Yurgos (Georgios) Politis

Position: 
Director of Certificate of Teaching in Higher Education (CEU Doctoral students)
Rank: 
Lecturer

Contact information

Building: 
Vienna, Quellenstrasse 51
Room: 
C314

I have been involved with the redesign of the curriculum for the Certificate of Teaching in Higher Education (aimed at doctoral students) where i facilitate/co-facilitate:

Foundations of Teaching in Higher Education (Didactics, which includes Teaching Philosophy, Lesson Planning & Observation of Teaching sessions)
Learning by Design (Pedagogy, which includes curriculum design, syllabus creation and assessment and facilitation approaches)
Inquiry Based Learning (Active learning approaches)
Supervision of Undergraduate Research

I am also involved with the Certificate of Teaching in Higher Education for our new faculty. I facilitate the Discipline Specific Pedagogies module which offers faculty the opportunity to engage in Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. I also teach a session on research supervision.
I have also delivered workshops on research design, research supervision and research ethics and integrity to Open Society University Network (OSUN) institutions.

Academic Year 2023/24

Co-ordinator of Foundations of Teaching in Higher Education (YELC6101)

Teaching duties:

  • Foundations of Teaching in Higher Education: Seminar (YELC6101)
  • Foundations of Teaching in Higher Education: Practicum (YELC6103)
  • Learning by Design (YELC6105)
  • Discipline Specific Pedagogies and the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (YELC6251 & 6252)
  • Inquiry Based Learning (YELC6151)
  • Supervising Undergraduate Research (YELC6160)

Advisor:

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning projects (YELC6251 & 6252)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hold a BSc in Physics, with included Initial Teacher Education in year 4. My PhD was in the field of Physics Education and he has an MA in Education. I have been awarded the Fellow status of the Higher Education Academy for my teaching, learning and assssment approaches and practices. My research interests since then have been diversified and cover areas such as inclusive education, adult education, lifelong learning and higher education. I was involved with a few international, inter-disciplinary and collaborative research projects, namely, EUROAC, UNIBILITY, COMMIT, ERSALE and Inclusive Learning. More recently, I held a Marie Curie Fellowship, which entailed a 2-year visiting scholar period at Michigan State University.  

At my previous post at the Technological University Dublin I was teaching on the MSc in Education (Education Research Design) and PG Cert in University Learning and Teaching (Teaching observations and microteaching). I was a co-ordinator of the module on Undergraduate Supervision of Projects and a co-ordinator for the Negotiated Study module. Moreover, I developed and delivered CPD short courses/workshops for internal or external higher education staff, on topics such as Lesson Planning, Online Practicals, and Inquiry Based Learning. I also developed resources aimed primarily at early career academics, such as:
  • Making your teaching interactive & learner centred

  • Integrating digital tools to teaching material 

  • Active Learning – Group work 

  • Scaffolding group work and projects 

  • Teaching large groups 

 

I am a founding member of the Neurodiversity in Design Group and the Early Career Higher Education Researchers Network. 

I have secured 425,018€ in funding to date from international funders (European Commission – Marie Curie & Erasmus + ; European Science Foundation) and national funders (UCD, Respect).” 

 

Relevant Publications 

JOURNAL ARTICLES 

  • Politis, Y., Deveril, D., Baldiris Navarro, S., Avila, C., de Lera, E., Monjo, T. and, Goodman, L. (2014). Introducing the Inclusive Learning Handbook: an OER for teachers and policy makers. Valencia: IATED Academy Publishing. 

 

BOOK CHAPTERS 

  • Politis, Y., Newbutt, N., Robb, N., Kuo, H.J., Sung, C. & Boyle, B. (2020). Case Studies of Users with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities: Showcasing Their Roles in Early Stages of VR Training Development In: A. Brooks, S. Braham, B. Kapralos, A. Nakajima, J. Tyerman & L.C. Jain (Eds.), Recent Advances in Technologies of Inclusive Well-Being: Virtual patients, gamification and simulation. Dordrecht: Springer. 

  • Robb, N., Boyle, B. Politis, Y., Newbutt, N., Kuo, H.J. & Sung, C. (2020). Participatory technology design for autism and cognitive disabilities: a narrative overview of issues and techniques. In: A. Brooks, S. Braham, B. Kapralos, A. Nakajima, J. Tyerman & L.C. Jain (Eds.), Recent Advances in Technologies of Inclusive Well-Being: Virtual patients, gamification and simulation. Dordrecht: Springer. 
  • Murphy, E., Politis, Y. and Slowey, M. (2015). Contributing to an evidence base for the enhancement of the experiences and outcomes of mature students at an Irish University. In, F.M. Ribeiro, B. Culum & Y. PolitisNew Voices in Higher Education Research and Scholarship. Hershey (PA): IGI Global. 

  • Clarke, M., Drennan, J., Hyde, A. and Politis, Y. (2014). Academics’ perceptions of their professional contexts. In T. Fumasoli, G. Goastellec & B. Kehm (Eds). Academic Careers in Europe - Trends, Challenges, PerspectivesDortrecht: Springer. 

  • Drennan, J., Clarke, M., Hyde, A. and Politis, Y. (2013). The Research Function of the Academic Profession in Europe. In U. Teichler and E.A. Höhle, (Eds). The Work Situation of the Academic Profession in Europe: Findings of a Survey in Twelve European Countries. Dordrecht: Springer. 

 

EDITED BOOK 

  • Ribeiro, F.M., Culum, B. and Politis, Y. (Eds.) (2015). New Voices in Higher Education Research and Scholarship. Hershey (PA): IGI Global 

 

REPORTS 

  • Clarke, M., Drennan, J., Harmon, D., Hyde, A. and Politis, Y. (2015). The Academic Profession in Ireland. Dublin: UCD 

  • Politis, Y. (2012). The National Induction Programme for Teachers (NIPT): ATECI commissioned report 2010-12. 

 

 

Relevant Research Interests 

I received ethics approval on a project entitled Academic Professional Development. The project will use a Participatory Design approach to develop the outline of a CPD workshop. The topic of the workshop will be decided upon by the participants of focus group(s). This topic is very timely for the Irish context, since there is a new National Professional Development Framework that encourages academic Professional Development opportunities through formal and non-formal means such as workshops and seminars. They have applied to the National Forum (NF) for the enhancement of Teaching and Learning for funding to host a seminar on the topic. This project would be a pilot to a future funding application to the NF. 

 

I am involved with a collaborative project with a colleague from the University of Kentucky entitled Gender Bias in Science Textbooks (GBiST), which will examine the genderness levels (i.e., gender bias) of an Irish Science textbook, through the use of the Gender Bias 14 tool. This unfunded project will lead to a follow-up project examining the genderness levels of an American Science textbook, for a similar age group, and will lead to a funding application to the Spencer Foundation. 

Qualification

PhD, Physics Education, University College Dublin
MA in Education, University College Dublin
BSc Physics (+ teacher training), National University of Athens

Publications List