Becoming Reading Teachers: The Mediating Effects of an Innovation Configurations Map for Guided Reading with Teachers at Private English Supplementary Tutoring Centers in China

Within English supplementary tutoring centers in China, the professional development teachers are afforded is limited due to time constraints and the qualifications of teacher trainers within those centers. To facilitate a novel means of engaging teachers in their professional development related to guided reading, an innovation configurations map was introduced to teachers at two centers in southern China. This map is composed of six configurations that would foster teachers’ understanding of what comprised effective guided reading classes. They include a focus on prior knowledge, vocabulary, reading skills and strategies, reading comprehension, class discussion, and written expression. Implementing the innovation configurations map for guided reading at the two centers occurred with head teachers and key informants from both centers. Other teachers participated to varying degrees based on their interests and availability. Using a qualitative case study methodology as part of an action research project, six strands of data were collected to assess how teachers used the map and what lessons were learned. These strands are institutional documents, interviews with participants, participant observation of academic meetings, direct observation of key informants’ classes, and education journey maps detailing participants’ experiences in using the innovation configurations map. For roughly seven months, the participants worked on developing their understanding of how to use the map and apply it within their contexts. They built this awareness within their activity systems with guidance and support from their colleagues and me. The contingent and responsive help teachers received was crucial in ensuring they understood how to use the innovation configurations map and their willingness to do so. Without that support and guidance, teachers were ambivalent about the use of the map and used it minimally or not at all. The findings, thus, indicate that for teachers to be willing to develop themselves professionally and use the innovation configurations map, they require ongoing support and guidance based on their needs to ensure they may do so effectively.