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Utilizing Peer Coaching to Facilitate Pre-service PhysicalEducation Teachers’ Reflection
Okseon Lee • Euichang Choi
Published online: 1 September 2012
� De La Salle University 2012
Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine pre-
service physical education teachers’ perceptions of peer
coaching as a tool for reflection, and their reflectivity on their
microteaching peer coaching experiences. Five pairs of coa-
ches and coachees (4 female, 6 male) were selected from a pool
of 30 students who were enrolled in a secondary physical
education methods course. Data, which were collected from
teachers’ reflective journal entries, peer coaching evaluation
forms, and individual interviews with participants, were ana-
lyzed inductively by individual and cross-case analysis. The
findings revealed that peer coaching facilitated teacher candi-
dates’ reflection by: (a) helping them to face and deal with
barriers to reflection, (b) connecting planning, instruction, and
reflection, and (c) providing three-dimensional perspectives. In
addition, the teacher candidates’ reflectivity on peer coaching
was categorized into: (a) reiteration and acceptance, (b) exten-
sion and confrontation, and (c) adjustment and re-aiming. The
findings supported that peer coaching can be a viable tool to
initiate and sustain teacher candidates’ reflection.
Keywords Reflection � Peer coaching � Microteaching �Physical education � Teacher education
Introduction
Reflection has been one of the critical components of teacher
education for equipping teacher candidates with the ability to
guide their continuous professional development. Teacher
reflection, like other skills and knowledge in teacher educa-
tion, should be taught in teacher education programs by
incorporating it into many teacher preparation courses, early
field experience, and student teaching experience. Although
many strategies have been developed and applied to enhance
teacher candidates’ reflection, some scholars have especially
focused on the social nature of reflection and examined ways
to facilitate teacher candidates’ reflection as a collaborative
social practice (Hatton and Smith 1995; Solomon 1987).
Peer coaching is an effective way for colleagues to validate,
extend, support, or reject each others’ ideas and teaching
practice through interaction. Although peer coaching was
initially developed to improve the application of specific
instructional skills, it has expanded its utilization as a tool to
promote teachers’ reflective practice through their planning,
observing, and conferencing after lessons in a collegial and
non-evaluative environment (McAllister and Neubert 1995).
Little is known, however, about what specific aspects of peer
coaching facilitate teacher candidates’ reflection and what
roles it plays in teacher candidates’ reflection.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to examine physical education
pre-service teachers’ perceived roles of peer coaching in their
reflection and their reflectivity on peer coaching during their
microteaching experiences. By examining the function of peer
coaching in reflection and teacher candidates’ reflectivity on
peer coaching experience, this study explored the possibility of
using peer coaching to promote pre-service teachers’ reflection.
Literature Review
This study is based on the literature emphasizing that
reflection should be taught in teacher education program by
O. Lee � E. Choi (&)
Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
e-mail: [email protected]
123
Asia-Pacific Edu Res (2013) 22(2):147–154
DOI 10.1007/s40299-012-0007-3
adopting diverse strategies (Binks et al. 2009; Kuechleet
et al. 2010; Lee 2010), and it should be taught as social
process rather than individual practice (Hatton and Smith
1995; Solomon 1987; Zeichner and Liston 1996). Social
constructivism which supports the use of peer contribution
and social interaction for individual learning provided a
theoretical orientation of this study (Brett and Nagra 2005;
Vygotsky 1986). Based on Vygotsky’s (1986) social con-
structivist perspective, this study was guided by literature
that supports the use of collaboration and social interac-
tion in facilitating teacher candidates’ reflection, and also
stressed the importance of learning reflection by combing
methods and context. To examine the roles of peer coaching
as a strategy to stimulate teacher candidates’ reflection, three
bodies of literature informed the study: those on pre-service
teachers and reflection, issues in facilitating pre-service
teachers’ reflection, and peer coaching as a reflection
strategy.
