Longer Term Support For Your Team

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In his 20+ years working with schools and organisations, James has discovered that longer term work produces more significant impacts on learning as well as sustainable change. Improvement takes time, careful planning & reflection, consistency and persistence. James is able to help teams with all aspects of professional learning and long lasting improvement.

Professional Learning is a Learning Pit for Adults

Collective efficacy is built in the depths of challenge

When things are easy, we move forward without thought or plan yet when we are struggling, we are more open to new and different ideas
When we work together to solve problems, we learn about the strengths of others and how our talents can be used jointly

It’s not about where and when but about how and with whom

More important than the meeting plans and agendas is the dialogue that takes place when members of your community have time to collaboratively explore new ideas and solutions
The process is important- take time to understand mental models, allow for authentic dialogue, consider multiple perspectives, co-construct new ideas. Avoid rushing to the finish line and setting unrealistic timelines to complete the work

Professional Learning is a Learning Pit for Adults

Collective efficacy is built in the depths of challenge

When things are easy, we move forward without thought or plan yet when we are struggling, we are more open to new and different ideas
When we work together to solve problems, we learn about the strengths of others and how our talents can be used jointly

It’s not about where and when but about how and with whom

More important than the meeting plans and agendas is the dialogue that takes place when members of your community have time to collaboratively explore new ideas and solutions
The process is important- take time to understand mental models, allow for authentic dialogue, consider multiple perspectives, co-construct new ideas. Avoid rushing to the finish line and setting unrealistic timelines to complete the work

James can support your team at any or all points of your professional learning cycle

Progress is rarely straightforward

If we accept that success does not have to be immediate and is not always expected, we can more easily spot and celebrate the minor progressions
When we are attuned to the minor progress that we make, we have more opportunities to reflect and pivot based on our observations of the progress

Leadership is a Möbius strip

School improvement has no finish line and it is non-orientable- it does not go in a single and consistent direction, nor does it go at a predictable speed
When you and your team get to what you thought was your destination, you will have learned more and will likely realize you want to adjust your destination

What can James offer for long term support?

Whole staff PD days, half days, and after-school sessions on topics and strategies of your choice (see topics here)
Demonstration lessons (give us any class, any age and we will show your staff some of the best ways to engage your students in dialogue, challenge, the Learning Pit, etc)
Presentations to parents (can include a rationale for the project, as well as ways in which parents can best support their children’s learning outside school)
Impact data collection half or full day to collect impact data. It is suggested that this is done at the beginning and end of the project to show impact
Action research planning half or full day of action research/PLC planning for team development

Videos 20-minute videos of James Nottingham discussing strategies to use for sustainability with new staff and/or ongoing embedded professional learning
Coaching for learning teams or leadership regularly scheduled online sessions to support continued learning
Collaborative learning walks half or full day with consultant to perform walkthroughs, followed by a progress meeting with leaders
Monitoring for impact session half or full day with the leadership team to develop plans for walkthroughs, focus groups, action research reporting, etc… to measure the impact on learning

Whole staff PD days, half days, and after-school sessions on topics and strategies of your choice
Demonstration lessons (give us any class, any age and we will show your staff some of the best ways to engage your students in dialogue, challenge, the Learning Pit, etc)
Presentations to parents (can include a rationale for the project, as well as ways in which parents can best support their children’s learning outside school)
Impact data collection half or full day to collect impact data. It is suggested that this is done at the beginning and end of the project to show impact
Action research planning half or full day of action research/PLC planning for team development
Videos 20-minute videos of James Nottingham discussing strategies to use for sustainability with new staff and/or ongoing embedded professional learning
Coaching for learning teams or leadership regularly scheduled online sessions to support continued learning
Collaborative learning walks half or full day with consultant to perform walkthroughs, followed by a progress meeting with leaders
Monitoring for impact session half or full day with the leadership team to develop plans for walkthroughs, focus groups, action research reporting, etc… to measure the impact on learning

What benefits can we expect?

