James A. Bellanca

James A. Bellanca is an educational consultant and author known for his work on 21st century skills, project- and problem-based learning, and critical and creative thinking in K–12 education. He serves as executive director (and is also described as president) of the Illinois Consortium for 21st Century Schools, and has been a Senior Fellow for the Partnership for 21st Century Learning, where he created and edits the P21Blogazine. Bellanca is recognized as a lifelong advocate for the principles and practices developed by Reuven Feuerstein and received the Malcolm Knowles Award for lifetime contribution to the field of self-directed learning from the International Society for Self-Directed Learning in 2013.

Bellanca has authored more than a dozen “how‑to” books that embed critical and creative thinking across the curriculum, including The Focus Factor: 8 Essential Twenty-First Century Thinking Skills for Deeper Student Learning, Blueprints for Achievement in the Cooperative Classroom, Enriched Learning Projects: A Practical Pathway to 21st Century Skills, and 200+ Active Learning Strategies and Projects for Engaging Students’ Multiple Intelligences. He is also coeditor of 21st Century Skills and editor of several deeper learning collections for educators.[4