Remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic: repercussions from professors’ perspective

Abstract

Objectives: to understand the repercussions of teaching work in remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic in Higher Education Institutions in northern Santa Catarina. Methods: a qualitative participatory action research, based on Paulo Freire’s theoretical-methodological precepts. Seventeen health professors participated in two Virtual Culture Circles held in the first half of 2021. Results: six generating themes emerged for discussion, which aroused in participants’ feelings and perspectives regarding the remote teaching process in the pandemic context, with an emphasis on the connectivity theme, which generated dialogue through reports of personal experiences. Final Considerations: the pandemic has had repercussions in sectors such as health and education. Professors talked about their experience in creating, recreating and adapting to remote teaching and the challenges facing the teaching-learning process, listing the worsening of mental health and the need to learn new digital technologies.

Analysis of Fatigue Among Nurse Educators in Brazilian Public Universities During the Covid-19 Pandemic

“…While workers in some professions and sectors remained working in their workplaces, others -especially educators -were demanded to work at home, which became their workplaces. Many had to share their work environments with vulnerable family members and teach their children 5,20 . Thus, the participants had to reconcile social distancing and online teaching while keeping an emotional balance and maintaining good physical, mental, and financial health like the remaining population 19,20 .…”

“…Facemasks, hand washing, and social distancing were necessary to prevent the spreading of the virus, and all sectors were affected, including education. Thus, faculty members and students had to adapt to a new teaching modality: online classes 5 .…”

“…Thus, Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) was a temporary alternative that educational institutions adopted to replace face-to-face classes with partially or entirely online classes (depending on the severity of the contagion and local restrictions) to ensure the continuity of education 6 . With such new work models, educators performed synchronous (live) and asynchronous activities (e-mail, virtual learning environments, WhatsApp, among others) while they faced the challenge of establishing connections with students, family members, and colleagues and experienced health concerns and uncertainty surrounding the spread of the virus 2,5 .…”

“…With the advent of the vaccine against Covid-19 and the easing of distancing restrictions, some face-to-face activities were resumed with a blended-learning proposal that integrates educational technologies, where students attend face-to-face classes and complement knowledge with remote teaching 5 . Specifically, many undergraduate nursing programs resumed face-to-face activities, providing real-world simulations in laboratories and activities in health facilities during the pandemic 8 .…”

“…Therefore, the universities' educators needed to organize activities to combine teaching strategies, which required updated and dynamic planning 5 . In addition to the emotional overload caused by the new work demands, educators needed to deal with anxiety and concerns inherent to face-to-face classes during the pandemic, which became an indicator of illness and the development of fatigue 7 .…”