The Centre for Teaching and Learning of the University of West Attica successfully organized the 1st Conference. The event took place on Saturday, September 30, 2023, from 9:30 to 17:30 at the Ancient Grove Campus, Conference Centre.
The conference was introduced by the Vice-Rector for Research, Innovation and Lifelong Learning of the University of West Attica, Prof. P. Kalantonis. This was followed by an introduction by the Centre’s Steering Committee on the CTL’s progress since its establishment, as well as a brief description of its aspirations for the next steps. In fact, Prof. I. Psaromiligkos presented the results of a survey on the causes of delays in the graduation of University students, in order to highlight the importance of improving the quality of education in academia.
The first round table entitled “Centres of Teaching & Learning and Quality in Higher Education” was moderated by Prof. E. Papageorgiou, Member of the Board of Governors of UniWA, who stressed the importance of the CTL for upgrading of the educational work at the university. This was followed by a video of the interviews of Mr. The video was followed by an interview of Prof. Ath. Karalis, Head of the CTL of the University of Patras, and Prof. K. Kedraka, Head of the CTL at Democritus University of Thrace, on quality in Higher Education. Moving on to an open discussion, Prof. Pr. Giannas addressed the issue of teaching evaluation, especially at a time when major technological changes require the development of hybrid teaching models. Prof. G. Pierrakos raised a reflection on the concept of learning in universities, stressing the importance of adopting a holistic approach oriented to both research and teaching.
This was followed by presentations on some approaches to AI in Education. In the first talk, eDoer, an open AI platform for personalized learning and teaching, was presented. After mentioning the purpose of creating this platform and highlighting its features, the presenter proceeded to demonstrate a demo and resolve questions about its use. The second talk referred to more theoretical elements about AI and its use in Higher Education. Then the focus was on ChatGPT, the AI language model, with reference to its advantages and disadvantages in the educational process, as well as a demonstration of examples of its use by a university professor.
The second round table, entitled “The supervisory relationship in higher education: its dynamics and function“, was moderated by Prof. K. Petrogiannis, Chairman of the Department of Early Childhood Education and Care of UniWA, who posed pertinent questions from their experience to Ms. Manousou, Ms. Ragousi and Ms. Angeli. The discussion in this panel was about the dual relationship between the supervisor and the supervisee. This is a complex relationship with a dynamic nature, which is influenced by many factors (social, economic, psychological, etc.). Typically the relationship is dissolved either by obtaining a degree or by discontinuing studies. It is therefore very important that the supervisor communicates honestly with the supervisee and that there is discussion and understanding of the student’s daily life, so that demands are realistic at times. Thus, the binary relationship will not be transactional, but deep and meaningful. Also, very important elements are considered to be a) the reflection of the supervisor to self-assess the style of supervision and whether it is appropriate for the particular supervisee and b) the training of the professor as a supervisor. In fact, Prof. Petrogiannis mentioned some of the elements that a good professor and supervisor should have, such as acting as a mentor with mutual respect, providing psychological support with empathy, giving advice and encouragement, supporting and keeping the student’s morale high, being able to adopt flexible supervision strategies, providing adequate time, motivating and being there for whatever is needed in this journey.
The conference concluded with a workshop conducted by Dr. P. Vlahopoulos, Vice President for Academic Affairs at the American College of Greece and Professor Emeritus of Educational Technology at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, and Dr. I. Kalaitzidis, Associate Professor at the American College of Greece. After briefly analyzing the methodology for Team – Based Learning (TBL), which Dr. Vlahopoulos had presented at the 4th workshop of CTL UniWA, they proceeded to the practical implementation of the 6 steps (Individual pre-class work, Individual Readiness Assurance Test, Team Readiness Assurance Test, Appeals, Clarification Session, Application Activities) through a scenario they had created themselves, in order for the participants to see its implementation from the student’s perspective. Questions were expressed by the audience and answers were provided by the two professors. Thus, the conference was concluded through a fruitful osmosis of the learning community created during the 1st Learning Cycle of the CTL UniWA.
You can watch the conference in Greek on Center for Teaching & Learning @ UniWA youtube channel:
- Greetings
- CTL UniWA: A Year of Creativity, Transformation and Learning
- Centres of Teaching & Learning and Quality in Higher Education (round table)
- Approaches of Artificial Intelligence in Education (demonstration of prototype tools)
- The supervisory relationship in higher education (round table)
- Team-Based Learning (Workshop)
