The purpose of the current study was to compare the effectiveness of a video and three different formats of static pictures (simultaneous-permanent pictures, sequential-transient pictures and sequential-permanent pictures) on the acquisition and retention of a complex judo skill in novice young adults. One hundred and thirty-three first-year students in the certificate in Physical Education (PE) were randomly assigned to either: a static-simultaneous-permanent pictures condition (n = 30), a static-sequential-transient pictures condition (n = 29), a static-sequential permanent pictures condition (n = 36) or a video condition (n = 38). They were instructed to observe and reproduce a complex judo technique (Ippon-Seoi-Nage) immediately after the learning phase (including a sequence of three trials—the acquisition phase) and after one week without observation (the retention phase). The results showed that the continuous video generated better learning performances than all static pictures formats. Moreover, it has been shown that sequential-permanent pictures presentation was more effective than static simultaneous-permanent pictures and sequential-transient pictures. In addition to the human movement effect, complementary explanations in terms of cognitive load theory, perceptual continuity, mental animation and intrinsic motivation are suggested. Implications of the results for the effective design of instructional materials within PE context are discussed.

Recent studies exploring the effects of dynamic visualizations on learning compared with static visualizations have yielded mixed results. Procedural motor learning is one of the few fields in which dynamic representations have shown to be effective. Many of the studies have suggested that this advantage is mainly due to the activation of the “mirror‐neuron system.” This study explores this explanation in physical education domain and analysed the effects of instructional media (video vs. photographs), showing tactical actions in basketball, on learning outcomes (i.e., game understanding and game performance), cognitive load (i.e., mental effort invested and estimated difficulty), and attitudes (i.e., attention, enjoyment, engagement, and challenge) in secondary school students. For all of the indicators, the results show that learning from video was more effective than learning from photographs. These findings have implications for the effective design of instructional media and provide confirmation of the superiority of video for teaching tactical actions involving the entire body.

Verbal encouragement (VE) can be used by physical education (PE) practitioners for boosting motivation during exercise engagement. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of VE on psychophysiological aspects and physical performance in a PE context. Twenty secondary school male students (age: 17.68 ± 0.51 yrs; height: 175.7 ± 6.2 cm; body mass: 67.3 ± 5.1 kg, %fat: 11.9 ± 3.1%; PE experience: 10.9 ± 1.0 yrs) completed, in a randomized order, two test sessions that comprised a soccer dribbling circuit exercise (the Hoff circuit) either with VE (CVE) or without VE (CNVE), with one-week apart between the tests. Heart rate (HR) responses were recorded throughout the circuit exercise sessions. Additionally, the profile of mood-state (POMS) was assessed pre and post the circuit exercises. Furthermore, rating of perceived exertion (RPE), traveled distance, and physical activity enjoyment (PACES) were assessed after the testing sessions. Furthermore, the CVE trial resulted in higher covered distance, %HRmax, RPE, PACES score, (Cohen’s coefficient d = 1.08, d = 1.86, d = 1.37, respectively; all, p < 0.01). The CNVE trial also showed lower vigor and higher total mood disturbance (TMD) (d = 0.67, d = 0.87, respectively, p < 0.05) and was associated with higher tension and fatigue, compared to the CVE trial (d = 0.77, d = 1.23, respectively, p < 0.01). The findings suggest that PE teachers may use verbal cues during soccer dribbling circuits for improving physical and psychophysiological responses within secondary school students.

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 2 (presentation speed: slow vs. normal) × 3 (content complexity: low vs. medium vs. high) between subjects design was adopted in the experiment. One hundred and twenty secondary school students were quasi-randomly assigned to six experimental conditions and required to rate their perceived cognitive and to perform a game performance following the learning phase. 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 depicted, particularly, in playing systems with medium or high levels of complexity.

To explore how one night of total sleep deprivation (TSD) could affect cognitive and physical performances, as well as subjective experiences in 24 elite Kung-Fu athletes (age: 20.2 ± 1.76 years; body mass: 64.67 ± 6.52 kg; height: 1.71 ± 0.04 m). Participants completed, in a randomized counterbalanced order, two tests sessions in the late-afternoon (separated by 72-h recovery) under normal sleep (NS) and TSD conditions. Specific decision-making skills (decision accuracy (DA) and decision time (DT)), various anaerobic-exercises performance (i.e. seated medicine-ball throw (SMBT), horizontal jump (HJ), vertical jump (VJ), isometric back-muscles strength (IBMS), and isometric leg-muscles strength (ILMS)), mood states, and perceptual responses (attention and concentration) were assessed. The TSD was associated with lower values of vigor, and higher values of anxiety, depression, fatigue, anger, confusion, and total mood disturbance, compared to NS. The TSD resulted in lower attention and concentration, compared to NS. Similarly, lower performances of SMBT, HJ, VJ, and ILMS were recorded after TSD compared to NS. For cognitive performances, the TSD resulted in higher DA and lower DT, compared to NS. In summary, one night of TSD elicits negative effects on decision-making and anaerobic performance in Kung-Fu elites through disturbances in mood and attentional capacities.