Pedagogical skills for virtual and face-to-face teaching performance

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic posed a challenge to education systems around the world. To ensure continued instruction, there was a shift from face-to-face education to remote education. The School of Public Health of Mexico was no exception. Teaching had to be redesigned to fit the new context of non-face-to-face education.  A diagnosis was carried out to identify professor training and continuing education needs in order to meet the challenge. The results revealed deficiencies in the use and management of technological tools, teaching strategies, didactic planning and learning assessment. Therefore, a faculty training strategy was implemented under an in-action research design. During the process, professors strengthened their skills in the use of technological tools, expanded their pedagogical knowledge, improved their teaching and motivational skills, and worked collaboratively with other professors. Finally, the experience of this research shows us the need to pursue a continuous and articulated training strategy that allows for dialogue and reflection on what is known and what is practiced to gradually improve teaching performance.