Results:-It took 15 acts of pair construction to make a correct pyramid. More than 75% of these acts were unassisted among the 5 year olds compared to 50% for the 4 year olds and 10% for the 3 year olds. Therefore, the younger children needed more tutor assistance to complete the task.
-3 year olds usually rejected the tutors suggestions, particular her verbal comments. 3 year olds reject 11 tutor suggestions, compared to virtually none in the other two age groups.
-The success of tutor assistance was greater for 'showing/demonstrating' (40% for 3 year olds, 63% for 4 year olds, and 80% for 5 year olds) compared to 'telling' (this was 18%,40% and 57%). This supports the concept of discovery learning, rather than direct tuition.