Cohesion, Instructional Time and Reading Performance at MUGC Summer Enrichment Program

Abstract

As schools attempt to improve the services to struggling readers, teachers are encouraged to work collaboratively to enhance instruction. Studies are needed to examine the effects of teaming on student performance. The purpose of this study was to determine if team cohesion or instructional time at the Marshall University Graduate College Summer Enrichment Program (MUGCSEP) would be correlated with measures of reading performance for students who attended the program. Statistical analyses yielded a statistically significant correlation between cohesion, instructional time and reading performance during the 2006 program. While in 2007, instructional time was not significantly correlated, cohesion results yielded a mildly inverse statistically significant correlation with reading performance. Due to differences in assessment procedures between the years, this finding supports the possibility that team cohesion may be an important factor in the assessment of children's reading performance.