Alexander W. Chizhik received his PhD from UCLA and is an Associate Professor of Education at San Diego State University and faculty at the Center for Research in Mathematics and Science Education. His program of research focuses on equity in collaborative group learning and preservice teachers' attitudes toward social justice education. He is currently working on an NSF-sponsored research project that involves developing a collaborative-learning curriculum for introductory computer science programming courses.

Robert K. Shelly received his PhD from Michigan State University and is Professor of Sociology at Ohio University. His research examines the mechanisms used to communicate status advantages in task groups and the role of social identity in status processes. He has recently co-edited an issue of Sociological Focus on Group Processes and published work in Current Research in Social Psychology on emergence of inequality in learning groups.

Lisa Troyer received her PhD from Stanford and is Professor of Sociology and Senior Associate to the President at the University of Connecticut. Her research focuses on innovation and change in groups and organizations, with a particular emphasis on the role of technology in innovation and change processes. Currently, she is co-investigator on two projects – one examining the role of technology and parenting in eliciting prosocial change in teen driving behaviors; and the second involving the use of game-theoretic strategies to generate de-escalation of aggression on a macro scale.