Continuing curriculum change lies at the epicentre of modern systems of education. Changing educational policies and curricula in schools have implications for teacher professional development programmes which are provided by universities. We underscore the value of curriculum innovating, which involves construction of deeper disciplinary knowledge and learning of new pedagogical strategies, in order to enhance teacher competence within a transitioning educational landscape. Drawing on theoretical constructs from the Zone of Feasible Innovation, posited by Rogan, and Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development, we explore factors which enables science teachers to engage in curriculum innovating. We describe a professional development module at the Honours level of study, which we designed to engage teachers in transforming their practice, largely through self-initiated ideas held by teachers. Our interpretive study which adopted a qualitative methodological approach involved 10 practicing science teacher volunteers, who were purposively selected. We report on data which was generated using semi-structured interview schedules, reflective journal entries by the teachers, and teachers’ portfolios which they had used to document moments of curriculum innovating. The findings suggest that teachers valued the idea of curriculum innovating and believed that it should be a part of more professional development modules. Through the professional development module, teachers developed deeper disciplinary knowledge and a heightened awareness of possibilities for renewed practice. This stimulated increased learner participation and enhanced learner performance, which in turn boosted teachers’ confidence to sustain new practices. This work has implications for the design of relevant professional development modules to enable effective curriculum implementation within changing social contexts.

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