Arthur L. Costa is an Emeritus Professor of Education at California State University, Sacramento and co-founder of the Institute of Intelligent Behavior in El Dorado Hills, California. He has served as a classroom teacher, a curriculum consultant, an assistant superintendent for instruction and as the Director of Educational Programs for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Dr Sandra Dingli is Director of The EDWARD DE BONO Institute for the Design and Development of Thinking, University of Malta, Malta) Dr. Sandra M. Dingli is Director of The Edward de Bono Institute for the Design and Development of Thinking at the University of Malta where she lectures on creativity and innovation, on the de Bono thinking techniques, on philosophy of mind and on the philosophy of artificial intelligence to both undergraduate and postgraduate students. The Institute was initially set up as a Programme in collaboration with Professor Edward de Bono in October 1992. The Edward de Bono Institute launched a unique postgraduate degree, a Master of Arts in Creativity and Innovation, in October 2004, which Dr. Sandra Dingli has designed and coordinated. She obtained her Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Durham in 2002. Her Ph.D. thesis was entitled On Thinking and the World: John McDowell on Mind and World. Her research interests are in the areas of creativity and innovation, as well as in the areas of thinking, philosophy of mind, artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship, organizational creativity audits, education and foresight.

Mrs Khaw has worked for the Ministry of Education of Malaysia for 26 years as a teacher, curriculum planner and project manager for projects ranging from pre-school curriculum, indigenous education, thinking skills, pedagogy  to Futures Studies and Smart Schools, working with international agencies such as the British Council, UNICEF, World Futures Studies Federation and TOCFE, Inc. Mrs. Khaw  was trained as a trainer of trainers at College St.Marks and St.John in Plymouth, England, under World Bank  and as a TOCFE facilitator by TOCFE, Inc. in Monterrey, Mexico. 

She is currently the Chairperson, TOC International Certification Organisation (TOCICO)  TOCE Thinking Process Education Sub-Committee and was formerly Honorary TOC For Education (TOCFE) Director for Asia and has been presenting on TOCFE educational workshops in USA, UK, Mexico, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines and Korea as well as throughout Malaysia. Mrs. Khaw has had a distinguished career in education, training and sports and was awarded the International Olympic Committee’s Women Of Achievement Diploma Award in 2004. She is also the author of the book Thinking Smart : Applying The Theory Of Constraints In Developing Thinking Skills (Pelanduk, 2005; Dongyang Books, Korea, 2006) and a novel, Nine Lives (Utusan Publications, 2006) has many short-stories published from 1980-2006 in national anthological collections.

Robert Swartz is Director of the National Center for Teaching Thinking, USA. He received his doctorate from Harvard University and is an emeritus faculty member at the University of Massachusetts at Boston.  He has worked extensively over the past twenty five years with teachers, schools, school districts, and colleges internationally in staff-development projects on restructuring curriculum and instruction by infusing critical and creative thinking into content teaching. He has developed a series of lesson design handbooks, Infusing Critical and Creative Thinking into Content Instruction, co-authored by a number of educational practitioners, K-12, published a large number of articles about teaching and assessing thinking, and has acted as a thinking skills testing consultant with the National Assessment of Educational Progress in the USA. He is presently a member of the organizing committee of the International Conference on Thinking (ICOT). His most recent work, of which he is the lead author of a team of five, is Thinking-Based Learning, published in 2007.

An internationally recognized consultant and lecturer on organizational performance and learning, Nick Zeniuk focuses on strategy, leadership and organizational development.  As a founding member of The Society of Organizational Learning (SoL), Nick collaborated with the late W. Edwards Deming and Peter Senge in building the 1995-1998 Lincoln Continental, which set company performance records in multiple measures of quality, timing, and cost savings. 

As a senior executive of Ford Motor Company, Nick Zenuik directed up to $5 billion of luxury car business and investment worldwide.  His work was the subject of an MIT case study and subsequent book, Car Launch: The Human Side of Managing Change. Known for his “results oriented” approach, Nick’s story has been featured in Fortune, Personnel Journal, Automobile and on PBS Television and National Public Radio. In addition, Nick’s role in creating high performing teams through organizational learning was depicted in Working With Emotional Intelligence. 

Based on his success at Ford, Nick has developed “Team Learning Labs” and “Performance Leadership Labs.” These Labs provide a facilitated process for engaging leadership to institutionalize performance through social networks. The Labs develop organizational capability for supporting, integrating and sustaining change. 

Companies that have applied the Performance Leadership and Team Learning Labs include CIGNA Insurance, Fleet Financial, Visteon, Harley Davidson, United Technologies, Tellabs, Pratt & Whitney, Hewlett Packard, various US government agencies (EPA, FDA, NSA, NASA, DOD), Cornel Companies (private prisons), TCL and JAC (China), Ulker (Turkey), SABIC and ARAMCO (Saudi Arabia), USAID (Egypt) and other profit and non-profit organizations around the world. 

Nick is also the co-author of Project Based Learning and contributor to The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook and The Dance of Change.  He has written numerous articles appearing in Managing the Rapids, The Systems Thinker, Reflections, and Ford’s Engineering World. 

