Practitioner inquiry partnerships offer a method of professional learning that positions teachers as experts and supports their culturally, linguistically, and racially diverse students through the cultivation of responsive pedagogical practices. This article builds on the research base around practitioner inquiry in literacy classrooms and contributes further understanding of what it looks like to partner with teachers to engage in inquiry as professional learning, how this process leads to refined literacy pedagogy and shifts toward student-centered practices, and why it is humanizing to embrace expansive notions of literacy. By attuning to sociocultural and affective approaches to literacy, the authors discuss inquiry partnerships with two teachers and provide insight into how other teachers might also engage with practitioner inquiry to refine their literacy pedagogy. The authors argue the inquiry process supports shifts in literacy pedagogy that not only help teachers navigate constraints but also lead to centering students' responses and engagement.