Reflections on remote teaching practice in design education: methodological possibilities for a collaborative and participatory process in pandemic

Abstract

This paper presents a critical reflection on the adjustment for remote teaching of a design studio discipline at the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, in 2020 school term. The methodological choices and procedures adopted herein reported aimed at teaching design through collaborative and participatory process, and sought to minimize the distance from the field and the beneficiary population imposed by the covid-19 pandemic. The project location converged with part of the area of the UIA-2020-RIO International Student Competition, encompassing the urban front of Brasil Ave. and part of Maré, one of the largest slums (favela) of the city of Rio de Janeiro. In one hand, there was a transformation of the conditions of interaction in the virtualization of the classroom. On the other hand, our experience shows the importance of observing: the definition of a project location where solid relations between teachers and local organizations already exist; the dialogue with local residents and representatives through remote reports, to the comprehension of the dynamics of the territory and the demands of potential users; the adoption of synchronous classes, with immediate and simultaneous exchange between students and teachers, complemented by the recording of the classes to mitigate eventual absences; discussion of the remote teaching methodology with students during the course. These actions helped us to face the losses caused by the pandemic. Finally, we emphasize that the remote teaching practice in design education discussed in this article is different from the practice of Distance Learning (DL).