Pre-service Teachers and Reflection
Although the consensus is that educating teacher candi-
dates to become reflective professionals is important, there
seems to be a lack of consistency in defining the concept
of reflection. The diverse meanings of reflection represent
different perspectives of what good teaching and good
teacher education are (Calderhead 1989; Hatton and Smith
1995; Mansvelder-Longaryoux et al. 2007). For example,
Dewey (1933) defined reflection as a mode of thought
which requires a systematic, rigorous way of thinking,
while Schon (1983) emphasized the importance of reflec-
tion’s relation to action. More specifically, Van Manen
(1977) laid a foundation to examine the content and focus
of reflection by proposing three levels of reflection: tech-
nical, practical, and moral/ethical.
The diverse perspectives on reflection have also influ-
enced researches that examine pre-service teachers’
reflection. The first line of research has focused on
describing the nature and content of pre-service teachers’
reflection and show that teacher candidates mainly reflect
on technical issues rather than practical or moral ones
(Amboi 2005; Lo 2010; Sebren 1995).
Another line of research has focused on the use of
specific strategies to improve pre-service teachers’ reflec-
tion. Specific strategies include the use of a portfolio as a
tool for learning reflection (Bataineh et al. 2007; Mansv-
elder-Longaryoux et al. 2007), the use of reflective ques-
tions combined with journal writing (Tsangaridou and
O’Sullivan 1994), storytelling and the use of vignettes
(Binks et al. 2009; Kuechle et al. 2010), interactive online
journal writing (Lee 2010), and the use of a reflection cycle
(Korthagen and Wubbels 2001). Findings of these studies
showed that the use of structured guidance for reflection
and context-specific stories or vignettes can facilitate pre-
service teachers’ reflection.
Issues in Facilitating Pre-service Teachers’ Reflection
Reflection has become a normative concept in teacher educa-
tion, and it is considered as a critical tool for teachers to analyze,
evaluate, and seek alternative courses of action to improve their
teaching. Although educating pre-service teachers to become
reflective professionals is one of the important goals in teacher
education, several issues should be considered.
First, pre-service teachers should learn to reflect in
developmentally appropriate ways throughout their teacher
education program. Literature on pre-service teachers’
reflection presents the hierarchy of reflection, placing
moral/ethical reflection higher than technical or practical
reflection (Van Manen 1977; Tsangaridou and O’Sullivan
1994). Although the hierarchy can be used as a framework
to analyze teacher candidates’ reflection, it should not be
used for the prescription that certain reflection is more
desirable than others. Rather than prescribing certain types
of reflection, teacher education programs should provide
diverse learning experiences so that pre-service teachers
can learn to reflect based on their developmental needs and
levels of prerequisite skills.
Second, pre-service teachers’ reflection should be taught
by combining methods and contexts. Reflection cannot be
separated from educational contexts in which teaching
practice is embedded; therefore, reflection should be taught
in relation to a specific context, such as microteaching or
early field experience. Although strategies such as story-
telling or teaching vignettes (Binks et al. 2009; Kuechle
et al. 2010) can provide detailed descriptions of educa-
tional contexts, they cannot be substituted for teachers’
authentic teaching experience.
Third, teacher candidates should learn to reflect in relation
with others. Although the goal of teacher education is to help
teacher candidates to reflect independently after the comple-
tion of their teacher education program, this does not mean
that they should learn reflection as a solitary experience
(Zeichner and Liston 1996). When teacher candidates exam-
ine their planning, instruction, and evaluation in a collabora-
tive environment with their critical friends, they can consider
the multiple perspectives of their colleagues and expand their
understanding and knowledge in teaching through reflection
(Hatton and Smith 1995; Whipp 2003; Zeichner 1994). The
following section deals with peer coaching as a strategy to
facilitate reflection as a social practice.
Peer Coaching as a Tool for Reflection
Peer coaching has been developed to facilitate in-service
teachers’ application of knowledge and skills learned in
148 O. Lee, E. Choi
123
professional development programs to classroom settings
(Joyce and Showers 1980). Typical peer coaching includes
the cyclical process of observing a peer’s teaching, pro-
viding feedback, and forming an analysis of how the new
skills were applied. Although peer coaching was initially
developed for in-service teacher education, there has
been increasing use of peer coaching in pre-service
teacher education to cultivate collaborative dispositions,
hone instructional skills, and develop teacher knowledge
(Britton and Anderson 2010; Reiman and Johnson 2003).
