Teaching and learning during one year of the pandemic at Técnico Lisboa

Abstract

The way Higher Education Institutions replied to the COVID-19 pandemic by moving their activities to digital platforms accelerated the large-scale implementation of remote learning methods, using alternative forms of teaching and academic assessment. Técnico reacted promptly and in the 2nd semester of 2019/2020 adopted emergency distance learning, providing students and teachers with the necessary tools to continue their teaching and learning activities. This new reality led to the implementation of new measures to monitor teaching and learning at Técnico, along with the existing integrated system for quality assurance of course units. The monitoring process continued into the 1st semester of 2020/2021 as well as the teaching adaptations arising from the pandemic situation. Fortunately, the flexibility, adaptability and resilience of all the community, teachers and students, allowed to carry out successfully both semesters marked by a big change. The surveys discussed here show that the perception of the students is that remote teaching enhanced the pedagogical performance of the teachers and improved the organization of the courses. On the other hand, students signaled the effects of lacking communication to the teachers and also between the students themselves.