A study compared the approaches of self-paced and conventional instruction in Navy training. Using a sample of 37 Navy and Marine Corps courses, researchers contrasted the conventional, mixed, computer-managed, and self-paced instructional approaches according to the following six measures of instructional quality: prerequisites, cues, participation, reinforcement, feedback, and correctives. Various data collection strategies were employed during the study, including site visits; analysis of instructional materials; and questionnaires administered to students, instructors, and supervisors. Based on data from all of these sources, the researchers concluded that the six quality-of-instruction elements appear to occur with more frequency in conventional rather than in mixed or self-paced instructional courses. Both student and nonstudent direct costs for the self-paced courses examined were from 36 to 58 percent of those required for the conventionally taught courses. Because self-paced instruction was found to be heavily dependent on written instructional materials, researchers urged particular care in the design of instructional materials and objectives for self-paced courses. Since instructional strategy did not ultimately appear to be a determining factor in the overall effectiveness of current Navy courses, researchers suggested that choice of instructional strategy rest primarily on the relative cost effectiveness of the approaches. (MN)