Active methodologies in higher education: Online teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic

Higher education was affected by the outburst of Covid-19, making it necessary to adapt on site teaching to an online modality. This adaptation affected teaching strategies, including active methodologies. The purpose of this study was to examine the use and adaptation of active methodologies during remote teaching in the Law, Education and Nursing degrees at two public universities. In this quantitative study, which employed an online survey, 162 individuals participated including students (n=118) and teaching staff (n=44). The results identified that the adaptation of active methodologies to the new scenario of online teaching was uneven. Students valued the changes positively, although they pointed out the need to improve quality. Teachers highlighted the difficulties they encountered: technical and space issues, management of large groups, and lack of training. Another difficulty mentioned by the cohort referred to the lack of a direct teacher -student and student -student contact. This was perceived to imply lower motivation and participation in class. The impact of the use of these active methodologies had positive effects in terms of learning, including student satisfaction and knowledge transfer. However, negative aspects such as the overload of tasks both for students and teachers was also mentioned. In conclusion, active methodologies promote student participation, involvement, and motivation in on line scenarios, but it is necessary to continue studying how to improve the adaptation of these methodologies to overcome their practical limitations.