McTighe & Associates - Educational Consulting

Anna Bennett Anna Bennett is director and senior consultant at her company Anna Bennett Consulting which is based in Melbourne, Australia. Anna draws on her experience as an educator for over 30 years. Her teaching background has been in primary, secondary and adult education settings. Anna has held a variety of curriculum leadership roles in several schools and was Director of Professional Learning at a large multi campus independent school for 7 years. In 2008 Anna started working part time as an education consultant for Independent Schools Victoria and concurrently started her consultancy business. Since then she has run workshops for a diverse range of schools and providers. She has had ongoing contracts with several schools working specifically on curriculum unit development.

Qualificaitons: ( M.Ed, Post Grad Cert Gifted Education)

Areas of Expertise

• Curriculum planning using the Understanding by Design® framework
• Differentiation
• Formative Assessment
• Gifted Education
• Leading teacher growth

Available for consulting work in:

• North America
• Asia
• Middle East

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Ronit Carter With twenty years of experience, Ronit has worked with renowned educational research organizations, as a curriculum director in school districts, and on her own as a consultant. She taught math and science with diverse student populations in schools and museums, including a national interdisciplinary project-based learning model.Ronit has designed and led professional development and instructional coaching in a wide range of topics from performance assessment to differentiating instruction. She developed multi-media courses with classroom video and interactive software, including the first online course in educational equity, and numerous mathematics curricula. She has led coordinated large-scale curriculum and standards alignment efforts in all content areas, and facilitated teacher teams to develop Common Core exemplars in conjunction with the Massachusetts Department of Education.Ronit’s passions are empowering educators with practical ways to infuse research into teaching and learning, and using innovative models to expand student outcomes. She co-founded a 1:1 STEM Early College Middle-High School, co-facilitated International Baccalaureate elementary school implementation, formed school-business-university partnerships for non-profit and corporate STEM programs, and is a statewide leader with the Governor’s STEM initiative. Ronit graduated early from Brandeis University with a B.A. in Biology and earned her Ed.M. from Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Areas of Expertise

• Curriculum planning using the Understanding by Design® framework
• STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)
• Strategic planning; Program Implementation and Evaluation

Available for consulting work in:

• North America

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Susan Clyaton Susan lives in Kelowna BC, Canada. She currently works as an education consultant. During the past 15 years Susan has worked with schools and districts in Canada, the US, South Africa and Singapore. She has presented at ASCD and Learning Forward conferences. Susan’s primary focus is working with schools and districts who want to design curriculum using Understanding by Design®.

Prior to her consulting work Susan was a Faculty Associate for Simon Fraser University (BC) for 3 years. She taught pre-service teachers to design their curriculum using the principles and processes of Understanding by Design and apply their design to motivate their students to pursue deep learning. It was this powerful experience that convinced Susan that Understanding by Design is each K-16 student’s best opportunity for a positive, challenging and worthwhile education.

In the K-12 BC school system Susan was a teacher leader for 10 years. She coordinated professional learning opportunities as well as providing professional learning in assessment design, interactive learning strategies, drug and alcohol prevention, sexual health and child abuse prevention. Prior to this work Susan was an elementary school counselor for 10 years, working primarily with abused children and their families. She also served as president of the BC School Counselors’ Association for 3 years.

Susan began her teaching career in high school physical education, teaching and coaching a variety of sports. She also taught History, Social Studies, Middle School Science and Music (band).

Susan has been a member of Dr. Pat Wolfe’s company, “Mind Matters” since 2000. The ‘fit’ between Understanding by Design and how the human brain learns makes Understanding by Design one of the most defensible education innovations in this century.

During the past 8 years Susan has traveled to Singapore multiple times to work with hundreds of teachers in Singapore’s public education system. The primary focus has been curriculum design using the Understanding by Design framework.

Susan holds a BEd degree from the U. of British Columbia (physical education and history); a Master’s degree from the U. of Victoria (School Counseling) and an EdD from Nova Southeastern U (Educational Leadership).

