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.