Students' use of self-reflective thinking: when teaching becomes coaching.

This study examined students' use of self-reflection in relation to their teachers' coaching behavior in a cooperative learning situation. Participants were 218 fourth grade secondary vocational students and 12 teachers of different study domains in The Netherlands. Students rated teachers' coaching behavior. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that teachers' guidance was related to students' use of self-reflective thinking. Teachers' coaching style was measured as their instructional beliefs, self-efficacy beliefs, and coaching behavior. Visual inspection of means of students' rating of teachers' behavior and by students' self-reflective thinking indicated that teachers, whose intentions and behavior are in line with student-led teaching, provide a coaching style that is high in guidance and encourages students' use of self-reflective thinking. The implications of teachers' coaching behavior in the classroom are discussed.