Psychological Sciences
Education and Behavioral Sciences
Ph.D. - University of Georgia, USA
M.Ed. - University of Georgia, USA
M.A. - Seoul National University, South Korea
B.A. - Seoul National University of Education, South Korea
Dr. Sue Hyeon Paek, an Associate Professor at the University of Northern Colorado, received a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and an MEd in Quantitative Methodology. As an emerging scholar, she received awards recognizing her contribution to research on creativity and gifted education such as the Barron Award at the APA Division 10. She has served on the editorial board of Thinking Skills and Creativity and the executive committee of the APA Division 10 as the secretary and the chair of the Microgrant Committee. She participated in several federal and local grant applications on a wide range of research topics, such as STEM education, environmental education, and creative problem-solving.
Dr. Paek has served as an associate editor for Thinking Skills and Creativity and as a member of the editorial board for the Creativity Research Journal.
With 8 years of K–12 and 10 years of postsecondary teaching experience, Dr. Paek has developed a versatile and student-centered approach across face-to-face, hybrid, and online formats. At UNC, she has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in creative education, advanced measurement, meta-analysis, and educational psychology. Grounded in situated learning, her teaching emphasizes real-world contexts and authentic activities, bridging the gap between theory and practice.
Dr. Paek’s research interests are driven by inquiry into informing and improving evidence-based practices in creativity identification and development with an aim to promote the growth and education of individuals with diverse learning needs. She has focused on assessing creativity and what environmental factors systematicallycontribute to shaping its optimal development. More specifically, she has examined: a) how to integrate multiple aspects of creativity in formal and informal assessment to accurately identify creative potential, b) how environmental factors, including how people believe about creativity (implicit theory), affectcreativity identification, and c) how research improves informed decisions that contribute to reducing gaps in academic and creative success.These lines of research have resulted in peer-reviewed publications in field-leading journals, andnumerousconference presentations at local and national venues.
View more of Dr. Paek's work on Google Scholar.
Paek, S. H. (2025) Identifying Creative Potential in Students: Addressing Misconceptions, Inclusivity, and Technological Advancements, Creativity Research Journal, 37 (2), 269-274. [2023 Impact factor: 2.5]
*I am invited as a contributing author for the special issue of Creativity Research Journal titled “Generation C: A New Generation of Creativity Research Stars in the New Millennium.” in partnership with the International Society for the Study of Creativity and Innovation (ISSCI, https://issci.online/) that is devoted to spotlighting 21 emerging leaders in creativity research.
Paek, S. H., Katz-Buonincontro, J., Park, H. J., †Osuagwu, O., & Hurwich, T. (2025). How might creative problem-solving be related to prosocial motivation? An exploratory pilot study. Learning and Individual Differences, 118, 102606. [2023 Impact factor: 3.8]
Paek, S. H. & Kim, M. (2024). Characteristics Explaining Students’ Creative Behaviors in South Korea Using Random Forest. Asia Pacific Education Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-024-09930-z [2023 Impact factor: 2.3]
Sumners, S. E., Paek, S. H. & Cramond, B. (2024). Are creativity tests vulnerable to coaching? Creativity Research Journal. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2024.2335780 [2023 Impact factor: 2.5]
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