Online (remote) education and Covid-19: teachers' experience in medical education mediated by active methodologies

Abstract: Introduction: In 2020, aiming to contain the progression of the Coronavirus pandemic, social distancing was determined by reducing interactions between people. The educational institutions were closed and distance teaching-learning was applied using digital technologies for study continuity. The closing of a community university in Santa Catarina, in the medical course, implied in a disruptive situation regarding the teaching format, since they use active methodologies and these had not been applied digitally up to that moment. From these circumstances, one asks how the faculty perceives and experiences this new reality. Objective: This study aimed to understand the experiences of educators teaching from the first to the fourth year of medical school using active methodologies during the remote education activities at the emergence of the Coronavirus pandemic aiming at understanding the impacts on learning. Method: This is a field research with an exploratory objective and a quantitative-qualitative approach. This study has been analyzed by the Research Ethics Committee. The participants were contacted by electronics means and were invited to answer a two-step questionnaire using the Google Forms platform, containing objective and descriptive questions regarding their experience with remote teaching. Data analysis was performed by statistics, by thematic content analysis and by correlation analysis, and the findings were compared using the theoretical reference. Result: Twenty-nine teachers answered the survey. Most of them felt, at least, partially prepared to work in the remote education and guidance and requests for help were not related to the preparation. Facilities and weaknesses related to the technology were observed. Computers, cell phones and Google Meet were the recourses most often used. Adaptations for the materials used in face-to-face classes were necessary, but in some cases, they were not satisfactory. The pedagogical activities were accomplished within the proposed ones, but two-thirds of the teachers believed there were losses related to study quality and half of them adjusted their behavior to virtual class mediation. Conclusion: The transition to the digital teaching format constituted a challenge for the teachers. The learning process was compromised; however, benefits and potentials were observed. A change is occurring in society and digital teaching is being solidified and training is essential to support this process in active methodologies.

摘要：
引言：2020年，为遏制新冠（Coronavirus）疫情蔓延，各国通过减少人际互动推行社交距离防疫措施。各级教育机构被迫关停，转而依托数字技术开展远程教学活动，以保障教学连续性。巴西圣卡塔琳娜州（Santa Catarina）某社区大学的医学专业因此遭遇了教学模式的颠覆性变革——该专业此前一贯采用主动教学法（active methodologies），且彼时尚未将该方法进行数字化应用。在此背景下，本研究旨在探究教职员工如何感知并亲历这一全新教学现实。

研究目的：本研究旨在理解新冠疫情突发期间，采用主动教学法的医学专业一至四年级授课教师在远程教学活动中的亲历体验，以探析该模式对学习效果的影响。

研究方法：本研究属于探索性实地研究，采用定量与定性相结合的研究范式。本研究已通过研究伦理委员会（Research Ethics Committee）审查。研究人员通过电子渠道联络参与者，邀请其完成分两阶段的谷歌表单（Google Forms）问卷，问卷涵盖关于其远程教学体验的客观题与描述性问题。数据分析采用统计分析、主题内容分析与相关分析方法，并结合理论参考框架对研究结果进行比对阐释。

研究结果：共有29名教师参与了本次调研。绝大多数教师至少在一定程度上具备远程教学与辅导的能力，而求助需求与教师的前期准备程度并无关联。研究团队观察到与技术相关的优势与局限：计算机、移动设备与谷歌会议（Google Meet）是最常用的教学资源。线下课堂所用教学材料需进行适配改造，但部分调整效果并不理想。尽管教学活动均按计划完成，但三分之二的教师认为教学质量出现了下滑；另有半数教师调整了自身行为以适配虚拟课堂的教学组织工作。

研究结论：向数字化教学模式的转型对教师而言是一项重大挑战。尽管学习过程受到了一定影响，但本次转型亦展现出相应的优势与发展潜力。当前社会正在发生深刻变革，数字化教学模式正逐步固化，因此针对主动教学法的专项培训是支撑该转型进程的核心要素。