The Impact of Cognitive Coaching on High School English Teachers’ Implementation of Metacognitve Reading Strategies

The problem that this action research study addressed was the ineffective facilitation strategies used in professional development for teachers. The purpose of the study was to determine whether reflective practices impact teachers’ instructional decisions. The study used Cognitive Coaching, a reflective coaching model, as its intervention. To gather data the study used classroom observations, coaching conversations, and an eight-question structured survey administered at the end of the study. This qualitative case study included three high school English teachers as its participants and the study was conducted at two different high schools in a suburban school district in the Southeast. The classroom observations, coaching conversations and survey was analyzed and coded. The data reflected the following broad categories: strategy implementation alteration, teacher agency, professional beliefs, student success, and teacher support which transcended to the following findings: (1) Cognitive Coaching has a positive impact on teacher’s depth of reflection, (2) Teachers learn by reflecting on their practice, (3) Teachers find that self-reflection supports implementation of instructional strategies, and (4) Cognitive Coaching fosters more intentional lesson planning. The findings in this study were (1) Cognitive Coaching has a positive impact on teacher’s depth of reflection, (2) Teachers learn by reflecting on their practice, (3) Teachers find that self-reflection supports implementation of instructional strategies, and (4) Cognitive Coaching fosters more intentional lesson planning