Mark McDaniel is a Professor of Psychology, with a joint appointment in Education, at Washington University in St. Louis. He is the founding co-director of the university’s recently inaugurated Center for Integrative Research on Cognition, Learning, and Education. He graduated with an AB in Psychology and Mathematics from Oberlin College (1974) and received his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado (1980). McDaniel is well-known for his work in the application of cognitive psychological principles to education. Over the past 30 years, he has published over 200 articles, chapters, and edited books in the area of human learning and memory, with numerous papers focused on applying cognition to education. He has published two books to facilitate the dissemination of research literature pertinent to memory and to cognitive aging.

Roddy Roediger is the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor at Washington University in St. Louis, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Science. He graduated with a BA in Psychology from Washington & Lee University (1969) and received his PhD from Yale University (1973) in cognitive psychology. Roediger’s research has centered on human learning and memory, and he has published over 300 articles and chapters on various aspects of cognitive processes involved in remembering. His recent research has primarily focused on applying principles of cognitive psychology to improve learning in educational contexts, especially how testing (or retrieval practice) improves later retention. Retrieving an event or fact or story can strengthen their representation in memory and make them more likely to be retrieved in the future. He has published three textbooks that have been through a combined total of 23 editions and he has co-edited ten other books.