Date of Completion

2015

Document Type

Honors College Thesis

Department

Community Development and Applied Economics

Thesis Type

Honors College

First Advisor

Sarah Heiss

Keywords

Instructional Communication, Affinity Seeking, peer tutoring, instructional development, writing center, gender

Abstract

This study applied the instructional communication concept of affinity seeking to one-on-one peer tutoring sessions. Using content analysis of video recorded tutoring sessions, this study found that tutors most frequently use five affinity seeking strategies: Self Concept Confirmation, Nonverbal Immediacy, Assume Control, Personal Autonomy, and Listening. These strategies differ from those used by teachers and graduate teaching assistants. Differences in tutor affinity-seeking strategies were identified based on gender, especially in sessions with male tutees. Addressing these contextual and gender differences will provide opportunities for improved tutor training and practice.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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