Remote Delivery of Instruction in Complex Skills

Abstract

This study sought to discourse whether an experimental methodology could provide instruction in identification and quantitation tasks which were categorized as intellectual skills with some motor skill components. Hypotheses were derived from the thesis that remotely located students would perform at a level equal to or higher than conventionally trained counterparts. Subjects participating in the study were medical laboratory workers from four states. A remote delivery instructional methodology was compared with conventional instruction. Conventional instruction and the experimental methodology essentially differed only in that in the experimental methodology subjects were remotely located from instructors. Terminal Learning Objective tests were scored on a pass/fail basis. A Chi-square one sample test yielded a value below that required for statistical significance. There was no evidence to suggest that failures signified anything other than random processes or other sources of variation not inherent in administration of instruction. The conclusion reached is that the experimental treatment is no different in effect than the control group treatment. A discussion of potential cost savings using teleconferencing is presented.