Areas of Expertise

• Curriculum design using the Understanding by Design® framework
• The brain and learning in school
  • Less is more: chunk and process
  • Using nature’s tools: conversation and cognition
  • Feedback
• Assessment design: performance task and the rest of the assessment plan
• Criteria and Rubrics
• • Co-creating with students
  • Inter-rater reliability rubric design

Available for consulting work in:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia
• Middle East
• Africa

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Greg Curtis Greg Curtis currently operates a private educational consulting practice based in Beijing, China. Greg has extensive experience working in International Schools. He served as the Curriculum Director and Strategic Planning Facilitator at the International School of Beijing for 6 years.  Prior to this, Greg worked for 11 years at the Zurich International School as Head of Curriculum and Professional Development and Director of Information Technology. Greg has been heavily invested in deep, systems-focused school improvement efforts for his entire career. With over 20 years of experience working from early years through high school programs, he has developed considerable expertise in leading curriculum initiatives, 21st century learning, technology infusion, assessment frameworks and change management processes. His work with think tanks and innovative strategic planning processes over the years in Europe and Asia reflects his commitment to upgrading school culture and practice.  His recent work involves a focus on the articulation and assessment of transformative, Vision-driven Impacts from a student learning perspective. He is currently involved with the development of an exciting and innovative reporting systems using student learning dashboards. His website is: www.gregcurtis-consulting.ca

Areas of Expertise

• Futures Visioning and Strategic Planning
• Systems-alignment (school and district level) based on Schooling by Design
• Program Implementation and Evaluation
• Cultivating 21^st century skills
• Curriculum planning using the Understanding by Design® framework

Available for consulting work in:

• Asia
• Australia, New Zealand
• North America (in summer months)

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Opal Dawson Mrs. Dawson is an educational consultant, coach and retired, award winning Pre-K-5 public Montessori School principal with almost 30 years of experience. She has led her school in the implementation of the Understanding by Design Framework with a focus on early childhood and primary school. While principal, Dawson led her school’s implementation of Kentucky’s Teacher Effectiveness System with Danielson’s Enhanced Professional Practice: Using the Framework for Teaching. Additionally, with her school’s Professional Learning Community, Dawson has successfully worked to bring state standards to life in the classroom.

Dawson has taught, led and consulted in Title 1 and Non-Title 1 Schools and her work spans small, large, urban, rural and suburban districts. Opal supports school leaders, district leaders and teachers nationally and internationally in planning and implementing improvement initiatives, capacity building, and supporting high academic achievement for diverse student populations and instructional best practices.

In addition, Mrs. Dawson has worked extensively with educators to adapt protocols for use when analyzing student work that will lead to considering professional practice that affected the work and to inform instructional next steps. Opal has served on Educational Foundations and Boards and she holds B.S. and M.Ed. degrees from the University of Louisville.

Areas of Expertise

• Assessment
• Instructional Coaching
• Instructional Strategies
• Professional Learning Communities
• Student Work Analysis
• Teacher Effectiveness
• Understanding by Design®

Available for consulting work in:

• North America
• International locations on all continents

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Chic Foote Chic is director and senior consultant at her company Helix Consulting based in Auckland, New Zealand. Chic draws on her experience as an educator of more than 35 years experience in her commitment to the development of engaging and relevant curriculum for the future success of all learners as members of our global community. Chic began her career as a teacher and later an assistant principal in New Zealand schools. In the ensuing years Chic has enjoyed working with teachers and school systems, pre-service teacher education, and professional development projects within New Zealand, Australia, the USA, Middle East and Asia. This has included project coordination and leadership, teaching and supervising undergraduates, resource development, facilitating teacher leadership, and developing effective curriculum design. Over the past 15 years this range of experience has led to her becoming known for her skills in analyzing need and designing, coordinating and facilitating targeted professional learning opportunities. Chic is widely experienced in the process of curriculum mapping and the backward design process. In addition to her affiliation with McTighe and Associates, she works as a faculty member of Heidi Hayes Jacobs’ Curriculum 21 team.