Furthermore, peer coaching can be utilized to promote
pre-service teachers’ reflection. McAllister and Neubert
(1995) presented peer coaching as a process of reflection,
and argued that it should be incorporated into pre-service
teacher education as a tool for reflection. Although litera-
ture has suggested the use of peer coaching to promote
teacher candidates’ reflection (McAllister and Neubert
1995; Vidmar 2006), examination of how and what specific
aspects of peer coaching contribute to teacher candidates’
reflection has not been explored much. Several studies in
physical education area examined how the differing roles
of coach and coachee influenced pre-service teachers’
knowledge development (Jenkins and Veal 2002), what
and how the coach observed lessons for peer coaching
(Jenkins et al. 2005), and how pre-service teachers per-
ceived the use of peer coaching (Ovens 2004). Findings
of these studies implied that peer coaching has a unique
mechanism to support physical education pre-service
teachers’ development, but have not specifically explored
the relation between peer coaching and reflection. To
expand the use of peer coaching beyond instructional
skill development, physical education teacher candidates’
reflection should also be explored by examining teacher
candidates’ reflectivity on the peer coaching experience.
Methods
A qualitative case study design was adopted to obtain in-
depth information on how and what specific aspects of peer
coaching contribute to teacher candidates’ reflection and
their reflectivity on peer coaching experience.
Participants, Context, and Procedure
The participants were selected from a pool of 30 students
who were enrolled in a secondary physical education
methods course in a university located in Seoul, Korea.
Five pairs of coaches and coachees (4 female, 6 male) who
agreed to participate in the study were selected as infor-
mants through convenience sampling. Informed consent
was obtained from all participants. The secondary physical
education methods course was provided for students who
were planning to be student teachers in the following
semester. The course consisted of 4 weeks of classroom
lectures and 12 weeks of on-campus microteaching
experience.
During the microteaching experience, pre-service
teachers also participated in peer coaching by establishing
coach and coachee (teacher) dyads by pairing up with a
person with whom they felt comfortable working. Four
sessions of peer coaching training were provided for tea-
cher candidates, and each training session lasted about
50 min. The foci of peer coaching training sessions were:
(a) developing an understanding of the rationale of peer
coaching, (b) demonstrations, (c) simulated practice, and
(d) analysis of the simulations (Joyce and Showers 1980).
The peer coaching dyads worked together during the
planning, instruction, and post-lesson conference stages.
The participants also switched their coach and coachee
roles alternatively throughout the semester.
Data Sources and Analysis
Data were collected from reflective journal entries from
teachers (coachees) and peer coaching evaluation forms
submitted by both coaches and coachees. Participants were
asked to write a reflective journal entry after each peer
coaching session on their lessons. Participants were pro-
vided prompts of reflection such as (a) describe what
happened, (b) analyze the event based on peer coaching,
and (c) set specific goals to improve. The coaching eval-
uation form included information on the benefit of peer
coaching, critical incidents happened during peer coaching,
and the evaluation of the roles of coach and coachee. In
addition, participants were interviewed at the end of the
semester to identify the benefits of peer coaching the roles
of peer coaching in their reflection, and the characteristics
of peer coaching that influenced their reflection.
Data were analyzed inductively by individual and cross-
case analysis (Huberman and Miles 1998). The researchers
read interview transcripts, reflective journal entries, and
peer coaching evaluation forms repeatedly; they also coded
meaningful segments and categorized them to identify
themes. These themes that emerged from individual cases
were compared with others to find common themes across
the cases. In order to enhance the trustworthiness of the
data, member check and data source triangulation were
used (Creswell 2009).
Findings and Discussion
The findings of this study are presented with respect to the
roles of peer coaching in pre-service teachers’ reflection
and the coachees’ responses to peer coaching.
Utilizing Peer Coaching 149
123
Roles of Peer Coaching in Reflection
Facing and Dealing with Barriers to Reflection
Participants reported that peer coaching helped them to
face and deal with barriers to reflection. Although it was
difficult for pre-service teachers to face and confront their
mistakes and failure, they reported that the peer coaching
played a critical role in helping them to face and deal with
barriers to reflection by starting the coaching session with
praise comments.
