Eight pairs of girls and eight pairs of boys at each of three age groups (3, 5 and 7 years) took part in a three-phase investigation. One child in each pair was taught how to assemble a construction task by a computer-assisted tutoring system. That child then taught a peer of the same age and gender. After the peer tutoring session, the child who had been taught by the peer attempted to construct the task alone. Predictions about age-related differences in the tutoring behaviour of children at the three age groups were drawn from the literature on peer tutoring and children's theory of mind. The hypothesis that children's ability to learn a task correlates both with their instructional competence and their peer's learning received some support. The results also show significant changes in tutoring strategies, verbal instruction and contingency of teaching at the three ages which are in line with hypotheses drawn from the theory of mind literature. The theoretical implications of the results in relation to connections between the ontogenesis of tutoring skills, theory of mind and verbal instruction are explored.
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