Areas of Expertise

• Curriculum design using the Understanding by Design® framework
• Curriculum Mapping
• Strategic planning; Program Implementation and Evaluation

Available for consulting work in:

• Australia and New Zealand
• Asia
• Middle East

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Robert Good Robert (Bob) Good: With over 30 years of experience as an educator, Bob has had the privilege of working as a classroom teacher, district administrator, graduate-level adjunct faculty member, and educational consultant. He taught all core subjects to students in grades 4 – 8 in elementary and middle school environments for 18 years and then served at the school district level for another 13 years in a variety of roles including Assessment Coordinator, Instructional Coach, Director of Assessment & Research, and Director of Instructional Assessment. In addition to developing and managing various district and state assessment systems, Bob was able to build and support educators’ capacity to use assessment information instructionally through professional learning opportunities, hybrid course offerings, and side-by-side coaching.

Throughout his career, Bob has had a passion for the effective use of classroom assessment information to provide feedback to students and to guide instruction. The importance of interacting with students to ensure that they know where they are now and where they need to go cannot be understated. In this light, Bob has worked extensively with teachers and instructional leaders in areas including better understanding of formative and summative uses of information, providing students with discussion opportunities and feedback, and best practices for scoring, grading and assigning credit.

Bob has also provided policy and guidance support at the district and state levels in areas related to assessment, literacy and language development for English Learners, and support for students reading significantly below grade level. He has presented at a variety of conferences and meetings across the country on topics including the implementation and use of standards and assessments, instructional practices, and measurement. Bob holds a BA in Psychology and an MA in Psychoeducational Research from Calif. State Univ., Long Beach and an EdD in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Sarasota.

Areas of Expertise

• Assessment for Learning
• Balanced Assessment Systems
• Criteria and Rubric Development
• Communicating with Students: Best Practices in Discussions, Feedback, Scoring, & Grading
• Formative and Summative Uses of Information
• Integrating Instruction and Assessment for Understanding & Transfer
• Performance Task Design & Use
• Understanding and Using Content Standards Effectively

Available for consulting work in:

• North America
• International locations on all continents

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Andy Greene Currently, Andy Greene is the principal at Candlewood Middle School in the Half Hollow Hills School District in Dix Hills N.Y. He is past president of the Long Island Association of Curriculum and Development and is the current president of the Suffolk County Middle Level Principal Association. In addition to those positions, he acts as a middle level liaison with the New York State Education department, and is an adjunct professor at Stony Brook University. In addition, he is President of the Administrators Association in the Half Hollow Hills School District.

Andy has presented at numerous local and national conferences, and has mentored many newly appointed administrators and teachers.

Areas of Expertise

• Understanding by Design/Leading by Design/Cooperative Learning/Instructional Strategies
• Assessment/Observation and Evaluation

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Jessica Hockett is a Chicago-based independent education consultant and author with expertise in differentiated instruction, standards-aligned curriculum, performance task design, and gifted education. For the past ten years, she has worked with over 70 school districts in the United States and abroad to strengthen and support a wide range of initiatives centered on improving teacher and student learning. This has included providing professional development and design work in the context of detracking secondary classes, implementing co-teaching models, expanding gifted programming opportunities to all students, writing curriculum, and crafting common assessments. Jessica has published a variety of articles, book chapters, and staff development materials related to differentiated instruction and programs and curriculum for advanced learners. She co-authored Exam Schools: Inside America’s Most Selective Public High Schools with Chester E. Finn, Jr. (Princeton University Press), and Differentiated Instruction in Middle and High School: Strategies That Engage All Learners, with Kristina Doubet (ASCD). Jessica’s advanced degrees include a PhD in educational psychology (gifted education emphasis) from the University of Virginia, an M.A.T. in Secondary Education from National-Louis University, and an M.A. in Gifted & Talented Education from the University of Connecticut. Prior to doctoral study, Jessica was secondary teacher in both general and gifted program settings.

