From face-to-face classes to the virtual environment: collective health teaching strategies for undergraduate health students

Abstract

The aim of this article is to report on the experience of transitioning a face-to-face course—Fundamentals of Human Health—to a virtual environment. The course was taught to professional training students in the Health field at a private higher education institution.

Using the classes delivered during the pandemic period as a reference, the analysis focuses on the adaptation process of students, teachers, and administrators to the restructuring of the classes; the language and communication used in the remote environment; the role of the institution; and the practices, understood here as the teaching strategies employed in online classes.

It is noted that this initial shift to incorporating different resources into the classroom highlights the student’s role as a central agent in the teaching and learning process. The strategies used are seen here as part of the learning experience for both teachers and students in this new environment, which is increasingly becoming a reality to be considered even after the return to in-person classes.