Jay McTighe has served as director of the Maryland Assessment Consortium, a collaboration of school districts working to develop and share formative performance assessments. And he helped lead standards-based reforms at Maryland State Department of Education. He directed development of the Instructional Framework, a multimedia database on teaching, and has coordinated statewide efforts to develop instructional strategies, curriculum models, and assessment procedures for improving the quality of student thinking. In addition, Jay has experience as a classroom teacher, resource specialist, and program coordinator. Jay has coauthored more than a dozen books, including the Understanding by Design series with Grant Wiggins and has written numerous articles. A regular workshop and conference speaker, he has made presentations throughout the world. Kristina J. Doubet is a professor in the College of Education at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where she has received the Distinguished Teacher Award, the Madison Scholar Award, and the Sarah Miller Luck Endowed Professorship for Excellence in Education.

Kristina has partnered with hundreds of schools, districts, and organizations on topics related to differentiated instruction, the Understanding by Design framework, classroom assessment, digital learning, and classroom management and grouping. She has authored and coauthored numerous articles and several books; her current research focuses on adolescent literacy and innovative school structures for adolescent students who are learning English. Kristina resides in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Eric M. Carbaugh is a professor in the Department of Middle, Secondary, and Mathematics Education at James Madison University, where he has received the College of Education's Distinguished Service Award, Madison Scholar Award, and been twice nominated for the college's Distinguished Teacher Award. Eric has worked with more than 80 schools and districts on performance-based assessment, differentiated instruction, the Understanding by Design curriculum framework, effective use of instructional technology, and other various educational best practices. In addition to numerous articles and book chapters, Eric is a coauthor, with Kristina Doubet, of The Differentiated Flipped Classroom: A Practical Guide to Digital Learning. He is the journal editor and board member for the Virginia ASCD chapter.

Eric taught secondary school social studies as well as elementary language arts and history. He lives near Charlottesville, Virginia.