Areas of Expertise

• Differentiated Instruction
• Curriculum development using Understanding by Design
• Performance Task Design
• Literacy Instruction
• Common Core Standards in English Language Arts
• Gifted Education
• Lesson Study

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Dr. Amy Heineke Dr. Amy Heineke is the Associate Professor of Bilingual & Bicultural Education in the School of Education at Loyola University Chicago. She holds a Ph.D. in Language and Literacy and M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from Arizona State University, where she began developing her expertise and advocacy related to teaching culturally and linguistically (CLD) students, including those labeled as bilingual and English learners (ELs).

Her work centers on preparing both pre-service and in-service teachers to promote disciplinary learning and language development of all students, with particular lenses on CLD students and ELs. She works extensively with Understanding by Design®, adding the lenses of cultural diversity and language development to the framework to promote rigorous teaching and deeper learning for students from diverse backgrounds.

Amy has published numerous journal articles on preparing teachers to support students’ language development in academic outlets, including the Journal of Teacher Education, Action in Teacher Education, Teacher Education and Practice, Urban Education, Improving Schools, and Teacher Education Quarterly. She recently finished a book entitled Restrictive Language Policy in Practice: English Learners in Arizona, published in 2016 by Multilingual Matters.

With 15 years of experience in teaching EL and bilingual students and teachers in Arizona and Illinois, Dr. Heineke teaches university courses including Assessment of Bilingual Students, Applied Linguistics for Teachers, and Culturally Relevant Literature for Children and Adolescents. She regularly consults with schools and facilitates professional development for educators of CLD students teaching in both English-medium and bilingual settings.

Using the UbD framework in working with:

• Culturally and linguistically diverse students
• English language learners
• Bilingual education
• Academic language development
• Culturally responsive practice

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Sandy Kleinman  Sandy is a national and international educational consultant with more than three decades of experiences that traverse multiple disciplines: developmental neuropsychology, language and literacy development, curriculum design and inquiry-based pedagogical practices, formative and performance-based assessment, culture and international mindedness in education, and learner variability. Weaving together these multiple perspectives has been a cornerstone of her professional work across a variety of positions—school leader, teacher, mentor, professional educator, researcher, advocate, clinician, and program designer—in a wide variety of settings: higher education; PreK-12 schools; clinical settings; and, not-for-profit organizations.

Sandy’s knowledge of how the mind develops frames her understanding of how students learn and how to apply that understanding to the design of educational practice. Sandy has a B.A. from State University of New York at Albany, a M.Ed. from Northeastern University, an Ed.M from Harvard University, and an Ed.D from Harvard University. Currently, in addition to her affiliation with McTighe and Associates, Sandy works with international non-profits focusing on literacy education and curriculum development.

Areas of Expertise:

• Understanding by Design
• Macro Curriculum Design and Planning
• Curriculum Leadership
• The Brain and Learning
• Literacy and Language Development
• Inquiry-Based Instruction: Thinking to Learn
• Formative Assessments and Performance-Based Tasks
• 21^st Century Skills
• Learner Variability

Available for consulting work in:

• North America

• International locations on all continents

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Tom March Tom March works as an independent educational consultant based in New South Wales, Australia. His current work concentrates on supporting systemic preparedness for our next era of education where 1:1 digital access can shift education from assembly line schools to places where all students experience the joy of learning and produce outstanding achievements. At the heart of this change is helping schools develop a curriculum that promotes sophisticated student competencies and deep understandings. Tom began his career in education in as a high school English teacher who loved using technology to engage students in authentic learning challenges. This, plus a willingness to take risks and work hard, earned him recognition as a Teacher of the Year finalist for San Diego County after just five years in the classroom. While a teacher, Tom served as Head of English, IT Coordinator and district technology mentor. After 10 years in the classroom and completion of a Masters degree in Educational Technology and Instructional Design, Tom received a fellowship at San Diego State University where he and his colleagues developed some of the earliest Web sites to support teachers and students. While on staff he also taught pre-service teachers and collaborated with Professor Bernie Dodge to develop the WebQuest. Since those early days, Tom has been “working the Web for education” by designing online curriculum, developing eLearning environments for teachers and combining evidence-based pedagogies with classroom savvy to produce new conceptual frameworks for authentic learning and ICT integration. Tom March frequently keynotes, writes, and facilitates workshops focused on making learning more real, rich and relevant. His website is: www.tommarch.com

