Teaching behaviors of 9- and 11-year-old girls in mixed-age and same-age dyads.

Examined the hypothesis that the accommodations made by tutors according to the age of their tutees are not specific to the CA of the tutors themselves. Ss were 32 11-yr-old, 32 9-yr-old, and 16 7-yr-old females. Ss who were 9 and 11 yrs old, having learned the rules governing a board game, were asked to teach other Ss to play the game. Nine-year-old tutors taught 9- and 7-yr-old tutees; 11-yr-old tutors taught 11-, 9-, and 7-yr-olds. The tutees' behaviors did not vary among these dyads, but the behaviors of their tutors did. Tutors instructing younger Ss used repetitions, strategic advice, progress checkups, direct assistance, and praise more frequently than tutors who instructed same-age tutees. Overall, results are consistent with the hypothesis that elementary school children possess an implicit "theory of teaching," which assumes that younger children require more cognitive structuring and more supportive and corrective feedback than same-age children. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)