The Teacher Change Cycle

This article posits a teacher change cycle based on an investigation of eight Hong Kong secondary teachers' adoption of innovative practice over a 6‐month period in which they received training and ongoing support to carry out three units of process writing lessons in one of their English classes. The evidence for the proposed model of teacher change comes from teachers' diary records describing and reacting to the instructional units, reports of observations, transcripts of monthly meetings, and information from questionnaire responses written before and after the tryout period. The model proposes that teachers typically move through a change cycle in responding to an innovation in which their focus shifts over time from its procedural aspect, to its interpersonal aspect, and finally to its conceptual aspect. Through this process, they achieve a higher level of expertise, psychological comfort, and understanding of the innovation, thereby personalizing it to bring it into their own practice. The investigation helps to shed some light on not only the adoption of innovations but also teacher change and development.