After retiring from Ford in 1995, Nick began working as a consultant, executive coach, lecturer and research affiliate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  In addition to founding KINSoL (Knowledge and Innovation Network of the Society for Organizational Learning), Nick  is also an adjunct faculty member at Arizona State University, visiting Professor at Jinan University, China and member of the Advisory Board for the Confucius Entrepreneurial Institute, China.

The Spirit of Achievement - Nick Zeniuk

James Nottingham
http://www.sustained-success.com

James Nottingham is one of the UK’s leading practitioners in the Direct teaching of Thinking. He is the MD of Sustained Success, a company concerned with achieving long-lasting success within organizations. James Nottingham is an internationally recognised key note speaker, trainer and presenter. With an extensive background in education, James is dedicated to creating world-class schools through teaching, learning, creativity and leadership.

Stefan Lindstrom
www.stefanlindstrom.com

As a young entrepreneur, Mr. Lindstrom founded Skidboxspecialisten (The Ski/roof Box Specialist) in 1986. A company staring the idea of putting an extra luggage compartment on top of cars. He developed the products and grew a company that became well-known for quality merchandise and a devotion to customer service.As a business owner for 12 years, Lindstrom honed his marketing and management skills. His commitment to the customer, good management practices and marketing brought him success and convinced him that he had some valuable skills to share with others. So, he parlayed this experience into a new career as a management consultant and training coach. For the last 11 years, Lindstrom has worked as a business consultant aiming to improve businesses through personnel training and education. He has also taught entrepreneurship at the University of Stockholm. Lindstrom is also a sought-after speaker on the management circuit in Sweden.

Ron Ritchhart
http://www.pz.harvard.edu/PIs/RR.htm,
http://www.pz.harvard.edu/vt

Ron Ritchhart, Ed.D. Harvard University, is a Research Associate at Project Zero ( PZ) where his work centers on the understanding and development of instructional environments that encourage students’ intelligence, understanding, creativity, and mindfulness.  Ron was a researcher on the Teaching for Understanding project and currently is the principal investigator for The Creative Classroom Project and the manager of the Innovating with Intelligence Project.  Ron’s most recent book, Intellectual Character:  What it is, Why it matters, and How to Get It, is based on his study of how teachers create thoughtful learning environments that nurture the development of students’ thinking dispositions.  The book will be published by Jossey-Bass this fall.  Ron also is author/producer/director of The Creative Classroom Series videotapes and study guides published by Disney Learning Partnership.  Before coming to PZ, Ron taught elementary and middle school for 14 years, receiving the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics Teaching in1993, and authored three books on the teaching and learning of mathematics:  Making Numbers Make Sense(Addison-Wesley), Through Mathematical Eyes(Heinemann),and Pythagoras’s Bow Tie(Cuisenaire). Ron is a regular presenter at national and international conferences and consults with schools throughout the world on issues related to teaching for understanding and developing students’ abilities to think and reason.

Wonjoon Choi

Dr. Wonjoon Choi is a Professor of Industrial Engineering at University of Ulsan, Korea focusing on practical application of TOC (Theory of Constraints) Thinking Tools to Industrial Problems and Classroom Learning. He served as Department Chair of the Industrial Engineering and Dean of the Graduate School of Industry at the University of Ulsan. He is certified in the TOC Thinking Process and other areas by the Theory of Constraints International Certification Organization. He serves as a vice-president of TOC Korea Association and an advisor to TOCfE (TOC for Education) Korea. He have conducted many TOC Thinking Tools Workshops with businessmen and teachers in Korea. He has been working with teachers in Korea for introducing TOC Thinking Tools into classrooms.

Linda Trapnell

Linda Trapnell has been a teacher for 37 years across all phases of education; mainly in inner city settings. She was a Head Teacher for 10 years leading a school in Nottingham, UK and now operates as an independent consultant in the education and training sectors. She is presently an Education Consultant & Trainer. She developed an interest in Thinking Skills and has become a recognised expert in the field. She is regularly asked to speak at International Conferences and has spoken over the last 5 years to Education and Business Conferences in London, Los Angeles, Detroit, and Mexico. In 1999 Linda was invited to spend three weeks at the University of Singapore at the Centre for Teaching Thinking, where she taught classes to Principals and Vice Principals of Primary Schools. The simple tools that she uses derive from The Theory of Constraints and are used widely in Education, Business and Industry. Linda is now promoting the teaching of Thinking Skills, Team Working and Conflict Resolution in education and business, training teachers and company employees in a variety of settings. She also specialises in teaching Leadership and Management skills across the UK, Europe and in the Middle East.

