David Leat is the Executive Director of the Research Centre for Learning and Teaching and Professor of Curriculum Innovation. He was a geography teacher before coming to Newcastle in 1989 to work in teacher training. Since 2000 he has worked in research and higher degree teaching and supervision
His research interests started with teaching thinking skills. In subsequent projects, he has been involved in research on Learning2Learn, metacognition, teacher coaching and enquiry-based curriculum.
His current projects revolve around Enquiry/Project Based Curriculum and Community Curriculum Making, in which schools, teachers, students and school partners have far more control over and responsibility for the curriculum. David has worked with Professor Sugata Mitra on both Self Organised Learning Environments (SOLEs) and Skype Grannies/Seniors.