Teaching
This document contains my written assignments for obtaining a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Teaching in Higher Education. They stem from my effort to implement the taught principles and ideas that were instinctively formed during my time as a student or teacher. Assignments 1, 2 and 4 mainly refer to the Course Biochemistry II, which I designed and delivered in parallel with the CAS program with the challenge to teach demanding topics of metabolism, which were out of my comfort zone of expertise, in a large and heterogeneous audience. Assignment 5 refers to obtaining feedback and improving the interactive Biochemistry II practical course. Last, assignment 4 refers to mentoring Bachelor projects and addresses challenges such as how to fit the role of a supervisor, a leader and an evaluator in the same person and how to train necessary research skills in a limited period of two months.
Some of the most challenging points were to me:
How to motivate students to participate in classes with heavy and sterile workloads (like metabolism) (chapter 2)
How to effectively combine the roles of a mentor and an evaluator in the same person (chapter 6)
Research-based evidence on what makes someone a good leader (chapter 4) and a good teacher (chapter 6)
How to monitor and report the opinion of students in your course (chapter 5)
How to build a new course from scratch (chapter 1)
I hope this document will help anyone teaching Biochemistry in an academic setting.
2024-Karousis-Teaching biochemistry at the University.pdfStatement of teaching
The continuous development of my mentoring skills is a major career goal of mine. I am devoted to the education of the next generation of scientists, and during the last 15 years, I have been continuously contributing to the curriculum as a tutor, assistant, or lecturer. I designed, implemented, and evaluated practical courses and supervised the research projects of more than twenty Bachelor and Master Students. During these years, I highly appreciated the value of sharing knowledge with younger peers, some of whom joined my research endeavors and proved to be great collaborators. I continue developing my mentoring and teaching skills by attending a program of advanced studies in academic teaching (CAS HE UniBern).
Teaching activities
2023-2024
Participating in the production team of the new series of school biology books in Greece.
Lecturer Biochemistry III (40% of the course, responsible for the course) (University of Bern)
Lecturer Biochemistry II (40% of the course, responsible for the course) (University of Bern)
2 Bachelor and 2 Master thesis Supervisor (University of Bern)
Teaching assistant/Lecturer (Biochemistry II Lab course, University of Bern)
2022-2023
Participating in the production team of the new series of school biology books in Greece.
Lecturer Biochemistry III (40% of the course, responsible for the course) (University of Bern)
Lecturer Biochemistry II (40% of the course, responsible for the course) (University of Bern)
Bachelor thesis Supervisor (University of Bern)
Teaching assistant/Lecturer (Biochemistry II Lab course, University of Bern)
2021-2022
Lecturer Biochemistry III (40% of the course, responsible for the course) (University of Bern)
Bachelor thesis Supervisor (University of Bern)
Teaching assistant/Lecturer (Biochemistry II Lab course, University of Bern)
2019-2021
Lecturer Biochemistry III (33% of the course) (University of Bern)
Bachelor thesis Supervisor (University of Bern)
Teaching assistant/Lecturer (Biochemistry II Lab course, University of Bern)
2018-2019
Lecturer Biochemistry III (33% of the course) (University of Bern)
Bachelor thesis Supervisor (University of Bern)
Teaching assistant/Lecturer (Biochemistry II Lab course, University of Bern)
2017-2018
Lecturer Biochemistry III (33% of the course) (University of Bern)
Master thesis Supervisor (University of Bern)
Project leader (Biochemistry II Lab course, University of Bern)
2016-2017
Lecturer Biochemistry III (20% of the course) (University of Bern)
Lecturer Journal Club (25% of the course, University of Bern)
Master thesis Supervisor (University of Bern)
Teaching assistant/Lecturer (Biochemistry II Lab course, University of Bern)
2014-2016
Bachelor thesis Supervisor (University of Bern)
Master thesis Supervisor (University of Bern)
Teaching assistant (Biochemistry II Lab course, University of Bern)
2008-2014
Teaching assistant (Biochemistry I and II, Clinical Chemistry, University of Athens)
Private tutor (Independent)
2009-2014
Bachelor thesis Supervisor (University of Athens)
Master thesis Supervisor (University of Athens)