This study arose with the need to think about the pedagogical practice from a critical perspective, understanding it as fundamental in the performance of the teacher who seeks to provide meaningful learning to students, guiding them towards emancipation and autonomy. The objectives are to address concepts and discuss the pedagogical practice of the teacher with a view to students’ learning. When conceptualizing pedagogical practice, refl ection, intentionality and planning are emphasized, as they are conditions for pedagogical practice in a critical perspective. The text also brings some refl ections on the transformations and diffi culties of the pedagogical practice in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. An explanation about the teaching knowledge in the perspective of Tardif (2014) is made, as it is understood that this knowledge constitutes the pedagogical practice of teachers. Through a bibliographic study based on the assumptions of the qualitative approach, the references selected to compose the discussion were: Freire (2018, 2019, 2020), Martins (2003), Sacristán (1999), Santos (1997), Souza (2016) and Tardif (2014). The results provide an opportunity to better understand the concept of pedagogical practice and show characteristics of the pedagogical practice that aim at the students’ learning. In this sense, it is understood that the teacher’s performance is important at all levels of education, from Early Childhood Education to Higher Education.