Ross Sutherland

Ross has represented NSW Primary Principals as:

He currently sits on an external advisory body to the University of Western Sydney which is looking at future directions for teacher training courses. He has demonstrated a strong understanding of how children learn and established a school, recognised for innovation in learning. Ross has been able to establish a whole school inquiry model which focuses on students learning how to learn and how to think. Graphic organisers and concept mapping provide scaffolding for students to organise thoughts, problem solve and extend thinking within the learning process. Students use technology as a tool for learning focussing on multimedia and Web 2.0 to creatively link learning, technology and assessment. Student self-assessment and the collaborative development of rubrics for assessing learning feature strongly in the learning cycle. The school is recognised through awards such as:

Neil Carrington

Dr Neil Carrington is currently the Foundation National Director of the Leadership Centre for the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). He specialises in strategic planning, performance development systems for staff, executive coaching and advanced communication skill development. Most recently Neil spent over 3 years as Director of Teaching and Learning at Queensland University of Technology overseeing 130 staff. In his six years as Director of Learning and Organisational Development for the Mater Health Services in Queensland  Neil was responsible for all organisational and professional development, education, and training for over 4500 medical, nursing, allied health and administrative/executive staff. He was also responsible for the Leadership Institute, Online Learning, University of Queensland Library Services, Medical Graphics/Photography, Multimedia Services, OnLine Health, and Care Management Unit. Neil also oversaw the Queensland Health state-wide Medical Administrators training program. Prior to the Mater, he spent 6 years in the university sector as a senior academic/manager, and as a consultant (staff/organisational development) in the public and private sector. As well as his background in education he also has successful leadership/consultancy experience in private industry as a Marketing /Export Manager and Executive Coach. Currently, he provides a consultancy service to a number of organisations advising on issues such as executive coaching, training and professional development, leadership and management, learning design, organisational change and advanced communication skills.
Dr Carrington is an experienced educator and leader who has worked as a teacher in rural, indigenous and metropolitan schools, as a Learning Support Teacher and Guidance Officer (K-12), and as Head of Department in Queensland and in London. Neil lectured in Educational Psychology and Teaching Practice at QUT and the University of Western Sydney and he was also formerly Director of School Experience at the University of New England. Dr Carrington has presented in the UK, USA, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Australia. As well as his initial teaching qualification Neil has a postgraduate qualification in Special Education, a Masters degree in Education as well as a Masters degree in Educational Psychology. His PhD into perceptions of intelligence was judged to be one of the largest and most rigorous studies of its type ever undertaken in Australia.

Bill Martin

Bill Martin is Managing Director of Bill Martin and Associates, a U.S.-based company, which facilitates change in large organizations through the generation of powerful shared visions involving all staff, and implementation of the resulting long-term development plans. He focuses on organizational learning, the creation of leadership capacity, innovation, effective change, and the direct teaching of systems thinking skills and thinking dispositions. He has spent most of his career in senior leadership positions. Bill’s background is in education, both in public education and in universities. On two occasions he led large schools in low socio-economic, culturally diverse communities to win State and National awards for organizational excellence. These awards are given to only 300 U.S. schools annually from over 36,000 schools in the country. The impressive positive effects on staff, students, parents and local communities have been well documented and internationally recognized. Bill has also earned National awards for leadership. He is a sought after consultant and presenter in both education and business. Bill has worked in nine countries across a range of sectors, including education, business, health, juvenile justice, non-profit organizations and sport. He has presented invited addresses at International Conferences on Thinking in New Zealand, the U.K., USA, Australia and Sweden. He was also a keynote presenter at the recent International Conference on Ignorance. Besides his widely respected work on shared visioning, Bill works with organizations in a range of areas: the creation of leadership teams; professional growth; the leadership of learning; the management of change; processes to create alignment and commitment, even from the most resistant staff; and habits of mind.  Bill’s processes are in powerful use internationally, and he completes regular tours of the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East and Europe. One of his major current projects is the establishment of an international network of innovative schools spread across four countries.

Khalil Hussein Khalil

Khalil Hussein Khalil is the director of students services at UAE University. During the past twelve years Khalil has been working closely with classroom teachers on teaching thinking to students, he is the developer of a positive thinking course specially designed for teaching thinking for adults in different business positions using thinking strategy maps and graphic organizers which emphasizes the use of a modified versions of Habits of Mind. Khalil also developed staff professional development programs to university and college professors on teaching thinking. Khalil worked closely with the National Center for Teaching Thinking to conduct training in infusing critical and creative thinking into content instruction in several countries in the Arab region. Khalil is a recognized trainer and consultant on building thinking based curriculum that promotes the infusion of direct instruction of thinking.

Marlys Hearst Witte,M.D

Marlys Hearst Witte, M.D. is Professor of Surgery and Director of the Student Research Program at The University of Arizona, President of the Ignorance Foundation, devoted to all we have left to learn and discover, and Secretary-General of the 44-nation International Society of Lymphology. She, with her late husband Charles Witte, MD, has been a featured plenary speaker and workshop leader at earlier International Conferences on Thinking.  She specializes in disorders of the lymphatic system (lymphatics, lymph nodes, lymph and lymphocytes) and conducts research in basic and clinical lymphology. She received her undergraduate degree at Columbia University, medical education at New York University School of Medicine, and post-graduate residency training at The University of North Carolina-North Carolina Memorial Hospital and New York University-Bellevue Medical Center. She has developed an internationally recognized Curriculum on Medical (and Other) Ignorance, which deals with “all the things we know we don’t know, don’t know we don’t know, and think we know but don’t” (the discipline of “ignoramics” as a counterbalance to “informatics”). The Q3 project (“Questions, Questioning and Questioners”), targeting K-12 students through professional students and science teachers at all levels, has received funding from the US federal government and private foundations. Dr. Witte is now developing a Virtual Clinical Research Center (VCRC) accessible for public education on the Internet, which is linked to the Medical Ignorance Exploratorium and emerging Islands of Medical Ignorance.

