Improving learning from animated soccer scenes: Evidence for the expertise reversal effect

Using pointing gestures to convey tactical information: investigating the roles of expertise and complexity

Coach's speech and pointing gestures are closely related. However, the question of whether the coach's pointing gestures influence the learning of complex game systems is still unclear. The present study examined the moderating roles of content complexity and expertise level on recall performance, visual attention, and mental effort through the coach's pointing gestures. One hundred and ninety-two novice and expert basketball players were randomly assigned to one of the four experimental conditions (simple content + no-gesture, simple content + with-gesture, more complex content + no-gesture, or more complex content + with-gesture). The results showed that regardless of the complexity of the content, novices showed significantly better recall performance, better visual search on the static diagrams and lower mental effort in the with-gesture condition than in the no-gesture condition. However, the results showed that experts benefited equally from both conditions (with-gesture and no-gestures) when the content was simple, whereas they benefited more from the condition with-gesture when the content was more complex. The findings and their implications for the design of learning materials are discussed in terms of cognitive load theory.

Uncovering the Role of Different Instructional Designs When Learning Tactical Scenes of Play through Dynamic Visualizations: A Systematic Review

Dynamic visualizations such as videos or animations have been developed to exchange information that transforms over time across a broad range of professional/academic contexts. However, such visual tools may impose substantial demands on the learner's cognitive resources that are very limited in current knowledge. Cognitive load theory has been used to improve learning from dynamic visualizations by providing different instructional designs to manage learner cognitive load. This paper reviews a series of experimental studies assessing the effects of certain instructional designs on learning of tactical scenes of play through dynamic visualizations. An electronic database search was performed on the Web of Science and PubMed/Medline databases from inception to July 2020 using a combination of relevant keywords. Manual searches were also made. The search was limited to English language. A total of 515 records were screened by two researchers using the Population/Intervention/Comparison/Outcome(s) (PICO) criteria. The quality and validity of the included studies were assessed using "QualSyst". Learning indicators in students and/or players (male and female) at any age category and competitive level were considered. Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria for this review, which focused on the effects of four instructional designs (i.e., using static visualizations, employing sequential presentation, applying segmentation, and decreasing presentation speed) on learning various game systems through dynamic visualizations. These studies indicate that (i) the effectiveness of all instructional designs depend upon the level of learners' expertise when learning soccer/Australian football scenes through animations/videos, (ii) the effectiveness of using static visualizations instead of animations/videos showing soccer/basketball scenes depend upon the type of the depicted knowledge (i.e., motor knowledge or descriptive knowledge) for novice learners, (iii) the effectiveness of employing static visualizations and decreasing presentation speed when learning soccer/basketball scenes from animations/videos depend upon the level of content complexity, for novice learners. The current review demonstrated important practical implications for both coaches and physical education teachers using either animations and/or videos to communicate game systems. Indeed, findings suggested that adapting instructional designs to the level of learners' expertise, type of depicted knowledge, and level of content complexity is a crucial part of effective tactical learning from dynamic visualizations.

Which Presentation Speed Is Better for Learning Basketball Tactical Actions Through Video Modeling Examples? The Influence of Content Complexity

The present experiment examined the effect of content complexity on perceived cognitive load and game performance when learning basketball tactical actions from videos modeling examples displayed at different speeds. A two (presentation speed: slow vs. normal) × three (content complexity: low vs. medium vs. high) design between subjects was adopted in the experiment. Following the learning phase, 120 secondary school students were quasi-randomly assigned to six experimental conditions and required to rate their perceived cognitive and game performance. Data analyses revealed that for low complexity content, both speeds of presentation have similar effects on learning. Conversely, for medium and high complexity contents, participants exposed to the slow-presentation speed learned more efficiently than those exposed to the normal-presentation speed. The findings recommend the use of slow-speed videos when learning basketball tactical actions, particularly in playing systems with medium or high levels of complexity.

Top-down and bottom-up guidance in comprehension of schematic football diagrams

Comprehension of a narrated diagram entail complex cognitive processing as learner is challenged to extract the orally evoked information. The present experiment examined the effects of 2 different forms of attention guidance - bottom-up and top-down - on comprehension performance, cognitive load investment, and motivation to learn, using a 2 × 2 mixed design with factors "Expertise" (Expert vs. Novice) and "Condition" (no-signal, circle, segment). The results revealed an expertise reversal effect indicating that the incorporation of visual signals in diagram is effective for novice learners but partially reverses and becomes ineffective for more experienced learners (even though they invested less mental effort and reported higher level of motivation in the segmented condition). The findings suggested that the effectiveness of instructional guidance depends heavily on levels of prior knowledge.