Besides the use of praise comments, the participants
mentioned that the collaborative nature of peer coaching
helped them overcome barriers to reflection by forming a
psychologically safe environment. The following com-
ments from Jihoon show this:
I think I can reflect better in a safe environment. (…)
It’s not an evaluation telling you ‘‘you did this well,
you didn’t that well.’’ Instead, peer coaching is based
on a sense of closeness with the coach so I can talk
about my lesson without being afraid of criticism or
evaluation from the coach. (Jihoon, Interview)
Although there is no doubt that reflection includes
intellectual aspects such as critical thinking, problem
solving, and analytic skills, it also should be taught with
affective support such as caring and trusting relationships
with peers. Pre-service teachers do not take risks to reflect
on their weaknesses and talk about them unless a trusting
relationship is established between the coach and coachee
(Wong-Wylie 2007).
Another barrier was caused by the complex nature of
reflection, which required consideration of multiple aspects
of teaching at the same time. Participants reported that peer
coaching provided a step-by-step guiding procedure to help
them in dealing with complex issues which they were
reluctant to face:
I think reflection is like solving difficult problems
which I no longer want to think about. It is like
putting together difficult puzzles, thinking about
many issues at the same time. (…) Just thinking about
the complex things together, I was overwhelmed
about reflecting on my lesson. Peer coaching, how-
ever, eased my fear and provided me with step-by-
step guidance to reflect on my teaching. (Yesul, Peer
coaching evaluation)
Literature also shows that a more gradual approach is
desirable for the initial stage of teacher reflection. Pre-
service teachers who are in the initial stage should be
provided with concrete instruction and guidance for
reflection (Hatton and Smith 1995; Korthagen and Wubbels
2001) to gradually learn the process of reflection. Peer
coaching can guide pre-service teachers’ reflection
throughout the process of the planning conference, obser-
vation, and post-lesson conference by providing observa-
tion data and stimulating questions.
Connecting Planning, Instruction, and Reflection
Considering that the process of planning, instruction, and
reflection are closely connected, it is difficult to draw clear
distinctions among them. Participants reported that peer
coaching triggered their reflection in every phase of it and
also helped them recognize the interconnectedness of
planning, instruction, and reflection. For example, a par-
ticipant reported that his reflection began with a planning
conference when the coachee gave a brief overview of the
lesson:
During the planning session, my coachee presented
her lesson plan and asked, ‘‘What do you think about
this?’’ So, I had to think about her lesson and I asked
myself questions like ‘What is going to happen?’
‘What kinds of problems is she going to face?’ It was
a kind of pre-reflection. (Dongwoo, Interview)
Although Schon (1983) categorized reflection into
reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action based on
the time frame regarding when the reflection happens,
the findings of the study showed that peer coaching can
facilitate pre-service teachers’ reflection before, during, and
after the lesson. For example, the peer coach became an in-
depth observer and had to constantly reflect on the coachee’s
lesson during and after the observation in order to interpret it
and generate questions for the post-lesson conference.
Participants reported that they came to realize the cyclic
nature of reflection through the continual process of the
planning conference, the observation with a focus, and the
post-lesson conference. In addition, reflection became a
part of lesson planning because it could be used for plan-
ning future lessons (Hall and Smith 2006; Lee 2010;
Sebren 1995). The following comments from Euntaek
show that participants perceived reflection as a whole
process rather than a separate action:
Reflection does not necessarily come at the last
moment. Sometimes writing a lesson plan included
reflection. I had to think about my previous lessons
and previous peer coaching experiences before cre-
ating my lesson plan. I can’t tell where exactly
planning, instruction, and reflection begin and end;
they are all related and influence each other. I think
peer coaching combines all these processes together.
(Euntaek, Interview)
150 O. Lee, E. Choi
123
The findings showed that the sequence and structure of
peer coaching helped pre-service teachers to realize the
connection among planning, instruction, and reflection.
