Douglas Fisher, Ph.D., is a professor of educational leadership at San Diego State University and a teacher leader at Health Sciences High & Middle College. He is the recipient of an International Reading Association Celebrate Literacy Award and the Farmer Award for excellence in writing from the National Council of Teachers of English, as well as a Christa McAuliffe Award for excellence in teacher education. He has published numerous articles on reading and literacy, differentiated instruction, and curriculum design as well as books, such as Checking for Understanding: Formative Assessments for Your Classroom, Better Learning Through Structured Teaching, Enhancing RTI: How to Ensure Success with Effective Classroom Instruction and Intervention, and Text Complexity. He can be reached at dfisher@mail.sdsu.edu.