Areas of Expertise

• Authentic learning through ITC integration
• Systems thinking applied to school redesign
• Curriculum planning using the Understanding by Design® framework

Available for consulting work in:

• Australia, New Zealand
• International locations in Asia and the Middle East
• North America

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Kim Marshall Kim Marshall worked as a teacher, central office curriculum director, and principal in the Boston Public Schools for 32 years. Since 2002, he has advised and coached school principals through New Leaders for New Schools, taught courses on instructional leadership, conducted numerous workshops on rethinking teacher supervision and evaluation, and published the Marshall Memo, a weekly newsletter that summarizes ideas and research on K-12 education from 64 publications. Kim also taught sex education for more than two decades and has created a 12-lesson curriculum for middle schools that is being implemented in selected schools. Kim has written extensively on effective teaching and school leadership, most often for Phi Delta Kappan and Education Week. His latest book is “Rethinking Teacher Supervision and Evaluation” (Jossey-Bass, 2^nd Ed., 2013). Kim earned his B.A. from Harvard College and Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by Harvard in 1990. Website: www.marshallmemo.com

Areas of expertise

• Understanding by Design® for school leaders and teachers
• Supervision and evaluation of teachers using short, frequent, unannounced classroom visits followed by face-to-face coaching, culminating in end-of-year rubric scoring (Kim is the author of a widely used teacher-evaluation rubric)
• Supervision and evaluation of school leaders (Kim is the author of a widely used principal-evaluation rubric)
• School leader induction and mentoring
• Use of on-the-spot and interim assessments of student learning

Available for consulting work in:

• North America
• Europe
• Singapore
• Australia and New Zealand

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Janelle McGann Janelle McGann currently serves as the Director of Teaching and Learning at a large, K-12 independent school in Perth, Australia. She has worked within the public and independent school sectors for over 25 years in three Australian States, Ireland and the U.S. Her current role involves the strategic leadership of teaching and learning; collaborative leadership, facilitation and development of middle managers and executive processes. She is currently leading a major professional learning project based around peer coaching. Janelle began her career in education as a high school teacher of English and Geography. She facilitated communication workshops and summer courses for adults while living in Ireland. She has served as Head of Geography, Manager of Professional Practice, Head of Boarding and worked as coach, facilitator, executive team member and board member of NFPs. After running successful action research projects with teachers, she completed a Masters’ degree in educational change. Over the years, Janelle has been involved in lectures and projects with various universities and developed a teacher practicum model. Janelle is a self-confessed PD junkie, fascinated by how brain research is giving educators a science for good practice. She has offered numerous workshops and presentations at conferences and for schools and districts, and is an agency trainer for Think Collaborative and Hawker Brownlow Professional Learning.

Areas of expertise

• Curriculum planning using the Understanding by Design® framework
• Understanding by Design® for school leaders
• Instructional strategies
• Coaching and Facilitation

Available for consulting work in:

• Australia
• New Zealand
• Asia

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Hilde McGeehan Hilde McGeehan currently works as an educational consultant. She has presented at various conferences and school districts throughout the United States, and internationally in China, Singapore, Russia, Egypt, Bulgaria and India. Hilde has been a classroom teacher at the elementary, middle, high school and college levels. At the high school and middle school level, she taught both English and German. Hilde spent a month in Germany writing curriculum for teachers of the German language in the United States. As a member of the National Writing and Literacy Project, she co-facilitated the Summer Writing Institute for the Pennsylvania Writing and Literature Project through West Chester University from 1991 to 2005.  She also taught educational methods classes at the University of Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Education, and at Holy Family University in Pennsylvania. For twenty-two years, Hilde served as the Staff Development Coordinator for the Council Rock School District in Pennsylvania.  In this role she planned and facilitated the New Teacher Induction Program.  She initiated the district’s New Teacher/Mentor Program and was responsible for the training of teachers. Hilde also coordinated and presented programs for veteran teachers on a variety of topics.  While employed at Council Rock High School, she participated in several program reviews through the Bucks County Intermediate Unit. Hilde received the Phi Delta Kappa Speakers Award and the Bucks County Programs and Services Advisory Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education. Hilde McGeehan holds a BA in Education and a MA in Curriculum and Instruction from Rider University.

