Author list

James Crane went to school in Cyprus before moving back to the UK to study Sports Coaching and Physical Education at University. He is now Assistant Headteacher at Durrington High School and Deputy Director at Durrington Research School. James is a keen sportsman having competed in tennis, swimming and athletics at regional levels, and has also represented England Colleges at an international level in football.

Leah Crawford has 15 years’ experience as a local authority English inspector and adviser, working across both the primary and secondary phases, and now leads Thinktalk education consultancy. She is a tutor for King’s College London’s Let’s Think in English cognitive acceleration programme, is on the Wildern Partnership SCITT leadership team and is delivering the new NPQ in Leading Literacy.  She has spent her career in education championing equitable and inclusive dialogic teaching and learning.

Click here to read Leah Crawford’s blog.

Mark Creasy is an Independent Thinking Associate and experienced primary school teacher. His contemporary and down-to-earth style of teaching has allowed him to view learning as a tool, not a rule, to ensure that his pupils are given the right to an education that suits their needs and maximises their potential for future success. Mark is also the author of Unhomework, which challenges the orthodoxies about work outside the classroom.

Read Mark's article featured in The Guardian on Tuesday April 1st 2014.

Click here to listen to Mark discussing The Great Homework Debate' on the Pivotal Podcast (from 4.30mins).

Cathy Cross trained in theatre design and has spent over 20 years working in community theatre and education. Over the last few years Cathy has combined the breadth of her experience to inform her role as a change maker, creativity consultant and professional den maker!

Dr Andrew Curran is a practising paediatric neurologist and neurobiologist who is also committed to using his extraordinary knowledge of the workings of the human brain to make a difference in the educational experience of all young people. He has been involved with Manchester University's Department of Education, developing research ideas looking at the use of emotional literacy in our classrooms. More recently he has conducted work exploring the processing of reward in the human brain. He believes passionately in the importance of understanding the individual, connecting with them emotionally and leading them into self directed learning. His book, the Little Book of Big Stuff about the Brain (published by Crown House Publishing) is recognised as one of the leading books about understanding brain based learning and the importance of emotional literacy in our classrooms and in our lives. His latest book, Get Off the Sofa is a general health book aimed at anyone from 5 ' 85 who wants to understand their health more. He is a talented and internationally recognised presenter both to live audiences and on television where he was a main presenter on BBC3's Make My Body Younger. He is an associate of Independent Thinking Ltd.

Chris Curtis is an English teacher and head of department with over a decade's experience in education. Chris is forever reflecting on which aspects of his teaching work best for his students and, as an avid reader and blogger, is a big believer in sharing practical ways to tackle difficult problems in the classroom.

Click here to read Chris Curtis' blog.

Dr David George was formerly Associate Director of Nene College (now the University of Northampton) and before that Dean of The Faculty of Science. He was Founder President of the National Association For Able Children and was a member of the Executive Committee of The World Council of Gifted and Talented Children. He is a consultant to the British Council and UNESCO. He has lectured both nationally and internationally on the education of the gifted and talented. He is the author of Young, Gifted and Bored; The Challenge of The Able Child; Gifted Education; Enrichment Activities for Able Children; and Making The Most of Your Abilities.

He claims to be a teacher first and foremost having taught in three schools and has a wide experience of teacher education in Liverpool and Northampton. His enthusiasm and devotion to teaching is reflected in all his courses.

David is also a keen sportsman and ran for his county and the RAF. He was Chairman of Managers at St Andrews Hospital for five years and continues as a manager. He was President of His Rotary Club and was made an Honorary Commander at RAF Croughton (USAF) in recognition of his service to the community.

Stephanie Davies is recognised as one of the UK's leading voices in the psychology of laughter and humour. She has over ten years' experience of developing interventions that have been applied in a wide variety of settings dealing with complex public and mental health issues and building teams in high profile organisations. She is an award-winning stand up comedian who has worked with world-renowned Dr Patch Adams exploring the relationship between health, humour, community and the arts.

Read The Independent's article featuring Stephanie's Laughology.

Laugh your way to the top - an article by The Positive.

Have you heard the one about the laughter workout? - an article from the Daily Express.

Laughology: A little funny business - an article from The Independent.

Click here to read Stephanie's blog post on the World of Learning 2020 website.

Andrew has a background in language teaching and a degree in Philosophy and Social Anthropology, the combination of which have sparked his passionate curiosity into the part that language plays in the development of thinking. Having joined The Philosophy Foundation in 2009, Andrew quickly invested in their ethos, striving to encourage young people to think philosophically.

Read this article featuring Thoughtings on The Guardian Teacher Network.

Debra Kiddtaught for 23 years in primary, secondary and higher education settings. She is the author of three previous books - Teaching: Notes from the Front Line, Becoming Mobius and Uncharted Territories - and believes more than anything else that 'the secret to great teaching is to make it matter'. Debra has a doctorate in education and co-founded and organised Northern Rocks, one of the largest annual teaching and learning conferences in the UK.

View Debra's profile in Schools Week, October 2014.

Click here to listen in on Debra's podcast with Pivotal Education on 'teaching, learning and politics'.

Click here to watch a video interview with Debra as part of The Education Foundation's series of Education Britain Conversations.

A highly experienced communication expert, Karen Dempster is co-founder of Fit2Communicate, a Fellow of the Institute of Internal Communications and a certified DISC personality profile practitioner. She is passionate about raising the standard of communication in all schools in order to support better student outcomes. Prior to 2015, Karen spent 20 years in marketing and communication roles. She is also a professional photographer and lives in Surrey with her husband, son and collection of pets.

Click here to read Karen Dempster’s blog.