Providing a Three-Dimensional Perspective
The participants reported that peer coaching helped them
reflect from multiple perspectives. With the help of their
peer coach, participants reported that they were able to
consider the perspectives of students, teachers, and an
objective third person:
The peer coach observed my lesson from multiple
standpoints: as a teacher who had planned the lesson
with me, as a student, and as an objective third per-
son. It helped me to have a three-dimensional per-
spective, which would have been impossible without
peer coaching. (Ahn, Peer coaching evaluation)
It is typical for pre-service teachers who do not have
extensive teaching experience to tend to focus on them-
selves as teachers rather than student learning outcomes or
instructional tasks for reflection (Fuller 1969; Hynes-Dusel
1999). By pairing with a person who had shared in the
planning and instruction processes, peer coaching provided
pre-service teachers with additional perspectives to reflect
on the multiple aspects of teaching. One of the roles of the
peer coach was to raise questions from a student perspec-
tive to expand the scope of reflection beyond teacher-
centered issues.
My peer coach asked me to think about how I would
feel if I were a lower-skilled female student in the
hurdle lesson. When I answered that I would be
afraid, he asked me whether there were any alterna-
tives for female students who were afraid of jumping
over hurdles. I had never thought about this issue
except for the possibility of lowering the height of the
hurdles. (Harry, Reflective journal)
In addition, the peer coach served as someone who was
able to provide a third person perspective by providing
objective data for reflection. The findings of the study
showed that peer coaching provided an opportunity for
data-based reflection (Lorson et al. 2007) with the help of
the peer coach, who served as an objective third person.
When my peer coach asked me about the length of
student activity time in my lesson, I thought it would
be about 20 min. Surprisingly, the data showed that it
was only 10 out of 30 min, which was different from
what I had thought. Although he didn’t say anything,
I thought the data spoke for itself. (Byungil, Reflec-
tive journal)
Besides occupying the role of an objective third person,
the peer coach also served as a critical friend. When
reflection becomes a solitary process, teacher reflection is
inhibited because it is difficult to develop critical per-
spective on one’s own teaching practice (Osterman and
Kottkamp 1993). The following comments, however,
showed that the peer coach can facilitate pre-service
teachers’ critical reflection by raising questions about
hidden messages in teacher behaviors:
In my disc bowling lesson, I chose boys to throw the
disc and girls to set up the pins during the demon-
stration. When my coach asked me whether it was
fair in terms of gender equity, I realized that my
actions could have perpetuated the typical gender
stereotype-boys playing games and girls cheering—
for middle-school students. Although it was a small
thing, my peer coach helped me to consider the
possibility of hidden messages in my teaching
behaviors. (Susie, Reflective journal).
In sum, the findings suggested that peer coaching facili-
tated pre-service teachers’ reflection by providing objective
data, taking the perspective of the students, and asking
critical questions.
Teachers’ Reflectivity on Peer Coaching
Teachers (coachees) wrote reflective journal entries after
their peer coaching sessions. This section provides analysis
on how teachers reflected on the lesson in relation to their
peer coaching experiences. Participants’ reflectivity on
peer coaching was categorized into: reiteration and
acceptance, confrontation and extension, and adjustment
and re-aiming. A description of each type of reflectivity
follows.
Reiteration and Acceptance
Participants who showed a pattern of reiteration and
acceptance described the issues raised in peer coaching
repeatedly and confirmed their action plans in their
reflective journals. The following excerpt from Jihoon’s
reflective journal shows a typical pattern of reiteration of
the peer coaching session:
When I blew the whistle, my students looked at me
but they didn’t know what to do with the signal
because I had not given them specific directions in
advance. My peer coach helped me recognize the
importance of setting the rules and procedure before
teaching. Next time, I will give them clear directions
so that students can move to the next station when
they receive the signal. (Jihoon, Reflective journal)
Utilizing Peer Coaching 151
123
Participants’ reiteration and acceptance was salient at
the initial stage of micro-teaching, and the contents of
reflection were focused on enhancing teachers’ instruc-
tional skills, such as using correct terminology, increasing
the frequency of feedback, and setting the boundaries of
activities to insure the safety of the students. The following
is an example of reiteration and acceptance on a technical
aspect of teaching:
My peer coach asked me if there was any specific
reason that I had shown the wrong demonstration the
second time. I answered that I had just forgotten to
tell my students that was a common mistake when
doing a back handspring. In my future lessons, I will
finish my demonstration with an accurate one so
that students can retain correct information. (Harry,
Reflective journal)
Reiteration and acceptance emerged at the initial stage of
the micro-teaching experience when participants did not
have sufficient experience in teaching. The participant
became a consumer of peer coaching for improving
instructional skills at the initial stage of microteaching.
