, Common Assessments Jennifer Sparrow

2014

Vietnam Tech Conference Saigon South International School

2013

The 21st Century Classroom Kim Cofino

2012

UBD Curriculum Mapping Jay McTighe

2011

From Assessment to Grading Tom Schimmer

2011

Differentiation: Challenge by Choice David Suarez

2011

Gary understands
that the education
of the student
reaches beyond the
classroom, which
drives innovation
-Tina Fossgreen
curriculum
coordinator

tfossgreen@ssis.edu.vn

mburger@ssis.edu.vn

he engaged my son
in dynamic activities,
allowing him to be
creative and learn
the science
-beth schultz
parent

bethanneschultz@gmail.com

IM so grateful for
his accomplishments
and contributions
to the schools
development
-Mark Sylte
Head of School

msylte@ssis.edu.vn

References can be reached at (84-8) 5413-0901

November26,2014

ItismypleasuretorecommendGaryJohnstonforafutureeducationaltechnologyposition.I
wasGarysinstructorfortheCertificateofEducationalTechnologyandInformationLiteracy
(COETAIL)graduateprogramthroughtheStateUniversityofNewYork(SUNY).The
COETAILprogramfocusesoninformationliteracy,21stcenturylearning,issuessurrounding
copyright,visualliteracy,embeddeduseoftechnologyandcurriculumintegration.

ThroughoutthecourseGaryintegratedtechnologyinavarietyofwaysincludingtheuseof
infographics,visualaesthetics,andmostimportantlythroughusingtheSAMRmodelwhichhas
madehimrethinkcurriculumstructuretoguidestudentstotransformationallearning.Garyhas
recordedallofhisprogressonhiscourseblogandhispersonalblog(whichhehascontributedto
foranumberofyears).Oneofthemajorprojectshecompletedincludedengaginghisstudentsin
arealworldproblemandhavingthemcollaborativelybuildpotablewaterapparatussand
documenttheprocess.Garyiscomfortablewithintegratingtechnologyintotheclassroomandis
abletomanagetechnologyandchoosetheappropriateapplicationsbasedoncurricular
objectivesandstudentneeds.

Garygoesbeyondhisteachingroleandvolunteerstohelpwithteachertechnologytraining.He
isanactivecontributortoanumberofdigitallearningcommunitiesthroughouttheworld.
Additionally,GaryhascontinuallysharedhisknowledgeandofferedPDworkshopstoteachers
atschoolaswellassharingoutsideofschoolatanumberofconferencesintheregion.

Garyisaquickadopterandkeentolearnandtrynewsystemsandworkflows.Healsocontinues
hisquesttochallengeandimprovehisthinkingandpracticesonassessment.Garyisalifelong
learnerandalwaysasksforfeedbacksohecanimprovefurther.

IfIcanbeoffurtherassistance,orprovideadditionalinformation,pleasecontactmeviaemailat
robert@coetail.com.

Yourssincerely,

RobertAppino
TechnologyLearningFacilitator&SUNYCOETAILInstructor
SaigonSouthInternationalSchool

November28th,2014

DearAmericanInternationalSchoolofVienna,

GaryJohnstonandIhavebeenworkingtogetherforthelasttwoyearsatSaigon
SouthInternationalSchool.InthattimeIhavebeenimpressedwiththelevelofdetail
GaryusesinmappinghisunitsonRubiconAtlas,whichwillallowhisreplacement
withaclearunderstandingoftheunitsofstudy.Hisclearunderstandingof
UnderstandingbyDesignisevidentinhismaps.Theenduringunderstandingsand
essentialquestionsarealignedwiththestandardsandbenchmarksassignedtothe
unit.Hisassessments,bothformativeandsummative,givehiminsighttothedepthof
thestudentstheseunderstandings.Theseassessmentshelphimadjustlessonstomeet
thestudentsneeds.

OneofGarysgreateststrengthsishisreflectivenature,whichkeepshim
continuouslystrivingtobettermeettheneedsofhisstudents.Heisusestechnology
asatransformativetoolinhisclassroom.Heintegratesthetechnologyintolessons
andassessment,notbecauseitisofhighinteresttothestudents,butratherbecauseit
isaneffectivemoreefficientwaystodeliverconceptsortogivestudentsformative
feedback.Asaresultofhiscontinuouslearninginthisarea,healwayshasnewtools
tosharewithhiscolleagues.Garyisalwaysoneofthefirsttooffertopresentto
presentaworkshopatourinhouseprofessionaldevelopmentdaysoratregional
conferences.Consequently,hehasalargenetworkofteachersandtechintegrators
thathecantapintoifneeded.

GarysunderstandingofUbD,hisintegrationoftechnologyanddedicationto
becomingabettereducatorareundeniablestrengthsthathewillbringtohisnext
school.Iwouldhighlyrecommendhimforateachingortechnologypositioninyour
school.

Sincerely,

TinaFossgreen
CurriculumCoordinator
SaigonSouthInternationalSchool
tfossgreen@ssis.edu.vn