James Nottingham is the founder and executive director of Challenging Learning. His passion is in transforming the most up-to-date research into strategies that really work in the classroom. He has been described by Skolvärlden (Swedish Teaching Union) as "one of the most talked about names in the world of school development." His first book, Challenging Learning has been published in 5 languages and has received widespread critical acclaim. His follow-up book, Encouraging Learning, supports his work with parents and community groups, as well as with teachers and leaders. Currently he is writing a series of books to share the best strategies for feedback, challenge, dialogue, progress and metacognition. Before training to be a teacher, James worked on a pig farm, in the chemical industry, for the American Red Cross and as a teaching assistant in a school for deaf children. At university, he gained a first class honours degree in education. He then worked as a teacher and leader in primary and secondary schools in the UK before co-founding an award-winning, multi-million pound regeneration project supporting education, public and voluntary organisations across north east England. In 2005, James started JN Partnership Ltd. He later developed this into the group of companies known today as Challenging Learning. The group has offices in the UK, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Australia, and employs 20 full-time and approximately 50 part-time staff. James is well known throughout Scandinavia for his work with John Hattie's Visible Learning. Internationally he is known for his work on challenge, progress, Philosophy for Children and the Learning Pit. In 2009, James was listed among the Future 500 - a "definitive list of the UK′s most forward-thinking and brightest innovators."