Confrontation and Extension
Another pattern of teacher’s reflectivity on peer coaching
was confrontation and extension. Although participants
experienced the reflection process as a cycle that consisted
of clarifying issues, finding alternative ideas, and making
plans for future improvement, they revisited their action
plans and extended their reflection:
With the help of my peer coach, I made an action
plan to control my students better: using a firm and
controlling voice and being more assertive when
dealing with student misbehavior. When I reviewed
the action plan after the peer coaching session, I
found that it would make me appear to be close to the
image of PE teacher as a disciplinarian, which I had
experienced in secondary school. But I want to treat
my students as individuals and with respect rather
than view them as problems to be managed. (…) I
still need to think more deeply about how to find a
balance between being assertive and empowering
students. (Dongwoo, Reflective journal)
Participants confronted their action plans and extended
their reflection when they experienced dissonance caused
by differences in teaching philosophy between the coach
and coachee. For example, Yesul noted that her peer coach
focused on increasing student activity time because his
notion of good teaching was related to a high amount of
physical activity time. However, she was confronted with
the realization that her notion of good teaching was
different:
My peer coach pointed out that my lesson incorpo-
rated a high amount of instructional time, and I found
that my students were physically active less than
50 % of the class time. (…) Although my peer coach
helped me to see what I didn’t recognize, my notion
of good teaching was different from his philosophy. I
think student activity time is not the only necessary
condition for good teaching. At least I learned that
there is more than one way to define good teaching.
(Yesul, Reflective journal)
Participants who showed confrontation and extension
re-examined their peer coaching action plans based on their
beliefs about good teaching. In this sense, the coachee was
not just a consumer of the peer coaching session but
worked as an active agent to extend and continue their
reflection by considering competing perspectives.
Confrontation and extension were also related to the
participants’ perceived competence of their basic teaching
skills. When teacher candidates became familiar with basic
teaching skills through a series of micro-teaching experi-
ences, they were able to distance themselves from the
results of peer coaching. For example, Jay addressed how
his perceived competence in basic teaching skills had
influenced his reflection after the peer coaching session.
At first, I only needed to focus on the action plan
made during the peer coaching session based on
critiquing points such as my lack of clarity or the
need to use more eye contact. When I became more
comfortable and felt more confident about my
teaching, I had more questions than answers after the
peer coaching session because people can observe my
lesson from different perspectives. (Jay, Interview).
Teacher candidates’ starting level of competence in
technical skills helped them to demonstrate growth com-
petence by continuing and extending their reflection after
peer coaching (Hoy and Woolfolk 1989; Korthagen and
Wubbels 2001).
Adjusting and Re-aiming
Participants who showed a pattern of adjusting and re-
aiming reflected on the peer coaching experience as a
whole and set an alternative agenda for future peer
coaching sessions. Rather than only accepting the sugges-
tions made during the peer coaching session, pre-service
teachers raised an issue on the adequacy of peer coaching
and identified issues that required further exploration. The
following excerpt from Kwang’s reflective journal shows
an example of re-aiming:
152 O. Lee, E. Choi
123
Throughout the microteaching experience, I found
that teaching is a unique representation of oneself.
