Chapter 3: Developing Faculty as Self-Directed Learners Through Cognitive Coaching Available to Purchase

Innovative and leadership-based learning environments proposed by Education 4.0 have created new tasks for teachers to take greater ownership of change to survive in both digital and physical classrooms. These tasks require teachers to increase their cognitive development and teacher sense of efficacy (TSE). Through cognitive coaching (CC), faculty or teacher educators explore the thinking behind their practices to develop their TSE. Each faculty seems to maintain a cognitive map, only partially conscious. In CC, questions asked by the coach reveal to the teacher areas of that map that may not be complete or consciously developed. This chapter aims to introduce a conceptual framework of CC to be used in any CC program designed for faculty or teacher educators. This framework is based on (a) the theories by Bandura (1997) and Vygotsky (1978), (b) the application of the authors’ models of peer coaching and reflective coaching (Costa & Garmston, 2016; Göker, 2006; Göker & Ürün Göker, 2017; Göker, 2020; Göker & Ürün Göker, 2021) applied within different educational contexts, (c) Knowles’ (1975) notion of andragogy, and (d) similar mentoring or coaching studies. Through this framework, it is assumed that faculty or teacher educators as adult learners are inherently self-directed and articulated the steps of self-directed learning: (a) setting a climate of mutual respect and support, (b) diagnosing learning needs, (c) formulating learning goals, (d) identifying human and material resources for learning, (e) choosing and implementing appropriate learning strategies, and (f) evaluating learning outcomes. This conceptual framework offers instructors new principles and ways to use the CC processes to engage in critical reflections about their teaching. Instructors are engaged in the CC coaching cycles, consisting of planning and reflecting conferences, are expected to gain new experiences through the CC to facilitate professional collegiality, personal self-renewal, and pedagogical improvement, suggesting that CC has the potential to be an effective approach to faculty development.