Abstract:

Due to the context of the health emergency, learning through digital channels has increased. However, a full transfer from the face-to-face educational environment to the virtual one requires the presence of certain didactic competencies that ensure successful learning by students. The present study aimed to know which didactic competencies are most valued by university teachers in the context of virtual learning. A qualitative approach research was carried out, with a phenomenological design. The sample consisted of 19 teachers who currently work at various universities in Lima, Peru. The participants responded to a semi-structured interview guide that was made up of 2 main questions, which allowed cross-examining the information that needed to be deepened. The questions were as follows: (1) What didactic competencies do you consider to be the most important for learning to be successful in the virtual education context? and (2) Do you consider that you have these skills? The analysis of the answers was carried out by the Atlas.ti (version 7) software.

It was found that the most valued didactic competencies were: (1) Create and maintain a friendly and empathetic learning environment so that students feel comfortable to participate, (2) incorporate various collaborative digital tools into the activities, (3) perform an adequate and timely feedback in each activity carried out in the virtual classroom and (4) apply a continuous evaluation. In addition, 79% of teachers indicated that the “Creating and maintaining a friendly and empathetic learning environment” competency can embody a challenge for older teachers. According to interviewees, older colleagues frequently experience difficulties with equipment, platforms and applications that are related to virtual education. In addition, 58% indicate that the teacher must constantly motivate students, since being in an environment with various distractions they could be “connected” but absent at the same time. These results show that there are still challenges in university teaching (didactics) and that they still remain, despite being immersed in virtuality for a year. Likewise, teachers must possess skills related to creating and maintaining environments where it can be ensured that the student participates actively in their learning.