University of Vermont College of Nursing and Health Sciences Lecturer Susan Whitman was selected as the 2021 recipient of the Prelock Online Teaching Award for her course “Intro into Integrative Health” (HLTH101).
Whitman is a Physician Assistant and National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach. She teaches and mentors health coaching students at Duke Integrative Medicine and The University of Vermont in the Integrative Health and Wellness Coaching Certificate Program. She has been active in the healthcare field for over 25 years and helped found the UVM Integrative Health and Wellness Coaching Program in 2019.
The Prelock Online Teaching Award recognizes and rewards superior online asynchronous teaching, provides models of excellence for fellow faculty and encourages all faculty to continue to improve and advance their online teaching pedagogy. The award is named in honor of Provost and Senior Vice President Patricia Prelock, an early adopter of online teaching at UVM.
“I’m honored that my class was chosen for this award. As I created this course in the summer and fall of 2020, my own children were in the midst of online schooling. I learned so much from watching them and it led me to create interesting and varied ways to engage my UVM students – everything from TED talks, meditation apps they could download, scientific journal articles to read, and weekly journaling. The feedback and reaction from students made me realize that it was still possible to connect (and possibly even to connect more!) with students in a non-traditional format.”
Susan Whitman, M.S.
Whitman’s course was selected from over 30 nominations submitted by students and faculty. The review committee was comprised of UVM faculty, UVM Professional and Continuing Education (PACE) non-credit instructors, and UVM online students.
“Success in an online course is measured by engagement, and Susan Whitman is a master at connecting her students to their learning. Susan’s presence with her students in the online medium was extraordinary and set her apart from all the other nominations.”
Provost and Senior Vice President Patricia A. Prelock, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BCS-CL, FNAP-SL
For more information, visit Prelock Online Teaching Award.
