Micki M. Caskey, PhD, associate professor in the Graduate School of Education at Portland State University, draws on more than 20 years of teaching in middle and high schools. Her areas of specialization include middle grades education, content area literacy, learning strategies and content enhancements, action research, and teacher education. She is president-elect of the Middle Level Education Research Special Interest Group, chair of the National Middle School Association’s Research Advisory Board, editor of Research in Middle-Level Education Online, professional developer for the Center for Research on Learning’s Strategic Instruction Model, and board member of the Portland Council of the International Reading Association. She edited Making a Difference: Action Research in Middle-Level Education, co-authored Reading and Learning Strategies: Middle Grades through High School, and has written numerous journal articles and book chapters.

Susan J. Lenski, EdD, is a professor in the PSU Department of Curriculum and Instruction, where she teaches graduate courses in reading, writing, and language arts. She brings over 20 years of experience as a public school teacher to her work as a professor. Dr. Lenski is a popular speaker for professional development programs and has consulted in the United States, Canada, Panama, and Guatemala. Dr. Lenski has authored eleven books, including Improving Reading: Strategies and Resources (with Jerry L. Johns), and has published over 65 articles in state and national journals. Her research interests include incorporating reading and writing strategies into classroom practice, content area reading, and preparing culturally responsive teachers.

Barbara Ruben, EdD, has worked with preservice teachers in the Graduate Teacher Education Program (GTEP) at Portland State University. Earlier in her career, she worked with adults in environmental policy and became convinced environmental education needs to start with young people. Dr. Ruben started teaching sixth grade in Portland Public Schools in 1980 and has taught every grade from kindergarten through eighth. Her career has included working as a math consultant for Centennial School District, a science teacher for Portland Jewish Academy and Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), a reading tutor in Beaverton schools, and a volunteer in 11th grade American history at Jefferson High School. Her doctoral work examined whether a teacher education program can influence the development of teachers as change agents.

Sandra Wilde is a professor of Curriculum and Instruction at Portland State University. She is the author of several books on spelling and other aspects of literacy, including the upcoming Spelling Strategies and Patterns: What Kids Need to Know. She has worked with teachers K-12, both as a professor and conductor of workshops all over North America. She is currently planning a book on how teachers can identify and use a broad spectrum of research in the reading field.