Teacher Instruction

Independent Learning

In 1997, Melby and colleagues taught

intramuscular injection techniques
using two methods. One group was
taught by traditional faculty
demonstration while the other group
was given two nursing procedure
books, models and equipment for
independent study and practice. Both
groups performed adequately;
however, students preferred faculty
demonstration over independently.

In person demonstration by instructors are

time intensive and expensive and carry a
greater chance of error than media portrayed
demonstration (Melby et al., 1997)

Evaluation of psychomotor skill performance

is laso time intensive and expensive if faculty
time is used, so Miller, Nichols, and Beeken
(2000) compared two methods of
assessment. One group of learners
videotaped their own performance of a set of
four skills so faculty could view and evaluate
the taped performance later. In the second
group, faculty evaluated the student
performance in real time. Faculty and student
satisfaction levels were highest in the facultypresent group. Time records revealed that
the videotaped method consumed about half
the amount of time as the faculty-present
method.
It is clear from the research that has
been done on self-learning of skills versus
faculty-taught skills that self-learning is more
cost effective because less faculty time is
involved, that both procedure adequate skill
learning, but that students may prefer to be
taught by faculty.
According to Godfred, Huszti, Fly, and Nichol
2013, Adults without prior CPR training in the
past year or responsibility to provide medical
care were randomized into one of three
groups: 1) Untrained before testing, 2) 10-

minute video-self instruction (VSI) in

compressions-only CPR (CPR Anytime,
American Heart Association, Dallas, TX), or
3) 22-minute VSI in compressions and
ventilations (CPR Anytime). The primary
outcome was composite skill competence of
90% during five minutes of skill
demonstration. Evaluated were alternative
cut-points for skill competence and individual
components of CPR. They conclude that
video-self instruction (VSI) in compressionsonly CPR did not achieve greater overall
competency but did achieve some CPR skills
better than without training.

A study by Powell, Canturbery , and McCoy(1998) on the relative effectiveness of

teaching medication administration by faculty instruction versus self-instruction using
videotape found no significant difference in performance between two groups. Neither
was significant difference in groups found in a study by DeAmicis (1997), which
compared the teaching of intravenous therapy skills via traditional teacher
demonstration to self-instruction via interactive video
In this quasi-experimental study by Hosseininasab, Abdullahzadeh and Feizullahzadeh
2005, all first year nursing students in nursing school of Tabriz (n=30), participated in a
pretest assessing their knowledge in measuring vital signs, and based on the achieved
scores, were divided randomly into two control and experiment groups (15 subjects in
each group). The experiment group received education on vital signs measurement
procedure using computer assisted instruction in three sessions. The control group
received education under almost similar circumstances, using demonstration method. In
the fourth session, all the students of both groups took the knowledge post-test with the
same questions as the pretest. There was a significant improvement in post-test scores
compared with pre-test in both groups, no significant difference was observed between
the post-test scores of the two groups. To conclude, Computer assisted instruction as
an independent educational method, can improve learning in cognitive domain in
nursing students the same as demonstration method.
According to Smith, Cavanaugh, and Moore 2011, there were no significant differences
between the two instructional groups in attitudes, but students in the experimental group
for skill set two reported greater study time alone compared to other groups. Subjects
consisted of 45 student physical therapists from two universities. Two skill sets were
taught during the course of the study. Skill set one consisted of knee examination
techniques and skill set two consisted of ankle/foot examination techniques. For each

skill set, subjects were randomly assigned to either a control group or an experimental
group. The control group was taught with live demonstration of the examination skills,
while the experimental group was taught using multimedia.