An experienced and successful teacher, James began working with Art Costa’s Habits of Mind in his own classroom in 2000. Shortly afterwards, his successes led him to begin consulting to schools and he initiated a collaborative network for interested teachers to share resources, ideas and teaching practice through www.habitsofmind.org.
Runner up for the prestigious Lindsay Thompson Fellowship in 2003 for his work with Habits of Mind, James was then seconded to the Victorian Schools Innovations Commission where he developed, launched and led the first collaborative, generative network of its type to support schools working with Habits of Mind. James led the growth of this network first within Victoria and then nationally from 2005-2008. During this time he has worked with hundreds of schools both across Australia and abroad, and helped to support schools and extend our understanding of the Habits of Mind through major events like the first International Habits of Mind Expo in 2007.
James is a highly experienced and engaging presenter with experience at all levels of schooling from early learning through to tertiary level. He has presented to business audiences and consulted extensively to schools.
James has presented and collaborated with Art Costa and Bena Kallick on numerous occasions including at the International Conference on Thinking (Melbourne, 2006) and the ASCD national conference (Anaheim, 2007). He has contributed key chapters to several publications on Habits of Mind including Leading and Learning with Habits of Mind, (Costa and Kallick eds., ASCD), Habits of Mind: Stories from the Field (Costa and Kallick eds. ASCD) and Habits of Mind: A Resource Kit for Australian Schools (C. Owen Ed., ANSN). He is currently working with Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins on a book linking Habits of Mind with Understanding By Design.
James is Australia's leading authority on Habits of Mind and an Associate Director of Art Costa and Bena Kallick’s Habits of Mind Institute. He is the founding director and principal consultant of MindfulbyDesign.
James has extensive experience working with schools as they seek to learn about and infuse the Habits of Mind into the curriculum and culture of their school. He is able to tailor professional learning to meet the needs of the school. James does not believe in "hit and run" PD and always seeks to either provide or source ongoing professional learning for schools to ensure the work they undertake stands the test of time and doesn't become the last latest and greatest thing.
All professional learning offered by James will seek to connect the learners to other like schools in the Habits of Mind Teachers Network (of which James is creator and principal writer) to provide ongoing learning support and collaboration.
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