Comprehensive and sustainable change: James won’t just inspire (although that’s his starting point), longer-term projects also build capacity; provide coaching for staff; include demonstrations of outstanding practice; provide systems to collect evidence and provide reports – so that your whole team aligns towards your vision of excellence.

Noticeable & significant gains: there have been a wide range of independent evaluations showing significant gains in professional engagement; student attendance, achievement, and well-being; and healthier attitudes towards challenge, progress, curiosity, and collective efficacy.

Value for money: as a by-product of James’s work to strengthen learning cultures, every organisation he has worked with have saved money because of reduced staff absence, improved recruitment, and increased student numbers. Spend money to engage with James and you’ll save even more (as well as improve the learning experiences for all students!)

Why James?

James has spent most of his career analyzing educational research and writing about pedagogy and the impact it has on learning. He has written 11 books and has maintained his core focus on improving the learning environment and encouraging challenge in learning.

Growth Mindset

James regularly collaborates with Carol Dweck on conference tours and long-term projects. You can see James interviewing Professor Dweck here and her TED presentation that James set up and introduced (now viewed more than 3million times)
James has developed a range of excellent strategies for developing a growth mindset. As Professor Dweck wrote about James’s first book, Challenging Learning: “An inspirational guide to creating lessons that are thought-provoking and meaningful, and at the same time theoretically sound.”
Having used Mindset strategies as a teacher, leader and father – and writing the book Challenging Mindset, James has a wealth of experience to share.

Learning Pit

James created the Learning Pit! He was filmed by the BBC in 1999 using the approach and has since used it with students of all ages around the world.
James would be delighted to demonstrate the Learning Pit in action with any students of any age.
James has written about the Learning Pit in many books, journals and research papers.

Challenge

Creator of the Learning Pit and the Teaching Target Model, James places challenge right at the heart of everything he does in education.
Both his first book and his independent company are called “Challenging Learning” because of the importance James gives to challenging all students.
James has developed a large range of practical strategies and lesson plans available to those he’s worked with to download and use with students.

Leadership

James understands leadership. He has been a leader of small schools/pre-schools as well as large organisations and led professionals working with students aged 3-19.
James has been asked to present at leadership summits and has drawn from his experiences to develop strategies and frameworks to help leaders clarify and achieve their vision.
James believes that leadership is a disposition as much as a position, and is able to show teachers how to be leaders of learning, principals how to be better leaders, and organisations how to develop student leadership.

Progress & Achievement

Helping all students to make excellent progress is what drives James. This can be evidenced by his TED talk “Labels Limit Learning” and the animated version of the Learning Pit.
James’s close working relationship with professors Carol Dweck and John Hattie are focused on understanding the evidence behind the best strategies for maximising progress.
James has developed proven strategies for enriching progress and achievement that are ready to be shared with anyone working in pre-schools, schools, colleges or universities.

Feedback

James has focused much of his energies in the last decade on understanding feedback and identifying the best ways to use feedback to its full effect and he wrote the book Challenging Feedback.
James has created strategies and guidance for developing the optimal conditions and approaches to feedback.
Having frequently keynoted the same conferences as Shirley Clark, Dylan Wiliam, John Hattie, Robert Marzano and others, James is at the forefront of developments in feedback and formative assessment.

Dialogue

James has extensive training in P4C, which requires students to utilise dialogue effectively, and he has used it in classrooms the world over.
In writing his book Challenging Dialogue, James researched the impact of dialogue in the classroom and has developed many strategies to help teachers teach and encourage dialogue.
In his workshops and presentations, James helps teachers to use dialogue to guide students through the Learning Pit.

Challenge

Creator of the Learning Pit and the Teaching Target Model, James places challenge right at the heart of everything he does in education.
Both his first book and his independent company are called “Challenging Learning” because of the importance James gives to challenging all students.
James has developed a large range of practical strategies and lesson plans available to those he’s worked with to download and use with students.