Relationship between Monitoring and Utterance in Peer Tutoring

Abstract

This study involved the development of a questionnaire about monitoring in learners’ interaction and examined its role in peer tutoring. Confirmatory factor analysis yielded a 4-factor model: “self-understanding”(checking one’s own level of understanding), “other-understanding” (checking others’ level of understanding)”, “difference” (checking difference in one’s own and others’ ideas), and “engagement” (checking one’s own level of engagement). In the main study, 54 college students conducted a peer tutoring session and completed the questionnaire about monitoring after the session. Data analysis on the relationship between monitoring scores and protocols revealed that tutors’ scores of self-understanding and other-understanding were positively correlated with interpretive explanations, while the score for difference was negatively associated with descriptive explanations. The score of engagement only showed a positive association with non-explanatory utterances. The results also suggested that tutees’ score for self-understanding and other-understanding are positively associated with complimentary explanations. Finally, the importance of focusing on learners’ monitoring during interactions and future perspectives for research studies about cooperative learning are discussed.