2020 Patsy J. Mellott Teaching Innovation Award

George Hollich

George Hollich, associate professor in psychological sciences (PSY); Jill Gulker, senior lecturer in psychological sciences; and Erin Sparks Ward, senior lecturer in psychological sciences, are the 2020 winners of the Patsy J. Mellott Teaching Innovation Award. Established by Patsy Mellott (HHS’69), the award supports HHS faculty who demonstrate their excellence and leadership as teachers by proposing significant innovations to enhance the quality of HHS educational programs.

Jill Gulker

Hollich, Gulker and Sparks Ward will apply the award funds toward the costs associated with establishing an online Psychological Fitness Lab. During 2021, the team will work to create a series of Brightspace modules as well as accompanying surveys, activities and videos to help students pursue and achieve psychological fitness. Easily integrated into existing Elementary Psychology (PSY120) courses, the lab will begin with a test to assess students’ stress levels and participation in psychological health-related activities, such as healthy eating, sleep or exercise, and will produce a customized plan for students to develop the areas identified as lacking. From there, the modules are designed to help students de-stress, improve their study skills, plan their futures and connect with campus resources.

Erin Sparks Ward

Because mental health has both short- and long-term effects on student learning, the Psychological Fitness Lab serves to improve students’ overall mental health, engagement and success in psychological sciences.

The Patsy J. Mellott Teaching Innovation Award provides up to $2,500 for one year to individual or small groups of HHS faculty for a wide variety of innovative projects, including but not limited to the design of new courses, the development of new models for teaching existing courses, the creation of new curricula and the purchase of equipment to enrich students’ learning in a course or set of courses. Thus, unlike awards that recognize past teaching accomplishments, the Mellott Award is intended to allow HHS faculty to complete projects that will improve students’ education in the future.

Information about the proposal process and review can be found here.

For more information, please contact Tom Berndt, George Hollich, Jill Gulker or Erin Sparks Ward.

• Tom Berndt, senior associate dean for academic affairs and administration, College of Health and Human Sciences, berndt@purdue.edu.
• George Hollich, associate professor, Department of Psychological Sciences, ghollich@purdue.edu.
• Jill Gulker, senior lecturer, Department of Psychological Sciences, jgulker@purdue.edu.
• Erin Sparks Ward, senior lecturer, Department of Psychological Sciences, ward83@purdue.edu.