Areas of expertise

• Understanding by Design
• Differentiated Instruction
• Writing and Reading Strategies; Writing across the curriculum
• Instructional Strategies

Available for consulting work in:

• North America
• International locations on all continents

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Daisy McTighe Daisy McTighe is a fine arts consultant, adjunct lecturer and supervisor of intern teachers at two universities in Maryland. Her presentations and work with students and teachers focus on the Understanding by Design® curriculum framework as the basis for instructional planning, curriculum development, assessment, and program development. She has made presentations to teachers and administrators at state and national conferences as well as at international conferences in Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Australia. Daisy retired from Baltimore County Public Schools after 35 years of service. Her work experience ranged from secondary art teacher, high school department chair, resource teacher and program coordinator. As a resource teacher for the county’s Gifted and Talented Art Program, she facilitated the review and assessment of entrance portfolios for the G/T art program, conducted portfolio preparation workshops, coordinated field trips, and directed the Summer Art Enrichment Program. She also served as an instructor at the Maryland Center for the Arts, a statewide enrichment program for highly talented secondary students. In her role as program coordinator, Daisy directed curriculum development and oversaw professional development activities for more than 300 art teachers. She also worked with principals in the hiring, observation, supervision and evaluation of visual arts teachers. Daisy received her BFA and MFA degrees from the Maryland Institute College of Art. She is an active member of the Maryland and National Arts Education Associations (NAEA), and recently received a Lifetime Achievement Award from NAEA. Most recently, she served as consultant and reviewer for the Next Generation Arts Standards Project.

Areas of expertise

• Understanding by Design in the Arts
• Portfolio assessment

Available for consulting work in:

• North America
• International locations on all continents (when traveling with Jay)

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Eric Powell Since he began teaching English in 1994, Erik has enjoyed working with other educators to design and implement engaging, challenging, and meaningful learning experiences for students. Erik has taught at both the high school and college levels, and currently is the English Department Chair at Joel E. Ferris High School in Spokane. Additionally, Erik has been an ASCD Faculty member serving on the UbD Cadre and providing Professional Development across the United States by collaborating with schools and districts to help them reach their professional goals. His work in the classroom was featured in the DVD Moving Forward with Understanding by Design (2007). Erik’s work with The College Board, moreover, includes assessing and aligning standards for pre-AP and AP English, co-authoring materials for College Ed (2010), and serving as Advisor for the AP English Literature Development Committee. He edited and co-authored the Curriculum Module Developing Analytical Skills through Poetry (2012) for use in AP Summer Institutes and other contexts of Professional Development. Most recently, he has co-chaired the Curriculum Development and Assessment Committee for AP English Literature and Composition.

Areas of expertise

• Understanding by Design
• Assessment
• Standards-based Classroom Practices

Available for consulting work in:

• North America
• International locations on all continents

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Elizabeth Rossini Elizabeth Rossini is an educational consultant who has been working nationally and internationally in the areas of curriculum, assessment and instruction for 15 years. Her school-based experience spans grades PK–12 and includes teaching, instructional technology, professional development, and both school-based and central office administration. She has also been an adjunct professor at George Mason University and the University of Virginia in the areas of instructional methodology, curriculum and assessment. For the past two years, Elizabeth took a break from full-time consulting to work at the International School Bangkok (ISB) as the Director of Curriculum and Professional Learning. Along with her colleagues at ISB, Rossini is researching ways to broaden students’ opportunities within a formal school structure to encourage more personalized/apprentice-based learning, and greater development of metacognitive thinking. Rossini has an MEd in instructional technology from George Mason University and an EdS with an administrative endorsement from Virginia Poly-technical Institute (Virginia Tech). She is currently completing her dissertation as part of her PhD program at Virginia Tech in educational leadership and policy studies.