Branton Shearer

C. Branton Shearer is a neuropsychologist who has taught about the creative and practical applications of multiple intelligences since 1990 at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. He is the creator of the Multiple Intelligences Developmental Scales (MIDAS™ www.MIResearch.org) that have been translated into 12 languages and implemented by educators and researchers in more than 20 different countries. He is the founder of the American Educational Research Association Special Interest Group, Multiple Intelligences: Theory and Practice. Along with Mike Fleetham, Shearer is the author of Creating ExtraOrdinary Teachers (Continuum Network Education Press).  Recently published by Teachers College Press is a collection of critical essays that he commissioned by notable educators and theorists, Multiple Intelligences at 25 Years: Reflections on its Impact, Status and Future. Also from Teachers College Press is the book, MIndful Education for ADHD Students: Differentiating Curriculum and Instruction Using Multiple Intelligences, coauthored with Victoria Proulx-Schirduan and Karen I. Case.

Ahmad Murad Merican

Dr. Ahmad Murad Merican is a professor at the Department of Management and Humanities, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, in Bandar Seri Iskandar, Perak. His academic and research interests include Malay Media Studies, Media and Intellectual History, and History of Social Science. He has published two monographs, six books (4  edited volumes), journal articles and book chapters on his areas of interest.  He obtained a PhD in History and Philosophy of Science (Malaya), Master of Arts (Mass Communication), and a Baccalaurette in Political Science (Minnesota). He holds a Diploma in Mass Communication, majoring in Journalism from Institut Teknologi MARA. He is a referee/contributor and sits on the editorial boards of several academic journals. He has been interviewed both by the Malaysian and foreign media including the New Straits Times, Utusan Malaysia, Berita Harian, the Star, RTM, TV3, ASTRO, Radio Singapura Internasional, Reuters, Padang Ekspres, Harian Singgalang, BTTV (Bukittinggi, West Sumatera) and TVRI, in Padang, Indonesia. He was a visiting professor at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at Universitas Andalas in West Sumatera, Indonesia in 2006, and was instrumental in establishing the journalism and media studies program there. One of his books is titled Media History: Worldviews and Communication Futures (University of Malaya Press, 2005). He has put together and is editor of his latest book titled Blinded by the Lights: Journalism and Communication Study in Malaysia since 1971 (Upena, 2008). His current projects include Malay intellectual history, and developing alternative perspectives on the production of knowledge. He holds the Perdana Leadership Foundation Honorary President Fellowship for the study of Malay attitudes towards the West. He formerly taught at the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, UiTM, and is founding editor of the School of Mass Communication Media Monograph Series, founding-chairman of the Centre for Intellectual History and Malay Thought (Centis), and founder of the Institute of Journalism Studies. He was a journalist with the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) in the early 1980s.

Dato' Wah Idris

DATO’ WAH ABDUL HAMID BIN IDRIS  Received his early education in Ipoh, Perak and subsequently went to do a double degree in Jazz Composition and Jazz Arranging at the Berklee College of Music, Boston USA. In the 1980’s his professional accomplishments include being appointed Principal of Technics Music Academy in relation to music syllabus design and the training of music teachers, Music Director for the 1st International Jazz Festival in Kuala Lumpur. He was Champion of the Golden Kite World Song Festival and Music Advisor to Kuala Lumpur City Hall. He held dual posts of Executive Director and Musical Director for Wirawan Seni Remaja EON and was Music Advisor to the Ministry of Tourism. In the 1990’s he composed and produced scores for jingles and corporate songs for various organizations and government ministers. He was Music Director and Producer for the World Corporate Games under the Youth and Sports Ministry. He was Music Director, Artiste and Musician for Benson & Hedges Light Tones and Musical Director/Composer for the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games. Dato’ Wah Idris national and state contributions include being Founder of Malaysian Drums Symphony-Ethnic Races Musicians, Board of Advisors of Garden International School, Board of Advisors of Sri Garden School,  President for Malaysian Association Bumiputra Recording Industry (MABRI), Consultant to Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia, Music Consultant in the rearrangement of the National Anthem 'Negaraku',  Music Composer for Wilayah Persekutuan's anthem, "Maju dan Sejahtera", Music Composer for "Malaysiaku Gemilang, Kibarkan Jalur Gemilang";  a theme song to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Malaysia's independence, Council Member of Music Council Malaysia, Advisor and Member of Persatuan Artis-Artis Tanah Air Malaysia, Member Committee for Perdana Global Peace Forum 2005, Fellowship of National Youth Research Institute, Trustee of Childrens Welfare Foundation, Board of Governors of Perak Academy, Advisor for Pusat Pemulihan Orang-Orang Cacat (PPOC) Perak, Exco Member of Majlis Pembangunan Masyarakat Negeri Perak, Panel Member of K-Perak Inc., Music Composer, "Daulat Tuanku" - A Tribute for HRH Sultan of Perak. In 1996 he received The Young Outstanding Malaysian Award and in 2001 he received the DPMP from the DYMM Paduka Sultan Negeri Perak Darul Ridzuan. Dato’ Wah Idris presently lives in Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur with his wife and 2 daughters. Dato’ Wah Idris can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Guy Claxton

Guy Claxton is one of the UK's foremost authorities on real world learning - how people can be helped to get better at learning the things that matter to them. He is the author of the best-selling Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind: Why Intelligence Increases When You Think Less, as well as Wise Up: The Challenge of Lifelong Learning, and, most recently, What's the Point of School? His Building Learning Power programme is successfully creating more confident young explorers in Australia, New Zealand, Asia and Brazil, as well as throughout the UK. He holds degrees from Cambridge and Oxford, and is currently Professor of the Learning Sciences, and Co-Director of the Centre for Real-World Learning, at the University of Winchester, UK.

