Shortlists announced for Psychology Teacher of the Year Awards 2023

We very much look forward to hearing shortlisted candidates present their work at an online event early in the new year.

Shortlisted for the Pre-tertiary Education Psychology Teacher of the Year Award

Purvi Gandhi

Purvi Gandhi is an experienced educator and mental health advocate. With over 20 years of experience teaching psychology after serving as a practising clinician in the USA and Kenya, Purvi brings a unique blend of expertise to the teaching of psychology.

She is dedicated to using evidence-based approaches to enhance well-being in schools and to foster excellent teaching and learning. Purvi has conducted several action research projects examining the application of psychology to effective teaching and has published journal articles about their impact.

Having previously contributed a chapter to a textbook on management in education which described educational leadership during the pandemic, she is currently writing a guidebook that offers teachers practical strategies to enhance student mental health. Purvi values her collaborations with colleagues from diverse educational settings to develop innovative approaches to promoting psychological literacy in schools. 

She is a part of WomenEd, a fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching and a graduate member of the British Psychological Society.

Lucinda Powell (BSc, PGCE, MA)

Lucinda Powell is assistant director of teaching and learning, and a psychology teacher at Abingdon School. She has taught psychology since 2002 in a variety of schools in London and Oxfordshire.

She also works to support teachers to use evidenced based psychology in all aspects of their classroom practice, her Podcast 'Psychology in the Classroom' brings psychological research directly to the classroom teacher.

In addition, Lucinda works as a coach on the School Mental Health Award at the Carnegie School of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools, runs teacher training and is the lead tutor for the Psychology PGCE for Initial Teacher Training at the National Institute of Teaching and Education (NITE). 

Shortlisted for the Higher Education Psychology Teacher of the Year Award

Ioanna Kapantai

Ioanna is an E&S (Education & Scholarship) lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Exeter. She is also the director for equality, diversity and inclusion in Psychology (shared role) and lead on several initiatives that aim to create more inclusive Higher Education environments.

For example, she works on creating neurodivergent-friendly classrooms that allow all students equal opportunity for participation and success. Her work on neurodiversity has had impact at university level and across different institutions. She has also led on the department's efforts towards decolonising the curriculum as well organised workshops for mature students, created podcasts for students with internal and external speakers and also organise a peer mentorship scheme.

She uses evidence-based approaches and continuously evaluate the impact of such initiatives.

Danijela Serbic

Danijela is a senior lecturer in the Department of Psychology at Royal Holloway, University of London, currently serving as the undergraduate programme director.

Holding the title of chartered psychologist with the British Psychological Society (BPS) and senior fellow of the Higher Education Academy, she brings a wealth of expertise to her roles.

She actively contributes to the field as a member of the BPS Undergraduate Education Committee, where she regularly participates in accrediting undergraduate psychology degrees across the UK and contributes to revising the BPS Standards for undergraduate psychology education.

Recipient of several teaching prizes at her institution, Danijela has been acknowledged for her dedication to teaching, student support, exemplary leadership, and for developing a national teaching profile for her department through her pedagogic group THESIS, which she established and leads.

Through THESIS, she actively fosters innovation and excellence in teaching, providing a platform for students and staff to design and co-design educational activities. In her role as the coordinator of Final Year Projects, Danijela has successfully incorporated employability and open science practices, with presentations and publications showcasing this work.

Her research focuses on student health and wellbeing, specifically highlighting how chronic pain impacts students' psychological, social, and academic functioning, with regular publications on these topics.

Iain Wilson

Dr Iain Wilson C.Psychol SFHEA is a senior lecturer in social sciences (learning and teaching) at Nottingham Trent University. He is passionate about the scholarship of teaching and learning, with particular interests in reflective practice, employability learning and written assessments.

Iain completed a Scholarship Sabbatical (2022-23) evaluating a new model for assessing reflective writing; the Synthesised Model of Reflection, as well as developing resources to support the teaching, learning and assessment of reflection (available on the National Teaching Repository).

His other areas of activity include leading on staff development in learning and teaching across the School of Social Sciences, for example, supporting applications for the Higher Education Academy Fellowship scheme. Iain has previous experience as Course Leader for the MSc/PGDip Psychology Conversion Course (BPS accredited) and contributes to specialist teaching on employability-focused and occupational psychology modules.