Areas of expertise

• Understanding by Design
• Curriculum Mapping
• Classroom assessment and standards-based grading
• Instructional strategies

Available for consulting work in:

• North America
• International locations on all continents

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Tom Rye Thomas Rye is currently a high school mathematics teacher with 25 years of exemplary classroom experience at the secondary levels. He is a National Board–certified mathematics teacher, department lead at the high school level, and former Teacher of the Year for the state of Washington. He is also currently serving as a Secondary math Coordinator for Spokane Public Schools. He has been a pioneer and leader in the implementation of standards based grading and virtual math courses for secondary schools, promoting virtual learning as an effective vehicle for differentiating math instruction. Thomas has over 10 years of experience as a national educational consultant in the areas of mathematics, Understanding by Design®, and Standards-Based instruction, assessment and grading. He has also served as an adjunct professor of math education for Gonzaga University. Rye’s professional learning focus is on helping educators internalize the ideas of the Understanding by Design® framework for practical use in the classroom. He also specializes in mathematics instruction, Common Core mathematics at the secondary level, standards based instruction, and instructional technology. Thomas has presented at numerous regional, national, and international conferences and for schools and districts across the United States. His passion revolves around promoting high quality, student-centered math instruction.

Areas of expertise

• Understanding by Design
• Mathematics
• Standards Based Grading
• Common Core Standards

Available for consulting work in:

• North America
• International locations on all continents

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Nanci Smith Dr. Nanci Smith operates an educational consulting practice based in Phoenix Arizona. Her work includes professional development in her areas of expertise. Over the course of thirteen years, she has provided professional development in 45 states, working in small, large, urban, rural and suburban districts. Dr. Smith has been a Featured Speaker for The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. She also works internationally, having presented at conferences and institutes in 9 countries, including the Netherlands, Dutch West Indies, Thailand and Turkey. She has worked in International and National schools in Netherlands, Singapore and Japan. She was part of a team working to develop quality curriculum in the Philippines, based on the integration of Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design®. In addition to providing professional development, Smith has conducted mathematics program and curriculum audits for several districts across the country. Dr. Smith taught math at the high school and university level, and fully implemented differentiated instruction in her classroom prior to becoming a full-time consultant. She has taught several Masters level courses in Differentiated Instruction. Dr. Smith received her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, Mathematics Education from Arizona State University. She is Nationally Board Certified in Adolescent and Young Adult Mathematics. Nanci has authored three books in the areas of mathematics and differentiation: A Mind for Mathematics: Meaningful Teaching and Learning in Elementary Classrooms, Every Math Learner: A Doable Approach to Teaching With Student Differences In Mind, Grades K-5 and 6 – 12.  She has co-authored a handbook for classroom instruction entitled A Handbook for Unstoppable Learning, and has published several chapters and articles about effective mathematics instruction, curriculum design, and standards implementation.

Areas of expertise

• Mathematics – Curriculum design and review; professional development
• Common Core State Standards
• Differentiated Instruction
• Curriculum planning using the Understanding by Design® framework
• Working with Mathematics Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)

Available for consulting work in:

• North America
• International locations on all continents

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Susan Starling Sue is an accomplished and inspiring education consultant with a deep commitment to excellence in curriculum, teaching and learning. She is an accredited UbD trainer with a broad range of experience in primary, secondary and tertiary teacher education. As a school principal she successfully implemented the Understanding by Design curriculum framework (Wiggins and McTighe) in her own school, and now consults with other schools to bring about continuous school improvement. Sue coaches leadership teams in using the Schooling by Design framework and backward planning. Sue graduated with a PhD from Flinders University in South Australia in 2013. She provides friendly, flexible service, soundly based on current research and customized to the mission and values of each school.

