The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the social and cultural instructional process on independent reading. In addition, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the administrator-teacher relationship on educational practices in a lab site classroom. Using an action research design, data was collected through pre-study and post-study interviews, a Likert-scale questionnaire, lab site meeting journal reflections, lesson implementation journal reflections, observations captured in fieldnotes, and students' reading logs. Data was collected for a total of seven weeks during a once per week, hour and a half lab site meeting, one non-observed lesson implemented by the participating teacher, and one research-practitioner observed lesson. The participant in this study was one ninth-grade English teacher who had previously worked with the research-practitioner in the lab site classroom. The setting was an urban magnet school that serves students in grades 6-12 in a northeastern state. The research-practitioner analyzed the data and found three interconnected themes regarding the shift of an instructional mind, consciousness and cognitive dissonance, and trust/faith in the process. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]