Creativity and Remote Teaching in Pandemic Times: From the Unpredictable to the Possible

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic imposed a new agenda for humanity. In a very rapid and improvised way, we were invited to give new answers to everyday practices and experiences, challenged by a context of social isolation unprecedented for a globalized world. The resources that allowed us to build and innovate in the face of such a scenario were mostly derived from communication technologies. In a very short time, the contexts of work, schools, social practices migrated to computers’ screens, cell phones, and so on, transforming them into learning tools mediating social relations. People have long used technology to study, to work and to relate to each other. With COVID-19, we need to face unpredictable situations, requiring rapid adaptation, and the urgent creation of remote relational contexts as a way to respond immediately to the challenges and problem situations emerging from the pandemic. In this article, the remote teaching experience of an undergraduate class at a Brazilian university will be discussed, considering the students’ self-perception about the dynamics of their creative processes in this period. Through a “Free Talk” session carried out in an undergraduate class, we will discuss technologies and teaching, differentiated educational practices and their impacts on the learning processes and, in particular, we will reflect on creativity, the fragility of its development in difficult times and its power to deal with unpredictability, transforming human paths into new possibilities.