Congratulations to the 2025 recipients of the Olive Beatrice Stanton Award for Teaching Excellence

Two outstanding educators have been named the 2025 recipients of the Olive Beatrice Stanton Award for Excellence in Teaching.

This prestigious award recognizes University of Manitoba educators who have demonstrated continuing teaching excellence and made significant contributions to advancing teaching and learning at UM.

Jennifer Watt

Professor, Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, Faculty of Education

Students and colleagues alike commend Jennifer Watt for her passion, empathy and creativity, which are having a transformative impact in the field of education.

Watt is deeply committed to advancing equity and social justice in education. Since joining the University of Manitoba in a faculty position in 2017, her teaching has inspired learners at all stages – from first-year undergraduates to experienced educators – to view teaching as a pathway to building a more compassionate and inclusive world.

She played a pivotal role in developing Introduction to Education: What It Means to Teach, a course grounded in the themes of Belonging, Meaning, Purpose, and Hope (outlined in “Mamàhtawisiwin”, a 2022 Manitoba Education and Early Childhood Learning Indigenous education policy document) and the four guiding questions taught by the late Honourable Justice Murray Sinclair. Due to its popularity, the course has expanded from three to five sections, drawing hundreds of undergraduate students. One student reflected, “Her class has taught me so much about the education system and gave me insight into whether teaching was the career for me. I have never felt so welcomed, cared for and appreciated in a classroom.”

Watt’s innovative approaches include thoughtfully designed teaching strategies and assessments that respect student autonomy, honour diversity, and encourage reflection and growth. Her “Choose Your Own Adventure” assignment, for example, offers students multiple pathways to demonstrate their learning in ways that reflect their identities, experiences and aspirations.

She also co-leads the Manitoba Writing Project and co-teaches a Summer Writing Institute with her colleague, Michelle Honeyford. The 6-credit graduate/post-diploma course brings together educators, researchers and writers to explore the transformative power of writing and place-based inquiry. Each year, this unique program is situated in a new context, from King’s Park to public murals and monuments across Manitoba.

Beyond the classroom, Watt shares her expertise widely through a variety of platforms – webinars, podcasts, creative multimedia tools and experiential learning activities, making knowledge accessible and impactful. Her passion for teaching is contagious, and her pedagogy – rooted in care, accountability and community – is shaping the next generation of compassionate, justice-oriented educators.

Wan Wang

Instructor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts

Wan Wang is a dedicated and passionate educator whose teaching has had a profound impact on undergraduate psychology students, particularly in the areas of research methods and assessment.

Wang teaches multiple sessions of three research courses that form the foundation for most programs within the Department of Psychology. Her student-centred approach makes abstract and technically complex research concepts both understandable and engaging. By grounding her pedagogy in self-determination theory, she fosters student motivation and well-being by addressing key needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness.

Her teaching strategies combine rigor with relevance, helping students build competency in critical thinking and problem-solving skills, leading to high engagement. In a glowing review from one student, they noted how Wang put them at ease despite the challenging material: “Dr. Wang is really good at explaining concepts that normally would be daunting and stressful.” She integrates current and relatable content – such as the ethical use of artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT – and develops experiential learning projects that allow students to pursue topics aligned with their own interests. She also demonstrates how their own research activities can contribute to ongoing efforts of reducing barriers to access building a more just society.

Wang is also deeply committed to her own professional growth and to advancing teaching and learning at UM. She regularly participates in teaching workshops both at the university and through external organizations and has received funding for research projects that enhance student learning, supported by the Provost’s Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Support Fund and the Faculty of Arts’ Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund. A strong advocate for knowledge mobilization, she actively shares her research findings and teaching practices with colleagues. Since joining UM in 2019, she has received multiple teaching awards from both university administrative units and student-led organizations.

Through her exemplary dedication and innovative use of psychological principles in teaching, Wang has positively impacted thousands of undergraduate students in the Department of Psychology.