Abstract:
This study sought to determine if videotape and a live lecture demonstration produced different levels of performance by nursing students on a psychomotor task. Singer and Gerson's (1979) cognitive information processing model, specific to psychomotor performance, provides a theoretical framework for this study. The literature reviewed suggests generally there is no significant difference in learning between students taught by media and those taught by live lecture methods. A quasi-experimental two group design was used to test the hypothesis. An observation post-test of the assess the students' performances according to the tool's behavioral criteria, viewed the tapes and rated the performances of the psychomotor skill, range-of-motion. A t-test revealed no significant difference (t = 2.039; df = 18; p = .056) between the performances of the two groups on the psychomotor task. The investigation's findings suggest that the use of a videotape to teach psychomotor nursing skills is as effective as a live lecture demonstration.