Galina Dolya

Galina Dolya is the Curriculum Director of Key to Learning, which has developed an innovative Vygotskian approach to Early Years Education.  She is an acknowledged world leading expert on the practical application of Vygotsky’s Theory of Learning and Development. She has worked at every level from Early Years to University and trained hundreds of teachers and trainers world-wide. Currently she is a Researcher in the Department of Psychology and Pedagogy of Abilities at the Research Institute of Development of Preschool Education, Russian Academy for Education, Moscow.  

Ragnhild Isachsen

Ragnhild Isachsen has been a teacher since 1971 in both primary and secondary schools in Norway, and is now the principal of Hogsnes primary school, kindergarten and after school club in Tønsberg. She has been developing thinking skills and P4C with James Nottingham since 2003, and on the development of leadership and shared visioning with Bill Martin and James since 2005. In the autumn of 2006, Hogsnes became the first school in Scandinavia to join the international Community Designed Education network. (also known as TDS in Australia and New Zealand) It was a challenging but valuable and informative process to start at all levels in the school, kindergarten and after school club. This, together with the strategies of thinking skills, motivation and resilience is having a powerful effect on all children and staff at Hogsnes. Since then, Ragnhild has supported the 15 other schools, immigration service and nurseries in Norway that have joined the CDE network, being an inspirational leader and coach to them all. She believes old dogs can learn new tricks and she lives by the motto, “living in the learning pit, and loving it!”

Darius Radkevicius
www.versloknyguklubas.lt

Darius Radkevičius is a well known Lithuanian publisher and business consultant, who works inside Lithuania as well as internationally (Ukraine, Russia and Asia). Darius is a certified TOC (Theory of Constraints) Application Expert in Operations, certified TOC Practitioner in Supply Chain Logistics. He is also an SFS (Solutions For Sales) expert. Darius has been in consulting business since 1997, and has done  anumber of very successful projects.  The first Darius’ TOC Implementation Project was the one in his own book publishing business. More than 100 companies across Europe, Ukraine, Russia and Asia have benefited from Darius’ coaching and workshops. Darius Radkevicius is a truly unique speaker and is able to inspire his audience and stimulate thinking and creativity, find new solutions and ideas. e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   +37069841027 www.versloknyguklubas.lt 
Skype: dzuorendariusinmac

Carol McGuinness

Carol McGuinness is Professor of Psychology at Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland. She is director of the ACTS (Activating Children's Thinking Skills) project in Northern Ireland which uses an infusion methodology for enhancing children's thinking skills across-the-curriculum, and has helped launched similar projects in Wales, England and Scotland. She is author of the influential report, From Thinking Skills to Thinking Classrooms, which was commissioned by the Department of Education in London (1999). Her recent research evaluated the impact of the ACTS methodology on primary school children's learning over three years and studied the development of metacognitive features of classroom talk. She has devised professional development programmes for teachers who are about to embark on thinking developments in their classrooms. She works with Robert Swartz in Boston, as part of the National Center for Teaching Thinking Summer Institutes on Thinking-Based Learning. She acts as an advisor to the Northern Ireland Curriculum Council (CCEA) developing a Framework for Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities which is part of their revised curriculum for schools. More recently, she has worked with the British Council and the Thai Ministry of Education to launch an ACTS project in Thailand. Her forthcoming book, Thinking Lessons from Thinking Classrooms: Tools for Teachers, will be published by Routledge.

Dr. Ananda Kumar Palaniappan

Dr. Ananda Kumar Palaniappan is an Educational Psychologist presently lecturing in the University of Malaya. He specializes in Organizational Creativity, Creative Problem Solving and Creative Innovation. Dr. Ananda conducts training in Thinking Skills as well as SPSS and AMOS for academicians and researchers in Malaysia. He has presented papers at international conferences and conducted workshops on Creativity and Innovation, Organizational Creativity, Organizational Behavior and Creative Problem Solving for numerous groups including managers, magistrates, legal officers, educational administrators, school principals, teachers and students in Malaysia, Singapore, India, Spain, Sweden, New Zealand and the United States of America. He has been consulted on projects by many agencies including the Malaysian Ministry of Education and many multinational organizations. He is presently involved in several research projects on Creativity, Creative Personality Characteristics, Creative Management, Entrepreneurship and Organizational Behavior. He has published internationally on creativity and on the validation of several instruments measuring Creative Management, Entrepreneurial Tendency and Creative Personality Characteristics. He has published in many international journals including Perceptual and Motor Skills and Journal of Psychology. He has written a number of books, among them are Creativity and Academic Achievement and SPSS in Educational Research. Dr. Ananda Kumar Palaniappan is currently an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of South Australia (UniSA). He is also an member of American Psychological Association (APA), American Creativity Association (ACA), International Association of Cross-Cultural Psychology (IACCP), the All India Association for Educational Research (AIAER), Malaysian Institute of Personnel Management (MIPM), Malaysian Invention and Design Society (MINDS) and Malaysian Council of Computers in Education (MCCE).

