SAGE and announces winners of the Society for Teaching of Psychology TIPD Award

Los Angeles, CA - SAGE and the Society for Teaching of Psychology (STP) are delighted to announce that Jennifer Stiegler-Balfour, assistant professor at the University of New England, and Kasey Powers, graduate student at The Graduate Center, CUNY, are the winners of the 2014 Teaching Innovations & Professional Development Award (TIPD). Given out annually, the award is designed to defray costs for one early-career faculty member and one graduate student attending the STP program at the American Psychological Association (APA) Convention, taking place August 7-10, 2014 in Washington, D.C.

"I am thrilled to have been selected as the recipient of the SAGE/STP Teaching Innovations and Professional Development award,” commented Stiegler. “As an early career psychologist, the resources available through STP have proven to be invaluable. I am looking forward to continuing to help raise awareness for STP as well as the benefits of Science of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) programs. My participation in this year's APA conference program will serve as a powerful platform for further improving my skills as an educator and researcher.​"

Jennifer Stiegler-Balfour received a Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from the University of New Hampshire. She developed her teaching expertise as a graduate teaching assistant for three years before she started as an assistant professor of psychology at the University of New England. Some classes she has taught in psychology include Research Methods, statistics, and Cognition and Memory.

Kasey Powers is currently an instructor at College of Staten Island, CUNY teaching introductory and developmental psychology courses while pursuing a Ph.D. in developmental psychology at The Graduate Center. She received early teaching experience as an academic mentor during her undergraduate career and has brought her expertise to several conference presentations where she has spoken about teaching and psychology.

“When I found out I won, I was excited to be receiving such a generous award. It really is an honor to be recognized,” said Powers. “Teaching is a huge part of my graduate studies and I spend each semester working on becoming a better instructor. I look forward to coming home from APA with new ideas to implement and share.”

A division of APA, STP advances understanding of psychology by promoting excellence in teaching and learning. The Society strives to advance the scholarship of teaching and learning, advocate for the needs of teachers of psychology, foster partnerships across academic settings, and increase recognition of the value of the teaching profession.

“Driven by the belief that flourishing educational programs lie at the foundation of any healthy society, SAGE is happy to support scholars at all points in their careers,” commented Michele Sordi, Vice President, Editorial. “Stiegler-Balfour and Powers have demonstrated real passion for both teaching and research in psychology, and we are delighted that they will have the opportunity to learn from leaders in their field at the APA Convention.”

For more information about the APA Annual Convention, please visit http://www.apa.org/convention/.