Research competencies can empower teachers to inquire into their work and innovate in the field. In particular, conceptual competencies in consuming empirical research (CCER) are expected of K-12 teachers, but little is known about how teachers develop CCER. To address this gap, the authors conducted a case study with 12 teachers enrolled in a hybrid graduate course on educational research at a public, comprehensive university in the USA. Data generated from the 15-week course activities and assignments were analyzed. Findings show that teachers' CCER improved through a three-stage process. In each stage, teachers achieved success but encountered challenges. The varied performance among teachers could be explained by three factors: extensiveness of literature review, conceptual understanding of research topic, and specificity of research focus. This study contributes to the literature by generating detailed evidence of how K--12 teachers develop CCER. Implications for course design and future studies are discussed.