(…) However, we never talked about who we are or
what kind of teacher we want to be. When we talk
about our values, beliefs, and our lives, then our peer
coaching session will become more appropriate for
both the coach and coachee. Next time, I will share
my teaching philosophy with my coach as a part of
peer coaching. (Kwang, Reflective journal)
Participants reconstructed reflection by framing the issue of
teaching in relation to the teacher’s life and beliefs about
teaching, viewing peer coaching as a catalyst for deepening
their reflection. The following excerpt shows an example of
adjustment through the process of continuous reflection:
So far, our peer coaching has followed three steps:
identifying immediate needs, discussing related
issues, and finding answers. We have been so
obsessed with finding answers. But the answer has
not been finalized with peer coaching; instead, more
questions have arisen. When we discussed the case of
a student who was struggling with his lack of skill in
jumping, we decided to give him an individualized
task to work on by himself. After the peer coaching
session, I kept thinking about the decision and found
that isolating him from the rest of the students could
stigmatize him. With skill improvement in one axis
and social inclusion in the other axis, I revised my
action plan to use peer tutoring for him the next time.
(Dongwoo, Reflective journal)
Participants who showed a pattern of adjustment and re-
aiming did not view reflective peer coaching as a single
event, but used it as a stepping stone for continuous
reflection. Participants perceived that peer coaching pro-
vided them with a slow but sustaining reflection
experience:
At first, I felt negatively about peer coaching because
the process seemed too slow for reflection because I
had to work with my peers. Throughout the micro-
teaching experience, I realized that I can go faster by
myself yet go farther and deeper with my coaching
partner. Although my peer doesn’t have the magical
power or ability to take me to a deeper level of
reflection, I could continue my reflection and modify
my action plan when it was not good enough. (Jay,
Reflective journal)
Rather than seeking immediate solutions from peer
coaching, participants recognized the mediating role of
peer coaching in sustaining their reflection and demon-
strated their ability to reflect independently.
Implications
This study examined the role of peer coaching in facili-
tating pre-service physical education teachers’ reflection
and their reflectivity on the peer coaching experience. The
findings of the study suggest the following implications.
First, this study showed that peer coaching can be a
viable tool to facilitate pre-service teachers’ reflection by
providing them with structured guidance to reflection,
providing them with multiple perspectives, and helping
them to engage in holistic reflection. Despite the potential
to use peer coaching for promoting teacher candidates’
reflection, it would be too simple to assume that the use of
peer coaching automatically promotes pre-service teachers’
reflection. It should be noted that the structural aspects of
peer coaching, such as establishing collaborative and
trusting relationships with peers, observation with a spe-
cific focus, and diverse questioning techniques are con-
tributing factors to pre-service teachers’ reflection. In order
to maximize the utility of peer coaching for facilitating
reflection, pre-service teachers should be provided with the
opportunity to practice and establish these aspects of peer
coaching in the teacher education program.
Second, pre-service teachers’ reflectivity on peer
coaching showed that peer coaching contributed to teach-
ers’ reflection in different ways throughout their micro-
teaching experience. Participants used peer coaching as an
initiating but also a sustaining tool for reflection. There-
fore, teacher educators should utilize peer coaching to meet
the developmental needs of pre-service teachers. For
example, pre-service teachers should be encouraged to use
peer coaching as an initiating tool for reflection at the
beginning stage by focusing on minimizing barriers to
reflection. Then, the focus of reflection can be extended to
instructional skills and educational issues, and ultimately
they should be encouraged to become independent reflec-
tive practitioners who can demonstrate growth competence
after peer coaching (Korthagen and Wubbels 2001).
Third, future studies should examine peer coaching
characteristics which facilitate teacher candidates’ reflec-
tion. Specific attention should be paid to the characteristic
of the peer coaching dyad and its relationship to the quality
of reflection. Dyad characteristics such as similarity or
disparity in levels of knowledge, teaching experience, and
beliefs about teaching and learning can influence the
quality of reflection (Zwart et al. 2009). Examining how
these characteristics mediate teacher candidates’ reflection
can be an important topic to explore to obtain information
on how to reflect better with peer coaching.
Finally, exploration of the nature and focus of reflection
caused by the different roles of the coach and coachee will
provide more information on how peer coaching influences
teacher candidates’ reflection in unique ways. Although
Utilizing Peer Coaching 153
123
there has been a study on how the different roles of the
coach and the coachee contribute to teacher candidates’
knowledge development (Jenkins and Veal 2002), little
is known about how the differing roles of the coach and
the coachee influence the focus and nature of pre-service
teachers’ reflection.
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