Thursday, November 29, 2012

Dr James Arvanitakis from the University of Western Sydney has been named Australian University Teacher of the Year.

At a special awards ceremony in Canberra, on November 19, Dr Arvanitakis was recognised by the Australian Government Office of Learning and Teaching (OLT) as one of the nation’s most outstanding university teachers.

The OLT Teaching Awards give recognition to teachers who are renowned for excellence in their fields; who have outstanding presentation skills; and who have made a broad and deep contribution to enhancing the quality of learning and teaching in higher education.

Dr James Arvanitakis is a senior lecturer in Humanities at the University of Western Sydney and a member of the University’s Institute for Culture and Society. His tutorials feature open phone lines for students to text-in questions, flash mob dances to explain chaos theory, and YouTube videos discussing the history of sociology using SpongeBob Square Pants.

The Australian: 'Pirate' captivates his students