This study examines the effects of academic ability (in average and lower ability students), gender, and teaching methods on students' acquisition of computer skills. Subjects were 247 college students who had completed a computer course using intelligent workstations in any one of six consecutive semesters. A combination of lecture and hands-on computer practice, the course was designed to teach generalized problem-solving and decision-making skills applicable to a number of settings. Multiple regression was used to determine the significance of factors and the magnitude of effect on the dependent variable in conjunction with the other variables, i.e., average academic ability as determined by the student's grade point average and grade on a previous computer literacy course. Dependent variables tested included the grades on the course, the lecture portion of the course, and the computer laboratory portion of the course. The major findings were that women, if given the opportunity to practice their skills, outperform men; and that the transfer of knowledge from a previous traditional computer course has only limited effect on performance, which can be compensated for by additional hours of practicing on the computer. The text is supplemented by four tables and six bibliographic notes. (35 references) (Author/EW)