Online Communication and Assessment Practices during the Covid Pandemic: A Study of the Portuguese Higher Education Students’ Perceptions

This proposal is part of an ongoing research and presents the results on the perceptions and pedagogical practices experienced by students from various higher education degrees in Portuguese higher education institutions, during the period of social confinement determined by the Portuguese Government, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The main objective of the general research was to understand how Higher Education faculty and students experienced the digital transition to emergency education and the pedagogical practices adopted during the period. The research was based on a mixed methods approach and, in order to address the research objectives and describe the pedagogical practices implemented, specific instruments were developed for data collection. A questionnaire was developed, aimed at students, and interviews aimed at both students and faculty, focusing on technological and pedagogical dimensions, as well as the assessment of the experience. Data collection was carried out after the first lockdown, at the end of the first semester of 2020, and took place in eight higher education institutions. In this paper we will present a preliminary analysis of Questionnaire results related to two dimensions: online communication and assessment.