Differences in learners' control decisions in computer-assisted learning were studied during part task versus whole task practice. The criterion task was chosen for its relevance to air crew training problems. Forty-one male and female undergraduates participated in a computer simulation task estimating the location and orientation of target aircraft on the computer screen. Subjects practiced parts of the task or the whole task and were tested on the complete task. The part-task practice broke the task into components that could be introduced separately and then combined progressively. Whole task practice presented the task in its entirety to maximize the similarity between the practice and criterion task. Overall results favor the part-task practice treatment. Descriptive data on response time and the number of trials indicate that part-task treatment subjects engage in more practice. Part-task learners may more easily see improvements in their understanding and performance when only portions of the task are presented. One figure is included. There is a 22-item list of references. (SLD)