Practices and Perceptions in Higher Education: A Multiple Case Study with Faculty Members

Abstract

This study seeks to identify teaching competencies and practices based on testimonies from higher education professionals working at universities and federal institutes in the countryside of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. This is a descriptive qualitative study, based on semi-structured interviews whit 14 participants. The proposed objective is to investigate the practices and perceptions of professors from different areas of higher education, seeking to identify their perceptions regarding how students learn best, as well as to examine how they perceive their own role in the classroom, highlighting the main challenges faced in the implementation of active learning methodologies, especially in light of generational and technological impacts. The research findings reveal that faculty perceptions regarding the application of active learning methodologies are positive and beneficial to the teaching-learning process, fostering student protagonism and engagement. Professors perceive that the incorporation of practices aligned with the constructivist model, in which students assume an active role in the learning process through methodologies such as flipped classrooms, debates, seminars, and investigative activities, significantly contributes to better knowledge acquisition outcomes. The investigation also confirms that professors with pedagogical training demonstrate greater ease and confidence in managing tensions and motivating students to learn. The identification of gaps highlights the need to strengthen communicative, leadership, pedagogical, technological, socio-emotional, and didactic competencies, which, when developed, become effective pedagogical resources. It is concluded that higher education teaching constitutes a multidimensional construct in which different competencies are interconnected and directly influence the quality of the teaching-learning process.