BA, M.Ed., PhD candidate
Summer Convenor, EAP, Instructor, EAP
School of Access & Academic Preparation
604.986.1911 ext. 2434
Birch Building, room BR353A
angelamoon@capilanou.ca
Education
PhD candidate, University of British Columbia.
Instructional Skills Workshop, University of British Columbia, 2017.
Preventing and Addressing Workplace Bullying and Harassment Training Course, University of British Columbia, 2014.
M.Ed., Mount Saint Vincent University, 2013.
TCPS 2: CORE: Course on Research Ethics, University of British Columbia, 2012.
TESL Certificate, University of Calgary, 2010.
TEFL Certificate, i-to-i, Leeds, UK, 2003.
BA, St. Stephen University, 2001.
Bio
Angela Moon (M.Ed., Mount Saint Vincent University, 2013) is a PhD candidate in the faculty of education (LLED) at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and an instructor in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) department of the School of Access & Academic Preparation (SAAP) at Capilano University.
Moon understands education to be an active, experiential and relational process, and that teaching is both "context-sensitive action grounded in intellectual thought" (Kumarivadivelu, 2014, p. 10) and a "mechanism for maximizing learning opportunities and transforming lives in and outside the classroom" (Kumarivadivelu, 2014, p.14).
In as much, teachers should be socio-politically conscious problem-solvers and both theory and practice need to be grounded in their wider social contexts. Her overarching goals as an educator are to maximize her own and students' learning potential as well as our sociopolitical awareness. As such, she believes it is her responsibility to balance creativity, sensitivity and reflection, with empowerment, social change, awareness-raising and problem-posing.
For learning to occur, an educator must first cultivate an environment of trust, safety and mutual respect. As a result, teaching with authenticity, passion, empathy and sincere enthusiasm effectively impacts learners, and ultimately, aids them in developing their own "passion(s)" and lifelong learning.
Understanding both the learning style of individual learners and the cultural diversity of any class helps me both design and adapt customized instruction by employing appropriate learning strategies.
I routinely design my instruction using a universal design for learning (UDL) approach which provides a framework for me to embrace a repertoire of effective modes and strategies that can accommodate individual preferences, engage diverse learners, and help establish a respect for a wide range of beliefs and perspectives.
To make my classes more engaging, I incorporate a variety of modes when delivering the course material (e.g. videos, class debates, small group work) and provide opportunities for students to explore complex subject matter in a way that is most beneficial for them and their learning style.
When I think about great teachers, I think of energy, creativity and innovation. I feel strongly that it is my job to create an interactive and engaging learning environment, drawing on students' various forms of capital and their diverse experiences and funds of knowledge.
Whether I'm teaching language-based courses or content-based courses, my teaching goals remain the same.
My teaching interests include (but are not limited to): academic socialization, applied linguistics, assessment in teacher education, critical theory, English for academic purposes, language ideologies, literacy & assessment, raciolinguistics, research methods, sociolinguistics, translation theory, TEFL and world Englishes.
My research focuses on exploring institutional capital through classroom assessment practices and persistent social inequalities within Canadian public education. This research is grounded in Bourdieu's social theory and language socialization, an innovative framework that drives exploration and appraisal of current educational practices toward more equitable alternatives. As such, I have spent my graduate studies engaged with issues involving assessment, literacy, multimodality and social justice within the field of education.
Overall, my research interest and, indeed, passion is social justice in education and the pursuit of more equitable classroom practices.