A Brief History of SCIPIE

The Scholarly Consortium of Innovative Psychology in Education (SCIPIE) was organized by a group of educational psychologists to plan a series of small, workshop-oriented conferences that allow for extended conversations about innovative research projects. Their emphasis was to tackle research currently in progress can challenging problems that researchers face in educational psychology research. 

The biennial conferences were developed to provide researchers a venue to discuss research and to provide graduate students with opportunities for participation in authentic conversations. The conference workshops allow for extended and focused discussions and support innovations and progress in educational psychology in ways that larger professional meetings can not.  

SCIPIE Leadership

The SCIPIE board is responsible for organizing the biennial conference and maintaining a vibrant and engaged group of scholars focused on innovative psychology in education. Board members are elected to two year terms by a vote of the organization members. Presidents serve a total of six years, two years in each presidential role.    

SCIPIE Board 2024-2025

  • President: Benjamin Heddy, University of Oklahoma

  • Past-President: Karlyn Adams-Wiggins, Portland State University

  • President-elect: Christine Bae, Virginia Commonwealth University

  • Treasurer: Robert Danielson, Washington State University

  • Secretary: Mary Hershberger, Texas Tech University

  • Communications Coordinator: Vanessa Vongkulluksn, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

  • Member at Large: Faiza Jamil, Clemson University

  • Member at Large: Brooke Harris-Thomas, Purdue University

  • Member at Large: Alison Koenka, University of Oklahoma

Graduate Student Support

  • Graduate Student Assistant (Board), Kanvarbir Gill, University of Oklahoma

  • Graduate Student Assistant (Board), Jakob Gowell, University of Oklahoma

Charter Members 

  • Jenefer Husman, Arizona State University

  • Barbara Greene, University of Oklahoma

  • Douglas Kauffman, Eastern Connecticut State University

  • Terri DeBacker, University of Oklahoma

  • Terri Flowerday, University of New Mexico

  • Ralph E. Reynolds, Iowa State University

  • Gale M. Sinatra, University of Southern California

  • Lisa D. Bendixen, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Legacy Members

  • Jessica Summers, University of Arizona

  • John Hilpert, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

  • Martin Jones, University of New Mexico

  • Denise Winsor, University of Memphis

  • Gwen Marchand, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Past Conferences 

  • 2005; UNLV; Student Beliefs: Motivation, Cognition, and Epistemology

  • 2007; ASU; What Makes Teaching and Learning about Science Difficult?

  • 2009; UNLV; The Influence of Culture on Teaching and learning: Challenges and Opportunities.

  • 2011; OU; Building Capacity for STEM Research through Innovations in Psychology and Education

  • 2013; UA; Teaching and Learning from Multiple Perspectives: Coming Together to Create New Meaning.

  • 2015; UNM; Shaping research in educational psychology: Implications of world views, perceptual filters and multiple perspectives for theory and method

  • 2017; UNLV; Examining the Landscape of Educational Psychology: Context and Change

  • 2019; GSU; Complex and Critical Perspectives on Learning

  • 2021; Virtual; Power and Knowledge: Implications for Our Social World

  • 2023; PSU; Transformational Ideas for Times of Transition: Re-Imagining and Expanding Ed Psych Theory and Concepts