A teacher's belief in what he or she can do is often a predictor for how well students may do in their classroom. Working together in a collaborative setting while looking at student work, determining next steps, and setting goals for student achievement can provide the impetus for teachers to change practices, implement different strategies and find success in the classroom. Collaborative practitioner inquiry focused in a single content such as written expression can bring about positive change for student achievement and teacher efficacy. In this study, a collaborative practitioner inquiry process was used to enhance teacher efficacy and increase student achievement in writing. This process was implemented school wide as an integral part of the school's instructional program. Teachers met once each month in Data Writing Team groups to look at student writing in their own classrooms and across their grade level. Based on the writing samples, teachers created SMART goals, determined levels of proficiency, and identified instructional strategies to implement. Data were collected through the administration of a teacher efficacy survey, focus group and individual interviews, student achievement data from pre- and post- writing samples, and observations and interpretations in a research journal. Findings concluded that collaborative practitioner inquiry contributed measurably to most Lake Shore Elementary School teachers' efficacy as teachers of writing especially by enhancing their convictions that they could teach writing and solve instructional roadblocks individually and collectively. In addition, collaborative practitioner inquiry contributed to substantial improvement in Lake Shore students' writing achievement. Teachers' accountability and purposes for instruction were enhanced through opportunities to work collaboratively together. Finally, collaborative practitioner inquiry contributed to students' writing achievement by adding to teachers' understanding of writing instruction and fostering continuously improved teaching practices. As a result of conducting this study, I learned that teachers who have the time to meet, talk, and think together form a greater focus as a grade level and, in turn, a purpose for what they do in the classroom. When teachers find success in their instruction their efficacy increases and as found during this study student achievement increases.

The federal No Child Left Behind Act has set the goal that all students in every state shall be proficient in reading by 2014. Arizona teachers face the challenge of having 100 percent of their students meeting or exceeding grade level reading standards assessed by Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS). One of my goals as a reading teacher is to widen the range of options my students will have. My goal every year is to have my students read at or above grade level. I also am committed to inspiring students to become motivated to love literacy because voluntary lifelong reading is important in peoples' lives. The purpose of this study was to investigate conducting brief, interactive, weekly reading conferences during daily Scaffolded Self-Selected Reading (ScS-SR) sessions while incorporating Transactional Strategy Instruction with a pair-share with a partner, and to see if it would improve my students' reading motivation and comprehension. Data were collected via the Motivation to Read Profile Survey and Interview, informal observations, Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills Oral Reading Fluency Test (DIBELS: ORF), and Oral Reading Records used by my school district. Findings concluded that students tended to become more willing readers, with several of them explicitly attributing their newfound willingness to read to my efforts. Most students became somewhat more aware of their reading experiences, explaining how different types of books in ScS-SR affected them. All students' reading comprehension performance improved, with measureable increases in students' instructional reading levels, retellings, and meaningful miscues that students attributed to leveled books, strategy instruction, and retellings.