Zana Borisavljevic

Zana Borisavljevic is a Holistic Education and Development Consultant with over 20 years' experience in education. She is currently based in Serbia where she works as the director of an NGO “Education Plus”, an organization offering personal and professional development programs, Parenting Courses and Youth Leadership Programs. She is also one of the founders and directors of the international education program TOC for Intercultural Dialogue which uses TOC logic tools for enabling dialogue and understanding between different cultures and ethnicities. During the last few years, Zana has been particularly involved in programs aimed at building bridges between young people of different ethnicities in the Balkans.

Dr. Mario Gongora

Dr. Mario Gongora is a Principal Lecturer in the Department of Informatics at De Montfort University, UK. He has a degree in Electronic Engineering and got his MSc and PhD from the University of Warwick (UK), and has been an academic for over 18 years. Mario is a leading researcher in the area of applied computational intelligence. His research started in the field of robotics and machine learning, and for the last 10 years has been researching in the application of Artificial Intelligence techniques into the fields of Biology and Natural Phenomena, including Complex Systems Identification and Modelling. Mario's work is highly multidisciplinary and as such he is a key member of the Institute of Creative technologies, IOCT, at De Montfort University. At the institute he collaborates with researchers from science, technology, humanities and the arts. Mario's creative thinking approach has enabled him to take his extensive experience in the analysis and modelling of natural and biologically inspired systems and behaviours using computational tools to the realm of other disciplines. Mario does not just stay in his academic world, as he believes an important part of thinking and creating is to take its benefits to other stakeholders. He is actively involved in projects which take the expertise from the University to Industry and the wider public. Some of the current projects Mario is working on include The Virtual Romans, working in collaboration with Historians, Archaeologists and Digital Artists, to create a virtual version of Roman Leicester (UK). The analysis and modelling of the behaviour of this ancient population will be critical for the success of the project's objective to engage the public with the knowledge of roman history. In another project he is researching in understanding how developmental systems create complex behaviour from simple or basic rules of collective behaviour, and finding when individual decisions should kick-in to create the correct effect.

Kai Sung

Kai Sung is the holder of the 2003 Li Guo Ding Gold Medal for Management Science in Taiwan. Kai is currently a senior professor in Management School in National Central University in Taiwan. He was the Dean of Management School (1987-1990) & the Director of Management Research Center (1994-1997) at NCU. He also served as the Chief Secretary of the President Office (1994-1997) at NCU. He was the founder & the President Elected of the Chinese Society of Information Management (1990-1994) and remains as the board of director since then. He was a member of the board of directors in Chinese Society of Technology Management in 1991-1992. He was the President of Chinese Society of Decision Sciences in 2004-2006. He was a Senior Engineer on Systems Modeling, Simulation and Integration at the Center for Technology, Xerox Corporation at Webster, New York (1978-1981). He was a Distinguished Visiting Professor and the Director of Systems Engineering Graduate Program at Rochester Institute of Technology (1981-1984). He has been the Distinguished Visiting Professor at Dalian University of Oceanography since 2004. He was appointed as the Advisory Professor to President at Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (1992), Tongji University (1992), Peking University (1996) and Fudan University (1996), Since 1997, he has been also a Visiting Professor in Shanghai Jiaotong University, Harbin Technological University, Southeast University, Shandong University, Guandong College of Business, Macau University of Science & Technology, Shenzhen University, Central South University, Fujieng University of Agriculture & Forestry and Jinan University.His doctorate in Systems Engineering is from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, USA (1978). Kai Sung's teaching and research at National Central University concentrates on creative leadership, creative management,establishing learning organizations, Confucianism in EMBA education, online business, cross cultural comparative management and cross (Taiwan Straits) cultural educational exchange programs.

David Koutsoukis helps educators build positive and productive classrooms and schools. He is based in Perth and travels throughout Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and South-East Asia where he presents at schools, colleges, tertiary institutions and conferences. David has written numerous articles and is the author and creator of the Behaviour Management Toolkit and posters, the Values Education Toolkits and posters, the Daily Dose of Fun series of books, and the Six Kinds of Best Values Education program. As a teacher with over twenty years experience, David has worked in schools in a variety of capacities including: relief teacher, classroom teacher, head of department, behaviour management coordinator, school improvement project coordinator, middle school team leader, deputy principal and education consultant. He has taught across all year levels from K-12 and David credits his best education credentials as the significant amount of time he has spent as an ‘all-day-every-day’ teacher. As a consultant, David has worked with teachers from hundreds of schools across four continents. This has given him the opportunity to observe teachers and schools in action and discover what they are doing well, and what they are not! He shares this wisdom with other educators through his presentations, consultancy and resources. David’s passion and enthusiasm for what he does is contagious and his entertaining presenting style and engaging personality have seen him inspire audiences of all ages.

