Direct vs. video observation of skill performance: effects on peer feedback dynamics in motor learning

Abstract

Video technology facilitates feedback delivery in motor learning, benefiting teacher/coach and peer feedback. Most studies focus on attributing motor learning improvements to video-based feedback but never examine how peer feedback dynamics change to mediate the effect of video observation (VO) on learning outcomes. Therefore, this study compares the frequency, type, and accuracy of peer feedback based on direct observation (DO) and VO in a long jump learning context. Forty-one sports science students (M^age: 20.13±0.71) participated in a four-session long jump learning unit. Students were then randomly paired for experimental procedures: one performed a jump while the other observed. Observers first provided 30 seconds of verbal feedback based on DO and then after viewing a video recording of the jump (VO). Roles were then switched. Audio recordings were transcribed and analyzed for overall feedback frequency. Feedback instances were then classified as implicit or explicit, with the latter assessed for accuracy. The main results showed that VO significantly increased the median frequency of overall feedback and explicit feedback compared to DO, with no significant difference in implicit feedback. The median accuracy of explicit feedback was also significantly higher based on VO compared to DO. These findings help explain the previously documented beneficial effects of video-based peer feedback in motor learning. They demonstrate that VO enables peers to provide more feedback, particularly explicit, more than implicit, with higher accuracy.