Narrating professional development trajectories in the context of the Statecraft X game-based learning curriculum

• Narrative inquiry is an efficacious methodology to trace professional development.
• Teacher agency and identity are vital for integrating new technology in classrooms.
• A reflective, reflexive guided appropriation model aids meaningful shifts in practice.
• Meaningful professional development support should be a process and not an event.

This article examines the professional development trajectories of two teachers who implemented the Statecraft X digital game-based learning curriculum. The research project's objective was to enhance teachers' capacities to enact game-based learning curricula. Teachers participated in guided reflective questioning after their dialogic sessions that generated narratives. The narratives reported here indicate that teachers' professional development experiences were influenced by their personal practical knowledge. These experiences had a powerful influence on them as developing professionals and in transforming their pedagogical practices. These findings have implications for teacher professional development with respect to game-based learning and teachers' readiness for 21st century classrooms.