Professional formation of Nikolay took place within the walls of Psychological faculty of Moscow State University, the Institute of preschool education APS USSR (Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of USSR. Was reformed in 1992 into Russian Academy of Education), where he held a post of an engineer, laboratory assistant, junior research assistant, and Psychological Institute APS USSR. At that time psychological faculty had such renowned scientists as A.N. Leontyev, A.R. Luria, P.Y. Galperin, A.V. Zaporozhets, V.. Davidov, D.B. Elkonin, V.P. Zinchenko and others. Working at the Institute of preschool education gave Nikolay precious time communicating closely with A.V. Zaporozhets, L.A. Venger, N.N. Poddyakov and many other researchers in the field of children development both at his work and during their classes in the university. Discussions, often lasting all night through, concerned various psychological problems, experiments and research plans. Nikolay’s way in science went by the road of dialectics, on which the first steps, in a sense, were made in Nikolay’s Ph.D. thesis, successfully defended in 1977. It clearly showed that besides temporal and spatial notions, preschool children possess special class of temporal-spatial notions, which, in fact, can be viewed as form of mediation of those two relationships with the help of reference frame. In 1991 Nikolay successfully defends his doctoral thesis “Origin and development of preschool children’s dialectic cognition”, which described mechanisms of children's dialectic cognition. Since 1998 professor Veraksa is the Head ofDepartment of Psychology and Pedagogical Abilities in Research Institute of Preschool Education (Russian Academy of Education). In 2003 professor Veraksa becomes the head of Russian Psychological Society’s structure-dialectical developmental psychology section. Since 2004 he is also the Head of Moscow City University of Psychology and Education Social Psychology Faculty’s Department of Social Developmental Psychology. Nikolay’s merits in the field of educations were honored by the Moscow government and he was many times awarded Governmental prizes.  Under his supervision, over 30 PhD theses were defended. Professor Veraksa is an author of more than 100 books and articles (some of which were written in collaboration with professor Diachenko) on problems of developmental psychology, psychology of personality, education and social psychologies.

Ruth Stevens
www.ruthstevens.com

Ruth P. Stevens consults on customer acquisition and retention, for both consumer and business-to-business clients.  Ruth began her direct marketing career in 1986 at Time Warner, where she spent seven years in marketing, new business development, and general management at Book-of-the-Month Club and Time-Life Books.  She then went to Ziff-Davis as Vice President of Marketing for Computer Library, the electronic publishing division.  From 1996, she spent three years in direct marketing management at IBM, and then worked in senior marketing positions at two Internet startup companies in New York City before starting her consulting company in 2000. 

Ruth serves on the board of directors of Edmund Optics, Inc. and NetFactor Corporation.  She is a trustee of Princeton-In-Asia, past chair of the Business-to-Business Council of the DMA, and immediate past president of the Direct Marketing Club of New York.  Crain’s BtoB magazine named Ruth one of the 100 Most Influential People in Business Marketing in 2002.  She is the author of 2 business books, The DMA Lead Generation Handbook, published in 2002, and Trade Show and Event Marketing, published by Thomson in 2005.  She teaches marketing to graduate students at Columbia Business School.  Ruth is a sought-after speaker and trainer, and has presented to audiences in Asia, Europe and Latin America.  She has studied marketing management at Harvard Business School and holds an MBA from Columbia University.

Dr Tom Mulholland

Dr Tom Mulholland is an international best selling author with 2 books on Healthy Thinking in 12 countries and founder of The Healthy Thinking Institute.  He is an Emergency Department Physician at Auckland Hospital, an honorary lecturer in Psychological medicine at Auckland Medical School, New Zealand, and one of the world’s leading authorities on attitudes and behavior. He is the Chief Emotional Architect of  the Healthy Thinking Institute which delivers seminars and training to the likes of Microsoft, Audi, AIG, Hewlett Packard, Hilton and hundreds of other companies. He is an expert in reducing stress, improving health and other parameters such as productivity and sales. He speaks globally on attitude and health and is one of his country’s most successful speakers. With a  1st class honors degree in Molecular Genetics and his own daily TV talk show on attitude he delivers a high energy and educational presentation.

Marcia Hutchinson

Marcia Hutchinson has worked in the field of education for more than 25 years. Marcia was one of the first educators to start teaching and implementing the Theory of Constraints (TOC) knowledge in public education (E) and has been doing so for 12 years. The Theory of Constraints is an overall philosophy developed by Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt, usually applied to running and improving an organization. Marcia has been applying this philosophy to the field of education with the overarching goal of teaching the skills to students of all ages to develop their critical thinking skills. TOCE consists of problem solving and management/decision-making tools called the Thinking Processes (TP). TOCE-TP is applied to logically and systematically address any process of ongoing improvement in any area of education. As a Master level TOCE facilitator, Marcia has taught the TOCE TP and it’s applications to students from grade 5 up through the university level and, through facilitated workshops, has trained public and private school educators and administrators in the United States and abroad. Marcia has worked with school leadership teams with staff development in-services focused on analyzing local school systems and developing school improvement plans aimed at increasing academic achievement, run TOCE focused treatment groups for youth prisoners, and managed TOCE Peer Mediation and College Preparatory programs in middle schools. Through a collaborative effort with Rotary International and the Ministry of Education in the Philippines she brought TOCE-TP to the Department of Eduction system there. Marcia has a MS in Psychology and School Counseling and is a licensed public school administrator. In addition to her work in the field of education in the United States, Marcia has worked extensively in Africa, South America and Asia. Ms. Hutchinson is presently the Dean of Students and serves as a member of the School Leadership Team at the secondary level.  Marcia is a member of the TOCICO (TOC international certification organization).

