Teaching for competence and active methodologies: repercussion in the effectiveness of remote classes adopted during the pandemic Covid-19.

Abstract

Remote classes were part of the strategy to face the Covid-19 pandemic, showing latent weaknesses in world education regarding inequalities in access to technology. Starting from the conception that some institutions had already instituted teaching by competence and active methodologies with the use of technology, we questioned the compatibility with the intrinsic processes to remote classes. We perform qualitative and quantitative analyzes about perception, argument and performance of 156 students  from the 1st and 7th period of the Biological Sciences course of a private institution in southern Brazil submitted to classroom lessons in 2018 and 2019 and remote classes in 2020. Through an online questionnaire, students reported their feelings related to the pandemic, benefits and limitations of remote classes and assessed learning, the efficiency of active methodologies and teaching by competence. Although students showed feelings of sadness and frustration with social withdrawal, they identified benefits in remote classes related to convenience and mobility and limitations such as accessibility and quality of the connection. However, they did not indicate methodological limitations and negative impact on learning, showing identification with the discipline, receptivity and understanding with emergency changes, valuing the performance of teachers and personal commitment. We concluded that the contemporary society demands institutions, teachers and academics prepared for teaching that aims at autonomy and resilience in the face of emergency issues, in which learning is understood can be achieved through different paths, highlighting the construction of knowledge as a competence fundamental.