Exploring the readiness of a Brazilian technological university during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

PurposeThe paper investigates the learning practices carried out by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the transition from strictly face-to-face to remote teaching in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. It also analyses how these practices could be used as a baseline to support new perspectives on learning in the technological education field.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a single-case study of a Brazilian technological university.FindingsThis study’s findings indicate that institutional planning and providing support to faculty and students were essential measures for a successful transition from face-to-face teaching to emergency remote teaching. Planning includes careful selection by the HEI of the tools that make a virtual learning environment and the strategies used to replace face-to-face teaching with emergency remote teaching. Our study points out the lessons learned during the pandemic. It presents guidelines for HEIs on how to prepare for a return to face-to-face teaching, embodying some learning dimensions such as synchronous or asynchronous, active or passive, individual or collective, and mediated or not mediated by information and communication technologies (ICTs).Originality/valueThe paper provides reflections on the four dimensions to support decisions to leverage learning in each educational institution. This paper's main contribution is that the concept of teaching and learning must be comprehensive and inclusive according to the particular HEI context.