Jenilyn Rose B. Corpuz

Dr. Jenilyn Rose B. Corpuz, who has a doctorate degree in Home Economics, is currently a Principal IV of a government high school in Quezon City,Philippines. She was awarded as an outstanding teacher and principal and had been cited for outstanding accomplishments in the field of teaching and school management. As an active practitioner of Theory of Constraints for Education, Philippines (TOCfE, Phils.), she has initiated and facilitated school-based  seminars and trainings for teachers and students focused on creative and logic thinking as well as conflict management. She is a regular facilitator in the National Level Conferences of Philippine Association of Home Economics for State Colleges and Universities and an active member of the Division Team for School-Based Management Training for school administrators. She presented a research on integration of TOCfE tools in selected Technology and Livelihood Education components in the 8th International TOCfE Conference at Seattle Washington, USA that was lauded for its significance and relevance. She is also an active officer of the Quezon City Principals and Supervisors Association.

Jaafar Jantan
www2.uitm.edu.my/drjj

Associate Professor Dr. Jaafar Jantan who is a faculty member of UiTM, obtained his MSc in Condensed Matter Physics from Kansas State University in 1985, a Teaching Certificate from Temenggong Ibrahim Teacher Training College in 1986 and a PhD. in Physics Education from Kansas St. University in 1994. His PhD research focused on the different ways university and high school educators in USA used the Physics InfoMall, a CD-ROM that his research team was developing. Since 1997, he had been developing learning materials to employ Active Learning in his Thermodynamics class. He had also translated the oft-cited Force Concept Inventory, the Mechanics Baseline Test and the Lawson’s Classroom Scientific Thinking and Reasoning Skills into Bahasa Melayu. His passion and commitment earned him the University Excellent Service award in 1999 and in 2007. In addition to the many invited talks and keynote addresses at national and international conferences, he has been conducting many workshops on Concept Maps and most recently he is conducting workshops on Student-Centered Learning and Outcome-Based-Education Curriculum Design. Among his recognition includes nomination by Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) for the Anugerah Akademik Negara (AAN) Kategori Pengajaran in 2007, the National Council for Scientific Research & Development (NCSRD/MPKSN) Award 2002 for Increasing Public Awareness on Science & Technology in 2003. and also the Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science (UNESCO) in 2002.

Alex Ow Chee Kin

Alex Ow, the Chief Creative Strategist of Infor Resources System Sdn Bhd is specially selected, trained, and certified to conduct Dr Edward de Bono Thinking Methods Courses in Malaysia. He is an authorised and officially accredited instructor for the Six Thinking Hats Method, Lateral Thinking Applications and Simplicity (SIMP). He is the first independent consultant in Malaysia to be accredited for most of Dr de Bono’s training programmes and was acknowledged as an active and successful de Bono instructor in Malaysia by the Master Trainers of Edward de Bono Thinking Methods for Asia. He started the Creative User Circle (Malaysia) – CUC, a network to pool all de Bono’s graduates together and to promote & share creativity among the individuals & corporations. Alex Ow holds a PhD in Training Management and is also a graduate of MBA & ACIS, UK. He completed the Certificate of Competence as a Competency Based Training & Education (CBTE) Instructor and CBTE Curriculum Designer & Developer and Assessor. He is also a certified Assessor by the Malaysia’s National Training Vocational Council (NTVC). Being one of the pioneers of creative thinking consultant in Malaysia, he has developed his own IRS’s Creativity Assessment Tool through his researches (i.e. Personal Creativity Inventory, Organisational Creativity Factors & Lateral Thinking Test). In addition, he has completed the Certificate IV in Assessment & Workplace Training and Diploma of Training and Assessment System, both internationally accredited courses and is licensed to conduct these programmes using the authorized training materials. He has more than 18 years of extensive Training and Consulting experience in designing and developing courses in the field of Creativity & Innovative Thinking, Human Resource Development and Competency Management. He has undertaken more than 1500 In‐House Training and numerous consulting assignments in the areas related to Creativity & Innovative Thinking, Human Resources Development & Competency Management.

Danilo Sirias

Danilo Sirias is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Management and Marketing at Saginaw Valley State University.  His research interests include the application of thinking skills to improve teaching and enhance personal development. He is a co-author of the book “Bridging the Boomer Xer Gap” and "Success…an Adventure."

Karin Morrison

Karin is the Director of the Rosenkranz Centre for Excellence and Achievement and is the in-school leader of the Cultures of Thinking project sponsored by Bialik College in collaboration with Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Karin was Conference Co-convenor for the 12th International Conference on Thinking in Melbourne in 2005, Australian delegate to the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children, past President of the Victorian Association for Gifted and Talented Children and a committee member of the Reggio Emilia Australia Information Exchange. Karin is particularly interested in the thinking and learning of both teachers and students and how we can best provide the environment and structures to support deeper thinking and engage students in learning in a relevant and meaningful way.