Teaching Practices for Creativity in Distance Higher Education

Abstract

Despite being a recurring theme in the debate on teaching practices, there are gaps about the main dimensions of creativity in the context of distance education. Therefore, this article aims to assess the perception of distance learning teachers regarding the extent to which they use teaching practices that favor the development and expression of student creativity, based on a validated scale (Alencar & Fleith, 2010). The study had a quantitative approach and 176 distance learning teachers and tutors from different educational institutions in Brazil were surveyed. The results obtained through structural equation modeling revealed that the dimensions’ incentive to new ideas, interest in student learning, diversified teaching strategies, climate for expression of ideas, and personal attributes favorable to teaching practice are related in a way positive and significant with creativity in distance education. Although not new when it comes to face-to-face education, these results, with regard to distance learning, are capable of inspiring alternatives to hybrid systems developed from the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, they help to better understand the dimensions and provide contributions to discussions on the development of creative practices in distance learning.

Keywords

• estratégias educacionais
• desenvolvimento profissional docente
• ensino a distância
• ensino superior.