Areas of expertise

• Understanding by Design
• Whole school reform based on Schooling by Design

Available for consulting work in:

• Australia
• New Zealand

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John Williamson As an experienced educator – classroom teacher, district curriculum director, state curriculum specialist, college professor, and content developer in an international context – John’s primary emphasis is working with districts and systems applying UbD ® across grades and subjects. From developing a plan, to developing units, implementation coaching, districts have seen transforms in teacher instructional practice. With a diverse background in teaching composition and middle school though college and his deep understanding of writing pedagogy, John brings enthusiasm and excitement for helping teachers develop strategies and approaches for teaching writing and reading across the curriculum. John holds Master’s degrees in Educational Administration and English from Columbia University (NY) and Morehead State University (KY) respectively.

Areas of expertise

• Constructing district-level curriculum based on Understanding by Design
• Strategic planning for district curricular change/implementation
• School-wide implementation of Understanding by Design
• Teaching core 21st century skills across the curriculum
• Teaching writing across the curriculum
• Literacy (reading and writing) across the curriculum
• Designing and aligning assessments
• Developing Understanding by Design units
• English/Language Arts curriculum design

Available for consulting work in:

• United States
• Europe

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Mark Wise As an educator with over 25 years of experience in the classroom, district, and state level, Mark is committed to prepare students for success in the 21st century by designing and implementing UbD ® curriculum that forges interdisciplinary connections, embeds global competencies, and requires students to utilize technology in a meaningful way in order to solve real-world problems and address authentic audiences. Mark currently serves as the K-12 Supervisor for Curriculum and Instruction for West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District in New Jersey. Previously, he taught high school history and government in Washington D.C. as well as New Jersey where he was acknowledged for his real-world experiential pedagogy running on his students’ platform for US Senate. Mark did his undergraduate work at UMASS Amherst in political science/history and received his Master’s in Public Policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Mark’s work led to his being recognized as the 2010 Visionary Supervisor/Director of the Year for New Jersey along with receiving CTAUN’s Best Practices Award in 2007 and 2010 for his design work for middle school students to engage in solving global development challenges.

Areas of expertise

• Designing and implementing district-level curriculum based on Understanding by Design® framework
• Cultivating 21st century skills across the curriculum
• Designing real-world authentic assessments and performance tasks
• Designing meaningful summative and formative assessments
• Coaching classroom pedagogy that directly aligns to the UbD philosophy and curriculum

Available for consulting work in:

• Northeast US (located near NYC)
• North America
• International locations on all continents

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Allison Zmuda Allison Zmuda is an author and independent consultant based in Virginia. Allison works with schools and districts to create dynamic learning environments for like-minded educators, parents, and kids. Allison received her undergraduate degree at Yale University and graduated with her teaching certification. She then became a public high school social studies for seven years and earned National Board Teaching Certification during that time. Allison went directly from the classroom to being a consultant and author. She has authored six books, including The Competent Classroom (Teachers College Press 2001), Transforming Schools (ASCD 2004), and Breaking Free from the Myths of Teaching and Learning (ASCD 2010). Her current project is co-founder and curator of a website designed to inspire learning that is challenging, doable, and worthy of the attempt. In addition, her seventh book on Personalized Learning is due out in February 2015. Allison specializes in working with a handful of long-term clients (PK-12) on multi-year projects to support and personalize learning.  She works with schools and districts to reinvigorate curriculum, assessment and instruction She has consulted in over forty states, five provinces in Canada, Russia, and Japan. Her websites are:  http://www.learningpersonalized.com and http://www.competentclassroom.com

Areas of expertise

• Designing curriculum using the Understanding by Design® framework
• Cultivating 21st century skills using summative and formative assessments
• Creating multidisciplinary performance tasks
• Personalized learning
• Unpacking national, state, and provincial standards

Available for consulting work in:

• North America
• Caribbean Islands

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To contact or schedule an associate, e-mail:  jaymctighe@verizon.net