I think it depends on how steep the learning curve is. When I went through my CFI in 2001, I was technically proficient as a pilot, but my knowledge was limited. So, I had a very steep learning curve.
When I went through groundschool on the Beech at Skyway, I heard things like "Aw, Skyway's Beech groundschool is horrible!!!111". However, I had just been through numerous groundschools in the past year at AirNet and we had great instructors at Skyway. I have to say for the first time in my life I truely understand how a prop governor works! Learning curve not so steep this time and I ended up assisting during self study. It was the opposite for me as I was going through a rough patch with the flying part (which turns out was just mental), so I went to the sims ready for battle.